UCL students with an interest in Japan can apply for a fully-funded opportunity to visit Fukushima during January 2018.

Fukushima Prefecture, with whom UCL has a longstanding collaboration, is inviting two students from any discipline to join a ten-strong delegation to visit from 15-21 January. Delegates will include staff from UCL’s Institute for Risk & Disaster Reduction, EPICentre and UCL Academy.

Students can find out more about the opportunity at a Q&A session with Professor Shin-ichi Ohnuma, UCL’s Japan Ambassador, on 24 November 2017 at 12.00-13.00 at UCL’s Confucius Institute (15 Woburn Square, London WC1H 0NS).

The prefecture will fully support the UCL team visit, including the cost of air fare, accommodation, meals and in-country travel.

The successful students will be asked to contribute social media and blog posts about their experiences while they are in Japan, as well as taking part in a group presentation about the visit.

Active collaboration

The Japanese islands face an extraordinary range of natural hazards – earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunami, landslides and tropical cyclones.

In 2011, East Japan suffered from a huge earthquake and tsumani, which killed many people along the coastline. The tsumani affected the Fukushima Nuclear power plant, which resulted in wide-level contamination by radiation. Many people in Fukushima are still suffering from this damage.

UCL decided to contribute to the recovery of Fukushima and signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Fukushima Prefecture in 2014.

How to apply

Students can attend the Q&A session on 24 November for further information about the visit.

To apply please email the below details by 2 December 2017 to Sofia Shamim in UCL’s Global Engagement Office with the subject title “Fukushima Fieldwork and Visit – YOUR NAME”.

• Your full name
• Status (staff/Phd student /MSc student) and stage
• A one-paragraph biography
• A one-paragraph research or study proposal
• A one-paragraph impact statement.

Please also indicate:

• Whether your passport has a visa requirement for entry to Japan
• If the visit will contribute to your PHD/MSc research or your undergraduate study
• Your level of Japanese language (although this is not a pre-requisite).

Please note students need to obtain permission from their course organisers.

An excellent funding opportunity has arisen for UCL students with an interest in China. The Chinese Government Scholarship scheme covers tuition fees, medical insurance, accommodation and a living allowance for successful applicants to study Chinese language for a period of up to one academic year.

Students must satisfy the following criteria in order to be eligible to apply:

• Be a national of a country other than China
• Be under age 45 and with at least two years of Undergraduate level study

UCL will be shortlisting nominations for this scholarship scheme.

How to apply

In order to submit an application for consideration by the UCL panel, please send the following documents by email to Oliver Tomlinson (o.tomlinson@ucl.ac.uk), Partnership Officer, as soon as possible and by 19 February at the latest:

1. CV
2. Academic transcripts (find more information on how to obtain UCL transcripts here)
3. Two recommendation letters from UCL academics
4. Study Plan (minimum of 500 words)

For more information about the Chinese Government Scholarship programme, visit their website.

On Wednesday 2 July, international scholarships students came together for a special reception to celebrate their achievements with fellow students, UCL staff and sponsors.

Scholarship recipients from over 60 different countries attended the event, along with UCL’s President and Provost Professor Michael Arthur, Vice Provost (International) Dame Nicola Brewer, ambassadors, High Commissioners and representatives from some of the funding organisations that support UCL.

Yunci Cai, from Singapore is currently studying MPhil/PhD in Museum Studies at the Institute of Archaeology and is holder of a UCL Overseas Research Scholarship and UCL Graduate Research Scholarship.Yunci remarked on how much the scholarships helped with her studies, “I completed my MA in Museum Studies at the Institute of Archaeology at UCL in 2009/2010 on a scholarship from the Singapore government. I had such a fantastic experience at UCL then, it reignited my passion and interest for research on culture heritage and museums and sealed my commitment to return to UCL some day to do a PhD here. I am very happy that I have realized this dream, and this would not have been possible without the generosity of the UCL scholarships.”

Pablo Mora, from Chile is currently studying MSc in Building and Urban Design in Development at the Bartlett’s Development Planning Unit (DPU) and is holder of a Becas Chile (Conicyt) Programa de Magister en el Extranjero Scholarship.

Pablo enjoys the international community at UCL, commenting, “I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my studies at UCL, from the variety of languages you hear in the hallways, to the different approaches staff use to engage with students, the campus, it’s architecture and location at the core of the city, working with classmates from all over the world and knowing that we can talk to each other with respect and at the same level of knowledge.”

For further information on the scholarships and funding opportunities at UCL, please visit the website

UCL students were able to help a charity of their choice after receiving a 1-UCL Award for their own non-academic community achievements.

The 1-UCL Awards, supported by Santander Universities, aims to foster community spirit as well as highlight and reward outstanding achievement by current UCL students in a non–academic field.

Harry Bulstrode donated £1,000 to the Peter Hansford Racing Team

“I am a Neurosurgery Registrar and have been studying brain tumour biology as a Wellcome Research Training Fellow at the UCL Cancer Institute, and now at the Scottish Centre for Regenerative Medicine.

