March 26, 2015

Get A Foreign Scholarship


PHNOM PENH (Khmer Times) – Hard work and reluctance to give up help to explain the success of Uk Sovannara.  He never hesitates before a challenge and tries not to leave an opportunity unused.  

Mr. Sovannara, age 24, has won a scholarship for research study in Japan. He majored in civil engineering and graduated with a  bachelor’s degree from Institute of Technology of Cambodia. He specialized in water resources and rural infrastructure engineering.

Mr. Sovannara has gained experience in his field by taking short course classes and seminars overseas, in the US and Japan. 

He built on these educational experiences to get the scholarship. 

He recommends students who want to follow in his footsteps to search for scholarship opportunities on the web, focusing on universities in their area of specialty. They must have the self-confidence to apply for scholarships too.

“If you just know [about scholarship opportunities], but you don’t go for it, you will never ever receive that scholarship,” Mr. Sovannara said, stating the obvious.

Based on his experience, students must know where a desired scholarship is available, its requirements, conditions, and selection processes. 

Scholarship providers ask applicants to submit academic transcripts, letters of recommendation, and other necessary documents. Thus, students need to read instructions carefully and prepare documents accordingly.

“After checking all necessary information about that scholarship, what you need to do is to apply for it,” he said. 

After the application form is filled out and submitted most of the institutions offering scholarships may require one to write a personal statement and/or present a study plan or research proposal. 

He said that he believes that Cambodia’s youth have the potential to develop the country further. 

“There are a lot of outstanding students out there, but some of them are not well-informed,” he said. “They just need guidance to show them the way.”  

He pointed out that Cambodia is in dire need of highly trained men and women to fulfill critical needs, He, for one, plans to work in the field of water resource engineering after graduation. 

“To be a researcher in the field of water resources is a job I would like to do,” Mr. Sovannara said. “Water resource engineering plays a pivotal role in transforming people’s way of life.”

About half of all Cambodians are engaged in agriculture, he noted.

“If we travel across the country, we will see that there are not enough irrigation systems,” said Mr. Sovannara.

“We need to do more research regarding water resource management, allocation, and the like,” he said, warming to his favorite subject.  

“We are living in a society that depends on agriculture, so we must consider maximizing the productivity of agriculture by improving the irrigation systems and water resource management.”

Source: Khmer Times

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