Cambodian AUW Graduates Emerge as Stars; AUW Commits $3.75 Million in New Scholarships for Cambodian Students

PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA – Media
OutReach – October 15, 2018 –�At a simple but dignified ceremony held in the National Sports Complex at the
Olympic in Phnom Penh, His Excellency Mr. Yuok Ngoy, the Secretary of State of
the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport of the Government of Kingdom of
Cambodia and the Vice Chancellor of the Asian University for Women (AUW) in
Bangladesh, Professor Nirmala Rao, OBE, FAcSS, signed a Memorandum of Understanding
announcing 50 five-year scholarships valued at US $3.75 million for
outstandingly talented women from across Cambodia to pursue their undergraduate
studies at AUW. As part of the MOU, the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport
(MoEYS) of Cambodia — led by its Secretary of State H. E. Mr. Yuok Ngoy has
committed to undertake a national campaign to identify for AUW the most
promising students from all 24 provinces of the country. The MOU signing
ceremony was witnessed by AUW Founder Kamal Ahmad, Under Secretaries H. E.
Samedy Sivathana, H. E. Ms. Soeur Socheata, and Deputy Director General Dr. Hun
Chanrith, other high officials of the MoEYS, AUW alumnae in Cambodia, and
representatives of TV and other media.  Asian University for Women’s
commitment to Cambodia follows its earlier similar commitments to Afghanistan
and Yemen. At home in Bangladesh, the University has extended opportunities to
daughters of borrowers of the Grameen Bank and other microfinance institutions,
women who work at Bangladesh’s largest export industry — the ready-made garment
sectors — as well as women drawn from the country’s extensive network of
madrasas. It has also made a special commitment to support education of
Rohingya women from Myanmar.

Meeting with His Excellency Mr. Yuok Ngoy, the Secretary of State of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport of the Government of Kingdom of Cambodia and the Vice Chancellor of the Asian University for Women (AUW) in Bangladesh, Professor Nirmala Rao, OBE, FAcSS in Phnom Penh

His Excellency Mr. Yuok Ngoy, the Secretary of State of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport of the Government of Kingdom of Cambodia and the AUW delegation

The MOU signing ceremony between the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport of the Government of Kingdom of Cambodia and the Asian University for Women

 

AUW Vice Chancellor Professor Nirmala Rao
expressed her appreciation to the Royal Government of Cambodia for extending
such enthusiastic collaboration in meeting a key human development challenge
for their country. She noted that AUW was proud of the many students from
Cambodia it has already graduated, and looks forward to being a key partner in
Cambodia’s endeavors to empower its women through the highest quality education
possible.

 

AUW Founder noted that when the Asian
University for Women was established in 2008, Cambodia was selected as the only
South East Asian country from where students were recruited at AUW at that time.
AUW’s decision was in part out of remembrance of the Khmer Rouge atrocities
that decimated the educated population of Cambodia. He noted that Bangladesh
had suffered a similar fate in 1971, and it is an act of solidarity with
Cambodia that AUW is now embarking on scaling up support for Cambodian women’s
education.

 

The Asian
University for Women Cambodia Scholarship will provide full scholarships
for selected female Cambodian nationals from each of Cambodia’s 24 provinces to
attend AUW in Chittagong, Bangladesh for Access Academy — a one-year
pre-collegiate program — as well as three years of undergraduate study, culminating
in a bachelor’s degree in one of the five academic disciplines offered at the
University — Economics; Politics, Philosophy, and Economics; Environmental
Studies; Public Health; and Bioinformatics.

 

H.E. Yuok Ngoy, Secretary of State of the
Ministry of Education in Cambodia, noted: “Through the MOU, we hope that the
number of Cambodian female students to study in Bangladesh will be increased.
This scholarship program is very useful and will help developing human resource
in Cambodia, especially for female students.”

 

Saren Kaeng, a 2014 Cambodian graduate, struggled
with access to education prior to being recruited by AUW. Since graduating from
AUW, she has completed a master’s degree at Brandeis University. She now works for
the Cambodian National Assembly. Saren says of her experience at AUW and
beyond: “When girls are educated, everyone benefits. It simply does not make
sense that we limit opportunities for half of the world’s population. If we
want to solve the major challenges the world is facing, we need everyone’s
contribution.”

 

A 2013 Cambodian graduate from AUW, Duth
Kimsru, works at a Cambodian-based non-profit organization dedicated to empowering
young Cambodians, and was invited to meet former President of the United States
Barack Obama in Singapore this March, along with nine other emerging leaders
from Southeast Asia. Another notable AUW graduate is Vylyny Chat (2014), who
was recently featured
in Voice of America, and is a PhD candidate in epidemiology at New York
University Medical School. Two other AUW graduates — Sreymom Pol (2013) and
Sreymom Oy (2014) — are currently pursuing graduate degrees at Oxford and UCLA,
respectively.

 

About Asian University for Women (AUW)

Founded in
2008 and located in Chittagong, Bangladesh, Asian University for Women is the
first of its kind: a regional institution dedicated to women’s education and
leadership development — international in outlook but rooted in the contexts
and aspirations of the people of Asia. Chartered by the Parliament of
Bangladesh, AUW exists solely to support a rising network of women leaders,
entrepreneurs, and change makers from across the region. It seeks out women who
have significant academic potential and demonstrate courage and a sense of
outrage at injustice and are empathic to the woes of other people.

 

Students
from 17 countries attend AUW. 85% of AUW students are on full or near-full
scholarship funded by private donors from around the world. A majority of AUW
graduates find employment in the private sector in their home countries while
about 25% go on to pursue graduate studies. AUW graduates or former students
have been admitted to Oxford, Stanford, Columbia, New York University, Surrey,
SOAS, Ewha, and a host of other leading universities around the world.