British Council IELTS Prize Helps Students in the Philippines to Make Their Mark Through International Study and Realise Their Dreams

• The UK�s international organisation for educational and cultural opportunities announces the East Asian winners of its prestigious IELTS Prize
• 27 talented students from across East Asia, including three from the Philippines, will receive a share of GBP 72,000 prize fund helping them to realise international study ambitions
• Winners of the 2022 British Council IELTS Prize in the Philippines will pursue their study in the UK and Germany
• IELTS Top Tips Sharing with the IELTS Prize winners will be held on 13 October 2022 to celebrate all winners in the presence of their family, friends, and the next potential winners.

MANILA, PHILIPPINES – Media OutReach – 28 September 2022 – The British Council, the UK’s international organisation for educational and cultural opportunities, has announced the winners of the 2022 IELTS Prize. This year, 27 talented students from across East Asia, including three from the Philippines, will receive a share of the GBP 72,000 prize fund, helping them pursue their dream of studying abroad. Now in its tenth year, the IELTS Prize has awarded more than 330 students to date, supporting outstanding talents in pursuing their education.

The British Council received over 1,600 applications, of which we interviewed over 70 exceptional individuals. They not only excel at their IELTS test but are also intentional and driven to make a change for the community and the society.

Three local IELTS Prize winners from the Philippines

Recipients of the 2022 local IELTS Prize from the Philippines are Anna Madel Asuncion, Jay Paul Ely Tena and Julian Andrei Imperial.

First Prize winner, Anna Madel Asuncion, says she is honoured to be a British Council IELTS Ambassador. Asuncion will pursue MA in Youth and Community Leadership at the University of Northampton with the help of the IELTS Prize. ‘This opportunity will not only allow me to accomplish my own goals, but it is also a great platform to inspire other young people that they, too, can dream bigger dreams,’ she shares.

Asuncion is a big advocate of improving access to quality education, pursuing a career with Edukasyon PH, one of the pioneering EdTech start-ups in the country. She hopes that through this opportunity, she can encourage other aspiring international students as they find growth beyond their comfort zones and embrace new cultures.

Heather Forbes, Regional Exams Marketing Head in Asia Pacific said,

“The IELTS Prize recognises those high performing students that demonstrate the academic excellence and commitment to the communities they belong to. More importantly, the winners show the determination to take what they learnt during their time abroad and utilise their knowledge and specialties to benefit their home countries once they return.”

Lotus Postrado, Director Philippines said,

“Filipino students have always been go-getters and achievers. With education a priority for the British Council, we are pleased to provide this opportunity for ambitious and brilliant individuals so they can take another step towards their goals to benefit the world. We believe that promoting international studies is key to students’ success in the rapidly evolving multicultural world.”

Millions of students had to readjust their study plans due to the continued disruption of the pandemic. IELTS, the world’s popular high-stakes English proficiency test, has been a crucial part of students’ entry requirements, especially for East Asia which is one of the largest markets for students wishing to study in the United Kingdom, the US, Canada and Australia.

IELTS Top Tips Sharing with the IELTS Prize winners

The British Council in East Asia also invites all students planning to study abroad and interested in taking IELTS tests to the IELTS Top Tips Sharing with the IELTS Prize winners which will be live streamed on British Council IELTS Facebook pages across East Asia on 13 October. The online event is open to anyone, and it will be great opportunity to learn from the IELTS Prize winners’ on how to ace IELTS test and how their lives have and will change as they embark on their new study journey.

For more information about IELTS prize, visit https://www.ieltsasia.org/ieltsprize

Notes to Editors:

About IELTS Prize
Since 2011, the British Council IELTS Prize (East Asia) has enabled more than 330 IELTS test takers to pursue their studies around the world, including the UK, USA, Canada, Australia, and more.

The IELTS Prize is awarded to high-calibre individuals with the motivation to develop their career, to pursue an undergraduate or postgraduate degree in any chosen discipline in a higher education institution that accepts IELTS as part of its admission requirements around the world. While the IELTS Prize is not aimed at students in any one particular discipline, the British Council is eager to support test takers who demonstrate the potential to contribute to society with what they have gained from their undergraduate or postgraduate study experience.

More information can be found at https://www.ieltsasia.org/ieltsprize.

2022 IELTS Prize winner list

Country	Name	University	Subject/programme
HK
1	Joelle Chow	London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine	Public Health
2	Nicole Yu	Concordia University	Biology
3	Gabrielle Tse	The University of Edinburgh	Comparative Literature MSc
KR
1	Soo Hyun Lee	Goldsmiths, University of London	MFA Fine Art
2	Hyeji Kang	Duke University	MSN (Family Nursing)
3	Jeong Mo Choi	UAL Central Saint Martins	Industrial and Product Design
TW
1	Tsung-Yen Hsieh	University College London	Language Sciences (Neuroscience, Language & Communication)
2	Meng-Ting Kuo	Leiden University	Advanced LL.M. International Children’s Rights
3	I-Ting Tu	University College London	Pediatrics and Child Health
ID
1	Maria Astrid Susanti	The London School of Economics and Political Science	Human Resources and Organisations
2	Bella Shintya	University College London	International Planning
3	Hans Liawan Sanjaya	Universitat Pottsdam	Digital Health
MY
1	Cason Yong Kwan Xhen	University of Oxford	Masters in Law (LLM)
2	Veenaa Logenthiran	University of Bristol	Psychology of Education BPS
3	Melody Ai Ching	University of Dundee	Medicine
SG
1	Claudia Long	The University of Edinburgh	Architectural Conservation
2	Melody Lio	City, University of London	Human-Computer Interaction Design
3	Anukriti Banerjee	The London School of Economics and Political Science	International Health Policy
TH
1	Putthisak Panomsarnnarin	Durham University	International Relations
2	Suphanat Woradit	University of Bristol	Management (Digitalisation and Big data)
3	Punyanuch Likitteerasub	University of Lincoln	Clinical Animal Behaviour
PH
1	Anna Madel Asuncion	University of Northampton	MA Youth and Community Leadership
2	Jay Paul Ely Tena	Macromedia University (Munich)	Master in Media and Communication
3	Julian Andrei Imperial	University of Glasgow	MSc City Planning
VN
1	HAI TRUONG VU	Liverpool John Moores University	MSc. in Data Science
2	NGOC MINH QUAN TRINH	Fulbright University Vietnam	Art and Media
3	PHUONG ANH NGO	University of Bristol	MSc. in TESOL

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About the British Council

The British Council is the UK’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities. We build connections, understanding and trust between people in the UK and other countries through arts and culture, education and the English language. Last year we reached over 75 million people directly and 758 million people overall including online, broadcasts and publications. Founded in 1934 we are a UK charity governed by Royal Charter and a UK public body. We receive a 14.5 per cent core funding grant from the UK government.www.britishcouncil.org

About International English Language Testing System (IELTS)

IELTS is the International English Language Testing System, the world’s most popular English language proficiency test for higher education and global migration, with millions of tests taken in the last year. More than 11,000 organizations trust and accept IELTS as a secure, valid and reliable indicator of true-to-life ability to communicate in English for education, immigration and professional accreditation. IELTS is jointly owned by the British Council, IDP: IELTS Australia and Cambridge Assessment English.

Test takers are measured in listening, reading, writing and speaking. All tests are scored on a banded system from 1 (the lowest) through to 9 (the highest band).