British Petroleum Egypt has held an event to celebrate the graduation of the 100th student in the post graduate studies it sponsors within its Egypt Cambridge scholarships programme.
In collaboration with the Cambridge Commonwealth, European and International Trust, BP Egypt has since 2001 annually offered a number of scholarships for Egyptian graduates with outstanding academic merit to pursue a one year postgraduate study at the University of Cambridge. Scholarships are awarded in all subjects available at the University of Cambridge. Preference is given to candidates seeking master’s degrees in petroleum related studies. However other studies like business, economics and development studies are also available.
Minister of Petroleum, Tarek al-Molla, and Minister of Higher Education, Khaled Abdel-Ghaffar attended the BP celebration which BP Regional President of North Africa, Hesham Mekkawy, also participated in. The eight graduates who acquired their Master’s degree from Cambridge within the BP Egypt Cambridge Scholarships for 2017/2018 were also invited by BP.
Molla applauded the BP initiative which, he said, greatly supports gifted researchers and contributes to sustainable development. He explained that BP and other oil companies operating in Egypt are active contributors in various fields such as education and healthcare, boosting thus sustainable development. He also reminded that BP is a time honoured strategic partner to Egypt, and has always actively participated in various societal development projects. Mr Molla explained that the petroleum sector in Egypt strongly believes in investing in human resources which he explained is the cornerstone of development in any nation.
The Minister of Higher Education commended the Ministry of Petroleum and BP for the support and great opportunity they offer to gifted graduates. He also called for doubling the number of students benefiting from the BP initiative, suggesting to sign a protocol of cooperation with BP.
Mr Mekkawy said that BP is happy to be adopting a sustainable programme that invests in human development and enhances calibre building in Egypt. These high quality calibres will eventually add to the economic value of the country through their knowledge and unique skills, he said. He pointed out that graduates of the BP Cambridge Scholarship are required to work in Egypt once they get their master degree for at least two years. He said that 35 per cent of those who benefitted from the programme were female.
Watani International
28 August 2018