Announcing the winners of Round 2 of the Global Study Awards

Monday 26 September 2016

‘I’m leaving to study abroad and packing my suitcase with… The Global Study Award!’

Announcing the winners of Round 2 of the Global Study Awards

26 September 2016 (HONG KONG) – Six students from around the world are embarking on their study abroad journey after each winning a global study award (approx. £10,000) in Round 2 of the Global Study Awards. British Council IELTS, the International Student Identity Card (ISIC) and StudyPortals proudly announced the winners, from over 100,000 applicants, Tuesday (20 September) at the EAIE conference in Liverpool.

Aparajeeta Ghosh (28) from India, Ho Wing Yu (24) from Hong Kong, Jieh-hen Tsung (25) from Taiwan, Jürgen Stolzlechner (27) from Austria, Miriam Omar (28) from Malaysia, and Rana Burqan (23) from Palestinian Territories, demonstrated outstanding achievements in the three pillars of the selection process:

to contribute to society through their studies,
a strong commitment to developing their career, and
sincere interest in increasing intercultural understanding and exchange.

Each award is merit-based, aimed at students above 18 who plan to enrol in a full-time undergraduate or postgraduate programme in 2016, in any country worldwide. The £10,000 available for each of the six students will be primarily used to cover tuition fees, and will be directly provided to the students’ university of choice.

Miriam, who will start studying at the Chelsea College of Art and Design (UK), wants to make the world a better place through art by opening her own eco-friendly Textile Design House and sell biodegradable fabric online: ‘I believe with enough research, development and marketing, biodegradable and recycled fabrics will be the norm in the future. This will result in a decrease in pollution and release of harmful gasses and toxic waste.’

All three partnering organizations strongly believe that international education contributes to a more equal and tolerant global society. Through the Global Study Awards they want to encourage more students to study abroad and to expand their horizons.

‘The flow of education and information are essential building blocks to creating cultural understanding and acceptance. The Global Study Awards is a fantastic opportunity for international students across the world to broaden their perspectives and build on shared experiences that can positively shape their future,’ said Todd Almeida, Managing Director at ISIC, International Student Identity Card.

Realising what kind of job you want in a remote Buddhist temple in China? It happened to Jürgen, who will enrol as a master student in Social Sciences at the London School of Economics and Political Science (UK). So far he has been working in a home for disabled people, a Romanian orphanage and taught English to Chinese children. Helping others always has to be the focus in everything he does in life.

‘I studied in Japan, and that was a life changing experience for me. I am convinced it not only grew my career prospects, it made me a better person as well as the people around me. Studying abroad does not only contribute to our economies, also to the tolerance and depth of our society,’ said Edwin van Rest, CEO of StudyPortals.

The winners can’t wait to start their journey abroad. The destination? Ho Wing Yu, Jürgen Stolzlechner and Miriam Omar will go to the UK, Rana Burqan to Greece, Aparajeeta Ghosh to Germany and Jieh-Hen Tsung to The Netherlands. All three partnering organisations promote international diversity and mobility, and we are very happy that our winners will be enriching the educational experience in so many different countries.

‘It’s amazing to see so many people’s dreams coming true! The world is getting smaller every day,’ said Tanguy Perrichot, Regional marketing manager, Europe, British Council IELTS

Further information on the Global Study Awards can be found on the award page: http://www.mastersportal.eu/pages/the-global-study-awards/?attempt=1

Notes to Editor

About British Council IELTS
British Council is the UK's international organisation for educational opportunity and cultural relations and is represented in 107 countries worldwide. British Council connects people worldwide with the learning opportunities and creative ideas from the UK and builds lasting relationships between the UK and other countries.

IELTS is the International English Language Testing System, the world’s proven English language test. IELTS was one of the pioneers of four skills English language testing over 25 years ago, and continues to set the standard for English language testing today. It is trusted and accepted by more than 9000 institutions worldwide.

IELTS is jointly owned by British Council, IDP: IELTS Australia and Cambridge English Language Assessment.

About International Student Identity Card (ISIC)
ISIC Association is the non-profit organisation behind the International Student Identity Card (ISIC). First established in 1953, the ISIC card is now issued to students in over 130 countries to all bonafide students over the age of 12, regardless of their nationality, race, gender or religion. The ISIC card is the only internationally accepted proof of bonafide student status and gives access worldwide to over 150,000 products, services or experiences in every stage and area of student life.

About StudyPortals
StudyPortals is the international study choice platform, enabling students to find and compare their study options across borders. With over 117,000 published courses from over 2,400 participating universities and over 15 million visitors per year, StudyPortals is a leading information source for study seekers.

StudyPortals was initiated out of an international student organization in 2008 and initially focused on the European education market. Since 2014 the organization, with its headquarters in Eindhoven, the Netherlands expanded its services and is now also covering universities in the US, Canada and Australia and Asia. For universities, StudyPortals is a key channel for international student recruitment.

About the British Council

The British Council is the UK’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities. We create friendly knowledge and understanding between the people of the UK and other countries. Using the UK’s cultural resources we make a positive contribution to the countries we work with – changing lives by creating opportunities, building connections and engendering trust.

We work with over 100 countries across the world in the fields of arts and culture, English language, education and civil society. Each year we reach over 20 million people face-to-face and more than 500 million people online, via broadcasts and publications.

Founded in 1934, we are a UK charity governed by Royal Charter and a UK public body. The majority of our income is raised delivering a range of projects and contracts in English teaching and examinations, education and development contracts and from partnerships with public and private organisations. Eighteen per cent of our funding is received from the UK government.