Manchester students shine in British Council Awards
http://www.thestudyvoxecho.co.uk/articles/149/1/Manchester-students-shine-in-British-Council-Awards/Page1.html
Chief Correspondent
By Chief Correspondent
Published on 29 March 2010
Their inspirational accounts of student life in the UK have won three students from The University of Manchester top accolades in the UK's biggest competition for international students.
Their inspirational accounts of student life in the UK have won three students from The University of Manchester top accolades in the UK’s biggest competition for international students.
Astrid Tishler from Estonia has been named the North West’s International Student of the Year 2010 in the prestigious competition from the British Council.
Now Astrid from the School of Earth, Atmospheric and and Environmental Sciences is preparing to challenge for the title of overall International Student of the Year 2010. As one of 12 regional winners she will travel to London in April to meet a final judging panel, before going on to have her achievements honoured in a national awards ceremony.
In addition, MACE student Muhanad Fakhri from Sudan and Asad Kamran Ghalib from Pakistan, based in the School of Environment and Dervelopment, have both been named runners-up in the regional finals.
The three were among more than 1,300 students, from 118 countries to enter the eighth annual International Student Awards – a major initiative from the British Council that shines the spotlight on international students and their contributions to life in the UK.
In a bid to take home a prize, students studying at universities, colleges of further and higher education, schools and English language institutions across England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales shared stories about the extra-curricular achievements that illustrate how they are making the most of their time in the UK.
To enter, each student was asked to write a personal ‘letter home’ in English, detailing the out-of-class achievements that help make their time in the UK so rewarding.
A judging panel met last month to discuss the merits of short-listed entries from the region. Astrid’s letter was judged to be the North West’s most impressive and she will receive a £1,000 prize. The ultimate winner of the International Student of the Year title will receive a £2,000 prize at the competition final, to be held in London in April.
As part of her winning entry, Astrid wrote: "The experience and opportunity I am the most grateful of all, is my research in the development of sustainable management in collaboration with BP for my bachelor degree dissertation. Being able to actually contribute to the knowledge base that builds up the reasoning for decision-making of such big corporations like BP is something I never expected to achieve during my undergraduate studies.
"I have had the opportunity to meet and talk to environmental experts from across the world who in turn are also interested in the research that I am doing. For the first time, it feels like my work really matters and that I can make a difference."
Astrid also became the president of the Estonian and Estonian Friends' Society during her time in Manchester.
Martin Davidson, Chief Executive of the British Council, said, “Studying overseas is an incredibly exciting and rewarding experience, building life-long international friendships, understanding and trust. International students make a huge contribution to life here because they create a greater understanding of the world in the UK and they help create a greater understanding of the UK throughout the world. This competition is a fantastic opportunity for them to show the world what they’ve achieved and learnt while studying in the UK.”
Notes for editors
Contact:
Jon Keighren
Media Relations Manager
The University of Manchester
0161 275 8384
Additional information
There are currently more than 460,000 international students studying in higher and further education in UK. More than 20, 850 studied at UK independent schools in 2006-7, while an estimated 600,000 international students come to the UK to learn English every year, on a wide variety of courses. The most recent estimate of the economic contribution of international students to the UK is £12.5 billion per year.
Major international figures that have studied in the UK include former US president Bill Clinton, former Indian Prime Minister Indira Ghandi, sculptor Anish Kapoor, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, fashion designer Rifat Ozbek, authors Jung Chang and Vikram Seth, and Malaysian-born shoe designer Jimmy Choo.
The International Student Awards are open to international students studying full-time at UK universities, colleges, English language schools and boarding schools, on courses lasting six months or more.
Entrants are grouped into regions - North West, Yorkshire, North East, West Midlands, East Midlands, East of England, South West, London, South East, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
Each of the 12 regional finalists will be invited to an unforgettable trip to London for a two-day celebration in April that will include a night’s accommodation in the capital city and a place at the prestigious awards’ presentation dinner.
The British Council
The British Council is the UK’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations.
For more information, please visit www.britishcouncil.org
Source: Media-Newswire.com/28.03.10
Astrid Tishler from Estonia has been named the North West’s International Student of the Year 2010 in the prestigious competition from the British Council.
Now Astrid from the School of Earth, Atmospheric and and Environmental Sciences is preparing to challenge for the title of overall International Student of the Year 2010. As one of 12 regional winners she will travel to London in April to meet a final judging panel, before going on to have her achievements honoured in a national awards ceremony.
In addition, MACE student Muhanad Fakhri from Sudan and Asad Kamran Ghalib from Pakistan, based in the School of Environment and Dervelopment, have both been named runners-up in the regional finals.
The three were among more than 1,300 students, from 118 countries to enter the eighth annual International Student Awards – a major initiative from the British Council that shines the spotlight on international students and their contributions to life in the UK.
In a bid to take home a prize, students studying at universities, colleges of further and higher education, schools and English language institutions across England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales shared stories about the extra-curricular achievements that illustrate how they are making the most of their time in the UK.
To enter, each student was asked to write a personal ‘letter home’ in English, detailing the out-of-class achievements that help make their time in the UK so rewarding.
A judging panel met last month to discuss the merits of short-listed entries from the region. Astrid’s letter was judged to be the North West’s most impressive and she will receive a £1,000 prize. The ultimate winner of the International Student of the Year title will receive a £2,000 prize at the competition final, to be held in London in April.
As part of her winning entry, Astrid wrote: "The experience and opportunity I am the most grateful of all, is my research in the development of sustainable management in collaboration with BP for my bachelor degree dissertation. Being able to actually contribute to the knowledge base that builds up the reasoning for decision-making of such big corporations like BP is something I never expected to achieve during my undergraduate studies.
"I have had the opportunity to meet and talk to environmental experts from across the world who in turn are also interested in the research that I am doing. For the first time, it feels like my work really matters and that I can make a difference."
Astrid also became the president of the Estonian and Estonian Friends' Society during her time in Manchester.
Martin Davidson, Chief Executive of the British Council, said, “Studying overseas is an incredibly exciting and rewarding experience, building life-long international friendships, understanding and trust. International students make a huge contribution to life here because they create a greater understanding of the world in the UK and they help create a greater understanding of the UK throughout the world. This competition is a fantastic opportunity for them to show the world what they’ve achieved and learnt while studying in the UK.”
Notes for editors
Contact:
Jon Keighren
Media Relations Manager
The University of Manchester
0161 275 8384
Additional information
There are currently more than 460,000 international students studying in higher and further education in UK. More than 20, 850 studied at UK independent schools in 2006-7, while an estimated 600,000 international students come to the UK to learn English every year, on a wide variety of courses. The most recent estimate of the economic contribution of international students to the UK is £12.5 billion per year.
Major international figures that have studied in the UK include former US president Bill Clinton, former Indian Prime Minister Indira Ghandi, sculptor Anish Kapoor, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, fashion designer Rifat Ozbek, authors Jung Chang and Vikram Seth, and Malaysian-born shoe designer Jimmy Choo.
The International Student Awards are open to international students studying full-time at UK universities, colleges, English language schools and boarding schools, on courses lasting six months or more.
Entrants are grouped into regions - North West, Yorkshire, North East, West Midlands, East Midlands, East of England, South West, London, South East, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
Each of the 12 regional finalists will be invited to an unforgettable trip to London for a two-day celebration in April that will include a night’s accommodation in the capital city and a place at the prestigious awards’ presentation dinner.
The British Council
The British Council is the UK’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations.
For more information, please visit www.britishcouncil.org
Source: Media-Newswire.com/28.03.10