Oxford University to Offer Post-Graduate Scholarships to BGU Students
Oxford University to Offer Post-Graduate Scholarships to BGU Students
June 29, 2011
BEER-SHEVA, ISRAEL and OXFORD, ENGLAND, June 29, 2011 – The University of Oxford, one of the world’s premier universities, will be offering post-graduate scholarships to Ben-Gurion University of the Negev graduates, the two universities announced.
“This is the first time that any Israeli university has partnered with Oxford University,” said Rector Frances Cairncross, noting that the connection will hopefully nurture personal relationships between the two universities.
The Rivka Carmi Scholarships, named in honor of BGU’s president, will be offered at Exeter College, Oxford and will be open to master’s and Ph.D. graduates of any disciplines, with priority given to outstanding candidates who are women, minorities or from disadvantaged backgrounds.
BGU President Prof. Rivka Carmi is the first woman president of an Israeli university and was the first female dean of an Israeli medical school. Carmi has also devoted much of her professional career – both medical and administrative – to working with those on the margins of society, striving to improve their lives.
“The Rivka Carmi Scholarships will broaden the horizons of BGU students through the one-of-a-kind relationship with this exceptional educational institute,” said Prof. Raymond Dwek, of the Glycobiology Institute at Oxford and emeritus fellow of Exeter College. He has been a close partner in creating the scholarships, as well as the British-Israel Life Sciences Council of which he and Prof. Carmi co-chair.
Dwek notes that collaboration between Oxford and BGU was foretold by the visionary first prime minister of Israel, David Ben-Gurion, who once remarked, “…I dream of a sort of Hebrew Oxford in the Negev.”
“I am humbled and honored by the initiative of BGU’s great supporter and my personal advisor and friend Prof. Raymond Dwek, whose commitment to help BGU realize David Ben-Gurion’s dream to create an Oxford in the desert has inspired us all,” Prof. Carmi said. “I hope that this initiative will open new opportunities for collaborations between the two universities to promote education and science.”
Oxford University’s registrar, Prof. Ewan McKendrick, welcomed the scholarships as a “refreshing idea for promoting all that is best at universities.”
ABOUT AMERICANS FOR BEN-GURION UNIVERSITY
By supporting a world-class academic institution that not only nurtures the Negev, but also shares its expertise locally and globally, Americans for Ben-Gurion University engages a community of Americans who are committed to improving the world. David Ben-Gurion envisioned that Israel’s future would be forged in the Negev. The cutting-edge research carried out at Ben-Gurion University drives that vision by sustaining a desert Silicon Valley, with the “Stanford of the Negev” at its center. The Americans for Ben-Gurion University movement supports a 21st century unifying vision for Israel by rallying around BGU’s remarkable work and role as an apolitical beacon of light in the Negev desert.
About Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev embraces the endless potential we have as individuals and as a commonality to adapt and to thrive in changing environments. Inspired by our location in the desert, we aim to discover, to create, and to develop solutions to dynamic challenges, to pose questions that have yet to be asked, and to push beyond the boundaries of the commonly accepted and possible.
We are proud to be a central force for inclusion, diversity and innovation in Israel, and we strive to extend the Negev’s potential and our entrepreneurial spirit throughout the world. For example, the multi-disciplinary School for Sustainability and Climate Change at BGU leverages over 50 years of expertise on living and thriving in the desert into scalable solutions for people everywhere.
BGU at a glance:
20,000 students | 800 senior faculty | 3 campuses | 6 faculties: humanities & social sciences, health sciences, engineering sciences, natural sciences, business & management, and desert research.
For all press inquiries, please contact:
James Fattal, J Cubed Communications
516.289.1496
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