This week we welcomed our students from the UK and worldwide from as far afield as Canada, China, Greece, India, Ireland, Jamaica, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Sudan and Zambia, to both of our MSc in Health Informatics and MSc in Health Data Science courses.
Chevening scholarships are the UK government’s global scholarship programme, funded by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and partner organisations, and recipients are personally selected by British Embassies and High Commissions around the world with the intent to develop global leaders.
This year, our MSc in Health Informatics course includes a record number of Chevening scholars with students coming from Jamaica, Sudan and Zambia.
Chevening scholarships enable outstanding emerging leaders from all over the world to pursue one year full master’s degrees in the UK and the selection process is highly competitive. Candidates are chosen on the basis of attaining previous academic success, who have the potential to become leaders.
They must also demonstrate a track record in rising to prominent positions in their home countries. This unique opportunity supports exceptional individuals to study at a UK university, many of whom return home to enable change and transform communities.
Abrahim Simmonds, one of our Chevening Scholars (who was also the 2017 recipient of The Queen’s Young Leader Award for Jamaica), and a student of the MSc in Health Informatics, said: “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and, without a doubt I wanted to do the MSc in Health Informatics at Swansea University Medical School, so the MSc in Health Informatics was naturally my first choice of subject and university when I applied for Chevening Scholarship.
“I was a Technical Officer for the LINKAGES Project in Jamaica. I supported the implementation of ICT-related activities that helped to extend the reach of services to key populations affected by HIV mainly in Jamaica, while providing technical assistance to Suriname, Barbados, and Trinidad and Tobago.
“Studying at Swansea University will help me to enhance my knowledge and skills as a health informatician as the course is based within the Population Data Science group at Swansea University Medical School, the founder institution of the world famous SAIL Databank.”
Professor Keith Lloyd, Head of Swansea University Medical School, said: “The medical school is a world leader in population data science so it is a huge pleasure to welcome students from across the world to our health informatics and health data science MSc courses.”
Tony Paget, Associate Professor and Programme Director of the MSc in Health Informatics and MSc in Health Data Science courses, said:
“We are delighted that many international students have chosen to study both of our MSc Health Informatics and Health Data Science courses, providing a richer and more diverse experience for both our UK students and other international students.”
Professor David Ford, Professor of Informatics and Co-Director of the Population Data Science Group at Swansea University Medical School, said: “We are proud to host our Chevening scholars who are studying our MSc in Health Informatics course at Swansea University Medical School – a fact that we believe is testament not only to the high quality of our master’s courses, but also to our commitment to embed an international dimension in all our teaching activities.”
Visit our MSc Health Informatics page for further information on the course.