UCL Scholarships Reception

Dan Martin, UCL Corporate Events, writes about this year’s scholarships reception.

Every year UCL celebrates the achievements of its scholarship recipients at an annual scholarships reception, and on 15 December, President and Provost, Professor Malcolm Grant and Vice-Provost (International) Professor Michael Worton addressed a packed auditorium of 350 scholarship recipients, their guests, embassy officials, scholarship sponsors and UCL senior staff.

Beyond the significant investment that UCL makes in its various scholarships, it is clear from the many organisations and individual benefactors in the audience – who through their generosity help the university’s exceptional students to take forward their studies – that many share and support UCL’s vision of excellence and global citizenship. Scholarship sponsor John Howe, a trustee for the Frederick Bonnart-Braunthal Trust, which since 2000 has been funding three-year MPhil/PHD scholarships at UCL, addressed the audience on behalf of the sponsors in the room, speaking very positively of his support for UCL and the funding of scholarships.

Mr Howe was then followed by Nilay Lakhkar, an international student from India currently in his second year of a PhD in Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering at UCL Eastman Dental Institute and recipient of the UCL Graduate Research Scholarship and UCL Overseas Research Scholarship. Nilay spoke of his passion for UCL, “both UCL and the Eastman deserve all the credit for instilling in me a love of research, and I consider myself very lucky to be able to continue my studies in an institute and university where I feel so much at home”.

Beyond celebrating achievement, this event also very much focused on the responsibilities of scholarship recipients and their need to strive to achieve ever greater excellence and leadership, not only in their time at UCL and in London, but also in the wider world. Nelson Dzade, an international student from Ghana currently in his second year studying for an MPhil/PhD in chemistry and recipient of the UCL Overseas Research Scholarship spoke of the ongoing role of scholarship recipients in the future, “my piece of advice to you is that inasmuch as you see this as an opportunity, also see it as a challenge to work hard and to reach the top, for so much trust is put in you. You and I are the future of the respective countries we represent – be a good ambassador”

This event, along with highlighting the continued demand for scholarships like these in the current economic climate, also very much positioned the role of UCL students within a framework of global citizenship, and the development of leadership abilities, entrepreneurial skills and intercultural awareness as a necessity to enable students to make a significant contribution to the society in which they live. Many congratulations to all UCL scholarship recipients and we hope that your time at UCL leads to even greater things.

Image: Nilay Lakhkar (PhD, UCL Eastman Dental Institute, second year student) Recipient of the UCL Graduate Research Scholarship and UCL Overseas Research Scholarship

Photos: Haoyang Zhao, UCLU PhotoSoc Full set available on UCLU Photosoc Flickr

Dan Martin is Acting Head of Corporate Events, UCL Communications & Marketing.