LONDON: Oxford Pakistan has announced the “Tareen Oxford Scholarship” for deserving Pakistani students, mostly from South Punjab.
Oxford Pakistan, in a statement, said that the scholarship would be awarded to the students who have an admission offer for one of the eligible graduate courses offered at Oxford’s Kellogg College.
The statement said, “preference would be given to the students for whom the scholarship would be a life-changing opportunity and who have the potential and commitment to contribute to the development of South Punjab.”
The scholarship would cover tuition fee and living costs for the students as part of the Oxford Pakistan graduate scholarship programme, through which at least three graduate scholarships are awarded yearly to Pakistani and British Pakistani students.
The scholarship, made possible with the support of Ali Tareen, an alumnus of Kellogg College, Oxford, would be established as a five-year programme, with aid being donated annually and disbursed on a rolling basis.
This opportunity would play a crucial, foundational role in uplifting talented young scholars from South Punjab, one of Pakistan’s most underdeveloped regions.
“The scholarship wouldn’t only benefit the awardees and create a positive spillover in raising aspirations of similar talented scholars in the communities from which Tareen scholars will be drawn. It would also be a significant step towards creating a more diverse and inclusive academic community at Oxford,” the statement said.
This programme would consist of two initiatives: An access programme for final-year Pakistani students applying for graduate degrees would feature an access conference for final-year students from South Punjab, applying for MSc and PhD degrees abroad. The primary 20 attendees at the access conference would be offered one-on-one mentorship with an Oxford student and recent alumni, free of cost.
Similarly, 100 Pakistani students would be selected from South Punjab and have either topped their FSc or first-year public sector university toppers. These students would be provided with mentorship on how to make the next three to four years, guidance on career prospects, and one-on-one mentorship to help them aspire to be the best minds internationally.
