Education has been on my mind recently. On a personal level, my daughters are settling into school and nursery. But the last ten days in the office have also been a crash course in the links between Sri Lankan and UK educational establishments, and an opportunity to chat to an inspiring mix of past, present and future students.
First up last Tuesday were the MAS summer interns, a bunch of 20-odd bright young undergrads, drawn from Sri Lankan home and overseas students as well as the diaspora and Malaysia. The brilliant programme is designed both as early leadership training, but also to show young people the range and level of opportunities on the island. MAS has a very close link with the UK apparel markets, and is developing partnerships with our top research universities, so part of the course involves coming to the British High Commission to ask about the business of foreign policy. I’d expected a grilling on the Middle East, but was challenged instead about how to find agency within large organisations, moral conflicts and working motherhood. On Saturday, I saw what this group was capable of at Akasha 2014, a dazzling fashion show at Independence Square Arcade, put together at three weeks’ notice. It was also good to see that many of the brilliant young designers had trained in London, shown at London Fashion Week or worked in partnership with major British brands.
Two days later, the focus was science, at a reception to launch the collaboration between Edinburgh Napier University and Spectrum Institute of Science and Technology (SIST). Again, the students were impressive: aspirant cancer, genetics and forensics researchers.
And the programme is great, filling a significant gap – there haven’t traditionally been many internationally accredited options to study health and life sciences in Sri Lanka – and so precisely matched to the course in Scotland that students will have the opportunity to exchange for a term or two.
More and more UK universities are following this model, which gives students access to UK academic excellence without the cost and disruption of travelling overseas. Edinburgh Napier is one of over 30 UK tertiary and further education providers active in Sri Lanka. Over 50% of undergraduate degrees from private institutions here come from UK universities.
Of course, many students still choose to travel to the UK – around 7,000 a year from Sri Lanka. Earlier this week, I celebrated the success of our two 2014/2015 Chevening Scholars, who leave next month for the London School of Economics and the University of Birmingham. The Chevening scheme marks its 30th anniversary this year. To celebrate that, the UK Government has significantly expanded the number of scholarships available, so I am looking forward to a bumper crop of applications this year! Do register on www.chevening.org and apply online by 15 November. Since 1984, over 110 Sri Lankans and Maldivians have won Chevening scholarships and fellowships, and many of them came to Westminster House to help send off this year’s scholars.
Amidst the many criticisms of British weather (not that bad, surely?) I was heartened to find the same sense of family that characterises Chevening alumni worldwide. For many scholars, their time in the UK has made them sufficiently fond of the country that they are willing to put time and thought into telling us honestly what’s working and what’s not. It’s advice I’ve already benefitted from here.
I can’t finish without a reminder to all students to get their visa applications in as early as they can. For any Maldives-based travellers, do take advantage of the Visa Application Centre we will be operating in Male’ on 27 August.