Singapore – Studying overseas has been a dream for many students in Singapore. With an aim to connect people with learning opportunities, the British Council launched the IELTS Scholarship in 2012 (in Singapore) and, since then, it has supported a total of 13 students (in Singapore) in entering universities worldwide, including the UK, USA and Australia.
This year, three scholars would be added to the list, each of whom received a scholarship valued at SGD 5000 at the award presentation ceremony held at British Council, Napier Road Centre on 29 August 2014. To celebrate IELTS’s 25th anniversary, the British Council also awarded three students in the East Asia region with scholarships of £25,000 each, who will be entering their dream universities overseas to pursue further education.
Quotes from local scholars
“Like with all other art forms, (with theatre) you think you’re going to be a struggling artist and that you’re going to starve. I guess (the British Council IELTS Scholarship) would help a lot in terms of my tuition fees. Also I think the connections with the British Council and the other scholars will help me in my work in the future” – Lim Ting Wen, Thomas (Pursuing BA in Drama (Hons.) at the University of Exeter)
“In Singapore, there isn’t much available for the arts, and this was one of the few (scholarships) that was open to funding people who were going to take a course in the Arts, and that’s why I applied for it” – Lim Ting Wen, Thomas
“I think it has to be said that scholarships for creative endeavours are quite hard to come by in Singapore and that tuition fees are incredibly high. I think I’ll be surviving on bread crusts for the next few years! So the fact that the British Council would sponsor me, I think, is not just a financial relief but an affirmation for what I want to do” – Ryan Ho Yaowei (Pursuing BA in Graphic Design (Hons.) at University of the Arts London, Central Saint Martins)
“I believe that the British Council IELTS Scholarship has already helped me because it has aided me financially, which will probably go a very long way in the future. But the scholarship goes beyond that because as a scholar, I would have proven that I have the capacity to achieve this scholarship, and that is in itself a reason to choose me over somebody else who has not attained the scholarship” - Benedict Tan Jee Chiok (Pursuing Bachelor of Law at the University of Leicester
“I ended up applying for the British Council IELTS Scholarship because I thought it would be a very good challenge. This scholarship is rigorous, it requires one to undergo an interview and write an essay. So, I like challenges and thus I decided, why not?” – Benedict Tan Jee Chiok
“As an international English proficiency test, IELTS has grown its popularity with over 2.2 million of tests taken in 2013, and is now recognised by over 9,000 organisations, including universities, employers and immigration authorities worldwide.” said Greg Selby, Director of Examinations British Council, East Asia. “We are pleased that our wide international acceptance and the IELTS scholarship are helping more students in East Asia to pursue further study in different parts of the world.”
This year also marks the 25th Anniversary of IELTS. To celebrate the occasion, the British Council extended the IELTS scholarship to 12 cities across East Asia, awarding three regional scholarships to top scholars in the region. Top three students in the East Asia region each receives £25,000 scholarship.
Two of them will be pursuing further study in the UK, including Sooyoun Kim from Korea, who will study the Masters of Arts in Museum and Artefact Studies at Durham University in the UK, and Wongsathorn Jiraphanvanich from Thailand, who will attend the University of Cambridge in the UK for MPhil and PhD in Chemical Engineering.
The third regional IELTS scholar, Thandar Aung from Myanmar, will be making her way to Berlin in Germany to study at the Institute of Tropical Medicine and International Health of Charité Universitätsmedizin for the Masters of Science in International Health. With an ambition on contributing and leading the health sector reform process in her country, she said, “I would like to thank the British Council for the IELTS scholarship and I certainly believe that my Master studies in International Health will equip me with the necessary knowledge and skills of the industry. I hope this scholarship scheme will continue to inspire many generations to come.”
As an IELTS official test centre, the British Council provides full support in preparing students in taking IELTS exams, including a 30-hour free online training for registered students and the access to different preparation materials. Furthermore, test sessions are organised three times a month, which give students flexibility for the most suitable sessions. More details, please visit http://www.britishcouncil.sg/exam/ielts/scholarships.