Numbering 57,000+ around the world, our Chevening Alumni community is making an impressive impact across a diverse range of sectors. We’re celebrating our Chevening Alumni who recently been honoured as winners in the Chevening Alumni Alliance Awards and as finalists in the Study UK Alumni Awards 2024.
Chevening Alumni Alliance AwardsLaunched in 2023, The Chevening Alumni of the Year Award was created by the Chevening Alumni Alliance to celebrate the impact of Chevening Alumni around the world. This year, 10 awards were received including Individual Awards, Collaborative Projects with a Sustainable Development Focus, and Achievements of Chevening Alumni Associations.
The Chevening Alumni Association in Cameroon, represented by Olivia Tamoh Mah, John Abongwa, and Felix Fomengia, was honoured for the free professional services they offered to thousands of internally displaced people in Cameroon. From Panama, Beatriz Ho, Gabriel Silva, Hugo Wood, Javier Yap, and Mijail Castillo were recognised for Project VAMOS, which transformed political participation by training over 100 independent candidates, fostering democracy and inclusivity.
President Jakov Milatovic from Montenegro was awarded for his election in April 2023, just ten years after his Chevening Scholarship. Arman Udumyan of Armenia received recognition for leading the initiative to raise the national minimum wage, improving livelihoods and advancing labour rights. Oscar Parra-Vera from Colombia was celebrated for advocating for victims’ rights and promoting restorative justice in the Colombian conflict.
Alumna Pamela Nicole Mejia of the Philippines was honored for her innovative work in sustainable fashion. Lanka Bandaranayake from Sri Lanka was recognised for empowering female filmmakers and promoting gender representation in cinema. Sergey Sayapin from Uzbekistan was lauded for his pioneering contributions to international criminal law. María Isabel Amorín Cabrera from Guatemala was awarded for developing biopolymer technology for wastewater treatment. Finally, Nada Chaiyajit from Thailand was celebrated for her impressive advocacy work in gender diversity and equality.
The Study UK Alumni Awards celebrate the achievements of international students who have studied in the UK and gone on to achieve great things. We are delighted that eight Chevening Alumni are among the Study UK Alumni Awards 2024 finalists.
Ahmed Abd-Elhamid (Egypt, The University of Edinburgh)
Elevating Egypt’s innovation landscape, Ahmed excels as an innovation programme manager at Arab African International Bank. He merges entrepreneurship and tech with finance, revolutionising banking solutions through open innovation models.
Eunice Ntobedzi Hanna (Botswana, University of Glasgow)
With a clear vision of advancing the clean energy transition, Eunice co-founded African Sun Energy. It has grown from a small, self-funded business into three companies in Botswana, Malawi and Zambia, delivering clean energy services to communities and commercial clients.
Mustafa Özsoy (Turkey, King’s College London)
Mustafa is driven by a vision to revolutionise global access to dental care through his innovative startup, SMILAB. By leveraging state-of-the-art technology, SMILAB connects dentists worldwide with international experts, facilitating treatment consultations and streamlined procurement of essential medical devices.
Norhan El Sakkout (Egypt, Goldsmiths University of London)
Driven by a passion to revive Egyptian crafts through their use in fashion and impact the crafts and creative economy, Norhan created the slow fashion brand Saqhoute. Her impact has been recognised locally and on a global scale, representing sustainable fashion at COP27.
Jennifer Olachi Uchendu (Nigeria, University of Sussex)
Jennifer is the founder of SustyVibes, a youth-led organisation making sustainability actionable, relatable, and cool for young people. Jennifer’s recent work focuses on exploring the impacts of the climate crisis on the mental health of Africans, especially among young people.
Amanda Sadalla (Brazil, University of Oxford)
Amanda is the cofounder of Serenas, an NGO providing capacity-building for gender-based violence response services and implementing anti-sexist educational policies within educational departments across Brazil. Aiming to change the root causes of violence against women and girls, Serenas has impacted over 60,000 public leaders and students.
Hamida Zeynalova (Azerbaijan, Birmingham City University)
Hamida has embraced an inclusive education programme in Azerbaijan designed to cater to children from disadvantaged communities, including mental and physical disabilities, ensuring every child has access to quality education.
Maya Terro (Lebanon, School of Oriental and African Studies)
Maya is the Co-founder and Executive Director of FoodBlessed, a youth-led hunger-relief and food-rescue organisation. Through her leadership, FoodBlessed provides hot meals and monthly food parcels while combating food waste.
See the full profiles of all Study UK Alumni Award Finalists on the Study UK website.
Chevening Alumni in St Helena received funding through the Chevening Alumni Programme Fund to raise awareness in their community for the increasing need to reduce our carbon footprint and protect our environment. They share their experience and the success of their local project.
Chevening Alumna Dr Heesun Chung is Professor and Dean at Chungnam National University. Since her Chevening year in 1990, Dr Chung has developed a collaborative forensic science programme between South Korea and the UK.
From becoming a more joyful leader to leading your team through turbulent times, these six courses have been specially selected by the Chevening Alumni team to help you take the next step on your leadership journey.