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Imperial College Business School hosted a Scholarship Winners’ Reception to celebrate the major scholarship winners joining the MBA and MSc programmes in September 2019.
The 34 scholarship students enjoyed networking, drinks and canapes, as well as speeches from Associate Dean Leila Guerra and Executive Director of Marketing, Recruitment, and Admissions Joël McConnell.
Leila began the evening by telling the students about how recipients are chosen.
Over the last week you’ve heard us say to your classmates that you are the best of the best. Tonight, I could say, you’re the best of the best of the best, but I don’t want to do that, because Imperial is a bit different. Our values, our priorities and the way we do things tend to be slightly different. So for our scholarships, we also always try to make sure that when we select candidates, we try to reach that extra mile, and find that extra variety.
MSc scholarship recipients
The scholarships awarded to MSc students included:
- Brilliant Minds Scholarship
- Bseisu-Imperial College Business School Scholarship
- Entrepreneurship Scholarship
- Future Leaders Scholarship
- Global Leadership Scholarship
- Imperial College Scholarship
- The Lee Family – Imperial College Business School Scholarship
- Social Impact Scholarship
- Technology and Innovation Scholarship
- Women in Finance Scholarship
It’s the second year that the Bseisu-Imperial College Business School Scholarship, for high-achieving students from Palestine, Syria, Lebanon or Jordan, was awarded. This year, it was given to MSc Finance & Accounting student Hoda Elrayes.
“This scholarship means a lot because the Finance programmes here at Imperial are very practical and career orientated, and it’s something I did not have the opportunity to have back home,” said Hoda.
“I come from Gaza, which is a war zone, and we don’t have that level of exposure to international firms, and such career-focused programmes. I feel like my hard work paid off to be on the same level as those who lived in developed countries where financial services are a work opportunity.”
Aksah Khan, Women in Finance scholar and MSc Finance student, agrees, saying receiving the award meant she knew she now had access to a great education. “I would say with Imperial, speaking to alumni and staff, it was really clear the Careers department is phenomenal here - it’s unparalleled compared to other universities and Master’s programmes. For my programme, it is top in London and one of the top in the world, and it’s a completely world-class education.”
Women in Finance scholars My Nga Luong, Hannah Slagsvold, Yanina Opanasenko, Anastasia Malakhova, and Thea Constantinou
Our new MSc International Management Global Leadership Scholarship is available to applicants demonstrating an outstanding track record of leadership and/or outstanding leadership potential, along with a focused career plan.
Maria Yatsenko was awarded the scholarship and said, “It was incredibly nice to think that amongst all the people that have been chosen, my work has been appreciated.” Maria added that she chose to study MSc International Management at Imperial because ‘it was the best out there’.
“I’ve looked through all different business programmes, and I came to the conclusion that Imperial came first. Obviously, the Business School has the rankings and is renowned for its approach. I thought the MSc International Management programme is very globally orientated which is very important for today’s world.”
Alejandro Nicoli is an MSc Investment & Wealth Management student who received the W L “Bill” Byrnes scholarship, which honours the memory of Bill Byrnes, who played a significant role in the development of Fidelity as an international investment management business.
Alejandro said that there were two words that define how he feels about receiving the award.
"The first word is opportunity. Coming from Venezuela, which is in absolute turmoil, it means I have an opportunity to take as much as I can, not for myself, but to give it to as many people as I can, which is exactly what I want to do.
"The second word is commitment. At the end of the day, when you get a scholarship you feel more committed to the university and most importantly, to yourself. It sounds kind of cliché, but you want to do something not only for yourself but for something bigger than yourself."
MBA scholarship recipients
For MBA students, the range of scholarships
- Advisory Board Scholarship
- Dean's Excellence Award
- Forté Fellowship
- Future Leaders Scholarship
- Riley Family Scholarship
- Reaching Out MBA Fellowship
- Imperial Women’s Scholarships
Full-Time MBA student Kwaku Koranteng, who received a Future Leaders scholarship, joins the Business School after working at Goldman Sachs and completing a Master’s in the USA.
“Following my Master’s I knew I wanted to go to business school, to gain further understanding in other aspects of business that had nothing to do with finance as that had been my background,” he said.
“I was looking for programmes, and Imperial’s stood out to me because I like the practical approach to the course, which is something I felt was not as emphasised in other programmes. I also liked the fact that there was the ability to leverage the other divisions and departments at Imperial, so you can leverage the technology and science departments as well to build on ideas.”
From left to right: Future Leaders scholarship recipients Oscar Buckle, Briana Johnston, Tolga Gonullu and Kwaku Koranteng
Briana Johnston on the Full-Time MBA, Forté Fellow and Future Leaders scholarship recipient said receiving the scholarships motivates her to become a leader at Imperial, as well as for women in business around the world.
“Receiving a scholarship was a very humbling and motivating experience. It gives me confidence in my decision to pursue a career abroad and lessens the worry I have about the financial burden that pursuing an MBA can bring.”
Briana Johnston and the other Forté Fellows Karoline Huber, Rhea Singhla and Lizzie Petykowski
Dan Haller, Senior Project Manager at TIGNUM, Dean’s Excellence Award winner and Global Online MBA student, said he feels honoured and grateful to receive the award.
“The award also comes with a responsibility: I feel inspired to take more ownership in my role as a leader to help my peers in my cohort get the most out of our two years at Imperial and have more confidence in pursuing a path of making sustainable and meaningful impact in the future,” he said.
Dan said that he chose Imperial as it is ‘at the forefront of leveraging science and technology expertise to offer world-class business education to tackle emerging global challenges’.
“In my case, the high flexibility offered through the Global Online MBA was another key criterion allowing me to keep my full-time job in Germany while preparing for new and exciting chapters in life.”
From left to right: Leila Guerra, the Dean’s Excellence Award winners Cen Liu, Giulia Macagno, Dan Haller, and Joel McConnell
Another Global Online MBA student who was awarded a scholarship was Nairah Rasul-Syed, Medical Director at vHealth, Aetna International, who received a Women's Award. She said, “I feel privileged to be the recipient of a Women's Award, and believe that the next two years will be transformational. The Global Online MBA is a huge opportunity for me to learn and network within a community of successful leaders and professionals.”
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