ANTARCTICA
Tonight I’m going to talk to you about that remarkable continent Antarctica – remote, hostile and at present uninhabited on a permanent basis. For early explorers, it was the ultimate survival contest; for researchers like me, it remains a place of great intellectual challenge; while for the modern tourist, it’s simply a wilderness of great beauty.
‘Student Life’. Video Project
TUTOR : First of ail I’d just like to say, Cristina and Ibrahim, that I really enjoyed watching your video about student life last week, and I could see that the rest of the group did too. You did really well, and I hope that you got a lot out of it. I’d like to use this tutorial as a feedback session, where you reflect on the experience of doing the project. So, Cristina, I was wondering, what did you enjoy most about making the video?
CRISTINA : I liked using the camera.
Scholarships and Funding
LECTURER :
Welcome to this presentation on scholarships and funding. If you are hoping for help with funding your studies in the UK, you need to get working on this as soon as you can – it is almost impossible to make arrangements for financial support once you have left your own country. Start by inquiring with your own Ministry of Education or department of Education. Your local British Council office can provide details of awards available including those offered by UK institutions themselves.
You’ll also find information and a scholarships database on their website. The main scholarship schemes available for international students include British Education Scholarships, Commonwealth Scholarships, Foreign Office Scholarships and Overseas Students Research Awards.
British Education Scholarships are prestigious awards enabling talented international students to study in the UK at postgraduate level. Only students studying for at least one academic year are eligible. About 2,000 new scholarships are currently awarded each year and there are plans to expand the programme further. There are 3 types of scholarship. The first is a full award, where all the fees, a living allowance and travel to and from the UK are paid for. Then there is a fee-only award, where all or part of the fees are paid. Finally, there is a partial award, where a combination of the fees and the allowances are paid. The value of the scholarship will vary, depending on the type of the award, the length of the course and the country from which the student comes, but it is up to a maximum of 20,000 pounds. Contact the British Council or the British Embassy in 12 your own country for details. You must be resident in your home country when you apply.
Commonwealth Scholarships are awards mainly for postgraduate study, although funding for undergraduate study may be possible if there are no suitable undergraduate courses in your home country. You must be a citizen of a Commonwealth country, including the UK. A university degree, or equivalent, is usually required. Apply to the British Council office in your country. You must be resident in your own country when you apply. About 3,000 of these scholarships are awarded each year and their value ranges from 5,000 to 15,000 pounds.
Foreign Office Scholarships are a joint initiative by the Foreign Office and certain UK higher education institutions. The awards are normally given for taught postgraduate courses. In rare cases, an award may be made for undergraduate study if the course is not available at an institution in your home country. They are funded by the Foreign Office and participating UK higher education institutions. You must normally be under 35 years of age. You must be resident in a developing country, and you must not be currently employed by your government or by an international organisation– You should be planning to study a subject related to development and be fluent in English. Apply directly to one of the participating institutions. You can ask for a list of participating institutions from the British Embassy in your country or your local British Council office.
Only about 500 of these awards are made each year and their value ranges from 7,000 to 12,000 pounds. Overseas Students Research Awards are awards for full-time postgraduate study, for a period of one year. They make up the difference between home and overseas students’ fees. They are funded by the ministry of Education. You must be a postgraduate research student at a publicly funded higher education institution in the UK. You will need to demonstrate academic merits and research potential. Application forms are available from UK higher education institutions, so contact the one where you want to study. For further information, contact the OSRA office via their website – www.osra.org. Actually, you can email them at osra@osra.org. On average, 1000 of these scholarships are awarded each year and the maximum amount is 25,000 pounds per scholarship.
BICYCLES FOR THE WORLD
My name’s Dan Pearman and I’d like to talk about the work of Pedal Power, a small charity based mainly in the UK. I’ll be giving our contact details at the end, if anyone would like to find out more about how to support us.
But first, how the charity began. I got the idea of exporting bicycles to developing countries while I was in Ecuador. I went there in 1993 just after graduating from university.