I donated the award to the Peter Hansford Racing Team, who has since 2011, provided the equipment and expertise to enable me to compete at national level alongside my work commitments. The team is based in Winchester, Hampshire, and compete in road, time trial and track disciplines. This season my goals are to win the British Student Time Trial Championships and the Scottish National Time Trial Championships. The team have been behind me all the way so now I just have to pedal hard!

I was delighted to receive the award. I get a lot of satisfaction balancing surgery, science and cycling, and I hope to live up to this award in each of those areas.”

Bethany Evans donated £1,000 to the Holborn Community Association

“I was nominated for the award for developing volunteering within UCLU Women’s Hockey Club. Alongside the club President Florence Mackenzie, I organised a series of events to raise the profile of volunteering within the club. These ranged from volunteering at the UCLU Christmas Concert in the Quad to selling ribbons for World Aids Day as well as holding a joint fundraising day with the Men’s Hockey Club for one of their members who suffered a severe spinal injury.

I decided to donate the £1000 to Holborn Community Association because we have seen the fantastic work they undertake everyday first hand. They help older people to relax, socialise and enrich their lives, as well as providing essential support to help members to continue to live independently. The money will be used to help further improve the quality of older people’s lives in our local community by helping to continue to fund activities such as summer outings, photography classes and tai chi sessions.”

You can see what other winners did with their award here

UCL academics, including doctoral (PhD) students and postdoctoral researchers, are invited to apply for funds to help organise collaborative workshops for the 2014-2015 academic year involving participants from UCL and research institutions in France.

In July 2013, UCL and the Institut Français signed an agreement to collaborate on a series of workshops over a period of three years, focusing specifically on research in the humanities.

The agreement aims to build on existing, and explore new links, between UCL and French academic and research organisations.

By providing funding each year for three workshops between UCL and French academics, all held at UCL, the agreement is aimed at encouraging junior and senior scholars to establish new directions for possible research collaborations– not only in their own areas of expertise, but also across disciplines.

During the 2013-2014 academic year, the UCL European Institute organised three highly successful workshops under the theme of ‘In Places(s) of Memory’

For further information, including how to apply and requirements for this year’s funding, download the call for proposals PDF

Deadline for receipt of applications: Friday 30 May 2014

UCL academics, including doctoral (PhD) students and postdoctoral researchers, are invited to apply for funds to help organise collaborative workshops for the 2014-2015 academic year involving participants from UCL and research institutions in France.

In July 2013, UCL and the Institut Français signed an agreement to collaborate on a series of workshops over a period of three years, focusing specifically on research in the humanities.

The agreement aims to build on existing, and explore new links, between UCL and French academic and research organisations.

By providing funding each year for three workshops between UCL and French academics, all held at UCL, the agreement is aimed at encouraging junior and senior scholars to establish new directions for possible research collaborations– not only in their own areas of expertise, but also across disciplines.

During the 2013-2014 academic year, the UCL European Institute organised three highly successful workshops under the theme of ‘In Places(s) of Memory’

For further information, including how to apply and requirements for this year’s funding, download the call for proposals PDF

Deadline for receipt of applications: Friday 30 May 2014

UCL is working with charity, CommonPurpose to host the next CSC Leaders for Students course, 23-26 June 2014. The course is part of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Commonwealth Study Conference (CSC) initiative, which aims to develop leadership skills across and within the Commonwealth.

The free, four-day leadership development event brings together a diverse range of students from different universities across London to analyse a particular topic through discussions, debates, case studies and group work, all guided by senior professionals from business, government, and third-sector organisations.

Two days of the course take place at UCL, and two days at BP Headquarters in central London.

The course is aimed at all and any UCL students who:

• Want to make a difference in the world
• Want their voice and their ideas to influence what is happening today
• Want to add real value to their CV and develop leadership skills which will help them in the future.

The London course is open to all students, not just those from the Commonwealth. The first UCL-based course was held in November 2013 and considered the topic, “How do you get societal – as well as economic – value out of technological innovation?”

This year’s course will focus on, “What makes a city smart?”

For more details and how to apply, visit the CSC Leaders website

What an incredible experience. Probably the best course ever. My confidence has increased and so has my will power to make a change.

UCL is offering two fully funded scholarships with partner, Zhejiang University (ZJU), to study a Masters degree in Contemporary Chinese Studies, taught in English, over two years.

Zhejiang University is one of the top-5 universities in China, located in the beautiful city of Hangzhou, 30 minutes by rapid train from Shanghai.

The scholarship will cover fees, accommodation and provide a living allowance of £166 per month.

Current final year UCL students, across any subject area, are invited to apply. UCL alumni holding a UCL Masters degree ‘with distinction’ are also eligible for the scholarship but will complete the ZJU programme in just one year.

The UCL application deadline is 23 April 2014, 10am

Full details on how to apply, and the ZJU eligibility restrictions, can be found on the ZJU website

Complete applications should be sent to:

UCL Office for International Affairs,
48 Gordon Square,
London
WC1H 0PJ
c/o Dr Andrew Pink

The two successful candidates will be notified by the end of the day on 30 April 2014.

If you have any queries, please email Dr Andrew Pink at a.g.pink@ucl.ac.uk