Spotlight on a Chevening Officer

With over 160 countries and territories taking part in Chevening, there are many Chevening officers and other staff at post working hard on promotion, scholar recruitment, and alumni engagement. This month, we meet Bavani Sivalingam who works as a Chevening officer at the British high commission in Kuala Lumpur.

Where does your role as Chevening officer sit within the British high commission?

Political, Economic & Public Diplomacy Section.

What do you enjoy most about working as a Chevening officer?

There’s never a dull moment in the world of Chevening. I love the breadth of our work, from interviewing talented candidates with great aspirations to engaging with alumni from various fields of expertise. Ultimately, meeting new people with great stories to tell leaves me inspired to do my part for the future of our nations. 

What’s the biggest challenge in your role?

There never seems to be a quiet period to gather my thoughts!

How have your previous roles prepared you for Chevening?

Experience in the science and higher education industries has equipped me with project management skills, thus enabling me to successfully deliver Chevening objectives in Malaysia. 

What are your best practices for communicating about Chevening to other departments at the high commission?

I believe in injecting a fun spirit into Chevening, be it interviewing candidates or delivering alumni engagement programmes over weekends. All my colleagues at the high commission are aware of the Chevening journey at post. I periodically send out an email update on the Chevening process and successes, in addition to sharing updates in the high commission’s WhatsApp group and social media channels. 

What would you recommend visitors to do if they visited Malaysia?

Malaysia is a country with a colourful mixture of different cultures, and it is blessed with beautiful islands, impressive colonial buildings, lush tea plantations in the highlands – the list is almost endless. Of course, no visit is ever complete without the gastronomic adventure of Malaysia’s multi-ethnic culinary diversity with countless delicious dishes . You’ll fall in love immediately, guaranteed!