NYU Abu Dhabi students and alumni awarded top global fellowships, scholarships, and grants

• Other opportunities include the Emirates Leadership Initiative Fellowship at the Harvard Kennedy School and the Critical Languages Scholarship at the US State Department.

Abu Dhabi, UAE: Fifteen NYU Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) students and alumni have been offered prestigious, and competitive, global scholarships.  Opportunities accepted by NYUAD students include the highly coveted scholarships: Fulbright, Truman, Oxford Clarendon, Schwarzman at Tsinghua, Erasmus Mundus and Rhodes. Further honors include the Emirates Leadership Initiative Fellowship at Harvard Kennedy School, and the Critical Languages Scholarship at the US State Department.

Offers were given to:

• UAE Rhodes Scholarship: Class of 2021 Hoor Al Nuaimi and Maitha Al Suwaidi
• MasterCard Scholarship: Class of 2021 Nawal Ali
• Truman Scholarship: Class of 2022 Tatyana Brown
• Schwarzman Scholarship: Class of 2021 Segun Omole, Class of 2020 Lujain Ibrahim and  Matea Koscevska, Class of 2017 Kefei Wu, and Class of 2015 Weichen Zhu
• Emirates Leadership Initiative Fellowship: Class of 2018 Daniah Kheetan
• Critical Languages Scholarship: Class of 2023 Mia Landeck
• American Association of University Women (AAUW) Scholarship: Class of 2018 Khairunnisa Semesta
• Erasmus Mundus Scholarship: Class 0f 2018 Sahan Tampoe
• Fulbright Scholarship: Class of 2021 Tareq Abbasi
• Oxford Clarendon Scholarship: Class of 2021 Sobha Gadi

Speaking about his offer to study at the University of Pittsburgh after being awarded the UAE Fulbright Scholarship Tareq Abbasi, Emirati, 23,  said: “NYUAD has provided me with the opportunity to study amongst extremely bright students and accomplished faculty members, motivating me to join the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Pittsburgh as a UAE Fulbrighter. By pursuing an MPA in Policy Research & Analysis, I am working towards my goal to contribute to the UAE’s further development and research."

Class of 2021 Sobha Gadi, 22, from Pakistan, received Oxford's Clarendon Scholarship, which will fully fund his MPhil in Politics. Gadi is the second NYUAD student to receive the Clarendon, following a member of NYUAD’S inaugural class in 2014. All incoming graduate students at Oxford are considered for the Clarendon, and it is presented to the very best of this group.  It is awarded on the basis of academic record, future potential, and student motivation. Gadi said, “Early on in my NYUAD, I decided that I wanted to pursue a career in Political Science academia.  As I strived to learn, pick up research skills and eventually a graduate school offer, I was helped along the way by numerous faculty members who offered their knowledge, advice, research experience and recommendations. None of my achievements would've been possible without the help I received along the way.”

Class of 2021 Nawal Ali, 23, from Kenya, has received the MasterCard Scholarship, which funds the graduate education of highly talented African students. Ali is the first-ever NYUAD student to win this award and  will use the funds to pursue an MA in International Development at SciencePo. Ali said, “NYUAD for me has been a place of self-discovery in the ways I have grown intellectually, emotionally and spiritually. It has also been the place where I have felt grounded but at the same time felt challenged to push beyond my comfort zone. As I embark on a Masters in International Development at SciencesPo, I am positive that my experience here has definitely prepared me to foster inclusion, think critically and always find ways to bring a positive impact to those around me.”

Class of 2018 Sahan Tampoe, 27, from Sri Lanka, has received the Erasmus Mundus Scholarship, which will fully-fund his Master's degree in the Decentralized Smart Energy Systems (DENSYS) program. Tampoe said,  "I have had a promising start to my engineering career in the field of renewable energy immediately after NYUAD, and I hope to build on my professional experiences and expand my knowledge with a master’s degree in Decentralized Smart Energy Systems. The rigorousness and holistic nature of the NYUAD engineering program laid the foundation that has not only made me a competent engineer, but also enabled me to develop more confidence in the professional path that I wanted to follow."

The achievements come as NYUAD celebrates its ten year anniversary.  Since the university opened its doors in 2011, it has grown to an undergraduate population of 1,600 students and 400 graduate students from more than 115 countries.

NYUAD has produced 16 Rhodes Scholars in just eight graduating classes - more per capita than any university in the world.

NYUAD Vice Chancellor Mariët Westermann said: “It is wonderful to see so many of our students and graduates receiving coveted scholarships to study at some of the strongest universities in the world. At NYU Abu Dhabi, we deliver a contemporary liberal arts education that provides our students with a world-class academic experience in a learning environment that challenges and inspires them to excel. This year’s awards demonstrate the strength of our students and our university’s ongoing commitment to excellence.  We believe that our students will go on to great heights, and we look forward to following and celebrating their success for many years to come.”

NYUAD Director of Global Awards Doug Cutchins said: “I'm incredibly proud of NYUAD's global awards winners this year, and am so pleased that these international foundations see the same qualities in these students that we do: their global focus, how they have benefitted from a world-class education, and their commitment to making the world a better place.  I am equally proud, though, of the many NYUAD students who applied and were not selected, but who took a chance and put themselves forward for consideration, and I know that they gained tremendously from that process.”

© Press Release 2021