by Irina Tanase, October 2023
Meeting our Scholarship Students – pure inspiration about how to make one’s dreams come true
This year, Oslo International Rotary Club has set off one of the most ambitious journeys of our Club so far. Our Project Committee proposed during the last Rotary year that we should support through our Scholarship Program at The Sylhet Agricultural University from Bangladesh no less than ten new, brilliant students coming from socially vulnerable families, and our Club approved the proposition.
While it was incredibly courageous of us to suddenly increase the number of scholarships from six to ten, we could not be prouder of our students. They are all enrolled in Bachelor or Masters’ study programs of the highest relevance for the global Agricultural sector: Agricultural Economics, Veterinary Medicine, Biotechnology, Fisheries, Agriculture, and Agricultural Engineering. At the beginning of October, our Club had an online meeting with our students, when we got the chance to become better known with each other.
We were thrilled to learn about what they like about their studies, how they approach the challenges of student life and what ambitions and dreams they have for their future. All of them are really studying hard and are building a solid foundation for a successful future, either in the academic field or in the agricultural industry. During the meeting, we were especially moved by a Bengali song in the interpretation of Pinky Debnath, one of our Masters’ students that has also been a part of our Scholarship Program through her Bachelor Studies.
Providing us with another special moment of our digital gathering, Tarin Tabaschum, a dedicated scholar currently pursuing a Master of Science (MS) studies in Agricultural Construction and Environmental Engineering at Sylhet Agricultural University, shared with us the wonderful news of receiving the prestigious Vice Chancellor Award. This award is the highest academic recognition at The Sylhet Agricultural University, and it acknowledges her exceptional academic performance over the last two semesters.
Our Club has started the Scholarship Program in 2012. So far, more than 30 students at The Sylhet Agricultural University from Bangladesh have been enrolled in our Program. They are working hard to achieve wonderful results, they are impressing both locally and internationally, many of them continuing to contribute as tutors, researchers, or teachers at their university, while others are registered in international study or research programs or have already joined some of the most important companies in the field of Agriculture. All of them are doing their best to value the support that they have been provided with through the OIRC Scholarship, to pass forward the change to academic education, and to contribute to innovation and development in their field of study.
The Oslo International Rotary Club Scholarship Program is the most important project that our Club is developing. The program’s pillars lie in our Club’s vision of making a change through supporting access to education, in our values building on enabling young people to make a difference, and in Rotary’s philosophy to act through and develop fellowship of business, professional, and community leaders.
The success of our program has inspired others to join us. Thus, Skaugum Rotary Club has joined our efforts in supporting our scholarship. If you or someone you know finds inspiration in our efforts and would like to join us, let us know by sending an email to oslointernational@rotary.no.
