Chinese Government Scholarship Program

So this morning when I logged onto my email I got a big surprise:
“Dear Scholarship Recipients,
Congratulations!
It's very pleasure to inform you that you have been selected to joint the Chinese Government Scholarship Programme(EU Window) for 2010/2011 academic year.


The admission notice will be sent to your mailing address by post very soon.


Kindly acknowledge the receipt by e-mail once it reaches you.
(please find you name on the below website: http://www.chinamission.be/eng/sthd/t716817.htm)
With best wishes,
Office for Education & Culture
Mission of the People's Repubilc of the China to the European Union”

I was wowed; receiving a scholarship from the Chinese government is something I have only dreamed of until now. When I travelled to China earlier this year for the spring festival I met a random guy in a bar who told me of his tale of how he got a scholarship to study Chinese and now works in a PR firm in Beijing.

As soon as I returned from my trip I started searching for scholarships, I found it hard to find what I was looking for. There are a number of scholarships out there but none of which I would meet the criteria. I almost gave up until I found the Chinese Government Scholarship Programme which is in association with the European Union. However by the time I found out about the scholarship I had just one week left to apply!

I immediately started to gather all the documents I needed for the application. I contacted my former university (Brunel) for a transcript of my grades.

I needed references to support my application. I tried to find the most influential people who would be able to provide an excellent reference. In this instance I contacted my Mandarin teacher who is also head of the school, and a senior manager from my firm.

My reference from my Mandarin teacher reads below:

“This is to certify that Ben has been enrolled at the Waltham Forest Chinese Association Sunday Chinese School since September 2007. He came to the school with a good background in spoken Mandarin already and wished to learn Chinese writing. He was enrolled in Infant Class Three, during the academic year 2007/2008, beginning to learn written Chinese, and has obtained very good results with year prize. In the following year he was enrolled in Class Lower One, which equivalent to semester one of primary one in China, and has topped the class again with year prize. With his good results the Sunday Chinese School proposed that he should progress to Class Upper Two, which he has jumped two levels, by the end of the academic year 2009/2010. He has jumped two levels, including Class Upper One and Class Lower Two. His result in Class Upper Two so far has been excellent. He is able to recognise many traditional fonts and has been practicing simplified fonts in all his work. His spoken Mandarin and written Chinese have improved tremendously since he joined the school.

Ben is interested to study Chinese in China and wishes to apply for a scholarship allowing him to fulfil such commitments. I fully support his application and wish him all the best.”

Reference from senior manager in my firm:

It's been my pleasure to work with Ben and mentor him on corporate communications for the last 18 months.

I believe that the experience Ben has gained by working in a large organisation has seen him mature and grow in stature - and also helped him to understand more about what he wants from his career.

The chance to study at a University in China sounds like a dream come true for him. It's the perfect opportunity for someone who has proven his prowess in academia, embraced a new language very quickly, gained real experience in a business environment, and who is now demonstrating the confidence to take control of his life to set himself in a new direction with fresh ambitions.

Working with Ben, it is clear that he has an appetite for knowledge and a desire to broaden his horizons. Ben's easy to work with - he's extremely approachable, helpful, good-natured, and quick-to-learn. And he's motivated by new challenges, new technology and new ideas.

It was quite mind-blowing when I first learned of Ben's passion for the Chinese language. At a team meeting each person had to reveal something new about themselves and Ben chose to speak in Mandarin. It was one of those moments when all in the room were hushed and taken back!

It would be a shame to see him leave the company but I firmly believe he would be a great asset to any University.


I genuinely wish Ben every success in his application for a scholarship.”

I’d like to thank both my teacher and my co-worker who supported me in my application for the scholarship. Without it I believe the scholarship would not have been a success.

I was lucky enough to get all the documents I needed for the application in time and sent it next day delivery to the Mission of the People's Republic of the China to the European Union in Brussels. However I was mortified when the application arrived at my home the next day due to the Post Office making a mistake! I got my application sent off again immediately and it arrived in Brussels with one day to go before the deadline.

I’ve been waiting to find out if my application was successful or not since March and finally the waiting is over! There are still a few more things to do before I go to China such as a medical check and arrange my visa. I still don’t know which university I got into. On the application you are allowed to apply for three and I applied for: Peking University, Tianjin University and Beijing Jiaotong University
I first considered applying to the top three universities in China, however I then thought that the competition may be too fierce and so I spread my risk. The universities I have applied to are the 1st, 7th, and 57th best universities in China.

I’ll let you know how I get on however the following link provides more information about the Chinese Government Scholarship Program.