Around nine Pakistanis have been selected in the categories of entrepreneurial, professional achievement, and social impact for a prestigious award celebrating the outstanding achievements of the UK’s international alumni.
According to a press release here Friday, top alumni have been selected from more than a global total of 1200 applicants, many of whom were nominated by their host UK universities.
The British Council announced the finalists for a prestigious award celebrating the outstanding achievements of the UK’s international alumni, with fourteen awards ceremonies taking place this year in Egypt, Ghana, Greece, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Turkey and the US.
The selected students for Professional Achievement Awards University include Umar Saif of University of Cambridge, Amna Zamir of University of Leicester and Usman Qamar of University of Manchester.
In the Entrepreneurial Awards category, Ahmed Daniyal Siddiqui of University of Strathclyde, Nousheen Zakaria of University of Leeds, University of Sheffield and Muhammad Sibtain Jiwani of Manchester Metropolitan University have been nominated.
Social Impact Awards contenders are Abia Akram of University of Warwick, Muhammad Kamran Siddiqui of Queen Mary University of London and Moneeza Burney of Sheffield Hallam University.
The Study UK Alumni Awards, created by the British Council in partnership with UK higher education institutions, are intended to recognise outstanding success in entrepreneurship, professional achievement, and social impact by people who have studied at UK higher education institutions within the last 15 years.
Applications were received from alumni in 14 countries from more than 125 UK universities in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
They were then reviewed by judging panels in the applicant’s country of entry, and their respective university.
Bryony Inge, Alumni Campaign Manager at the British Council said: “We had more than a thousand excellent nominations and selecting the finalists was difficult: they are a representation of so many outstanding alumni doing amazing things, and they all deserve to be celebrated. These alumni are a credit to their universities and will serve as an inspiration to the next generation of international students.”
Rosemary Hilhorst, Director of British Council Pakistan added: “I am delighted that Pakistan is hosting the Alumni Awards for the second consecutive year. … The award is all about honouring the success of individuals whose achievements here in Pakistan have been, in some measure, influenced by their experience of studying at a UK university. We celebrate with them and congratulate them not only on their impressive professional successes but in their capacity as ‘ambassadors’ for UK higher education.”
Legendary shoe designer and UK alumnus Professor Jimmy Choo, OBE, is Global Ambassador of the Alumni Awards. “I am delighted to support the Alumni Awards 2017 as Global Ambassador. Studying in the UK was an experience that changed my life and contributed to my success today. It is an honour to be supporting today’s recent outstanding UK university alumni by sharing their success stories and positive impact on the world,” he said.
