Launch of the OCIS - Oxford Scholarships at the House of Commons

The Rt Hon Ed Balls MP, Professor Sue Iversen and The Right Hon Andrew Smith MP, with the Director

On 9th June 2009, at a ceremony attended by Members of Parliament, diplomats, senior members of the University, community leaders and students, the OCIS - Oxford Scholarships were officially launched in the Jubilee Room of the House of Commons.

The OCIS - Oxford Scholarships will support British Muslim students as well as those from developing countries in Asia and Africa to read for degrees at the University of Oxford. Under the programme, up to five scholarships each year are available for undergraduate students from Muslim communities in Britain. A further five scholarships are available for postgraduate students, at least two of whom will be UK students from Muslim communities, while the rest will be students from specified countries in Asia or Africa. The scholarships are available to students undertaking study in a range of fields relevant to the needs of Muslim societies.

The Director initiated the ceremony, highlighting the significance of the scholarships in the context of the Centre's overall efforts to support and foster academic achievement relating to the Muslim world. He went on to welcome the Rt Hon Ed Balls MP, Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, and invited him to launch the programme. Referring to the value of his own education at Oxford, the Secretary of State spoke warmly of the major contribution that the Centre was making to the widening access agenda through the new scholarships. He recognised how this new development fitted well alongside existing initiatives such as the Young Muslim Leadership Programme. The Secretary of State had the opportunity to meet students from the University, including one of the first recipients of the scholarships.

Professor Sue Iversen, Pro-Vice Chancellor of the University of Oxford, described the importance of the Centre both in supporting Muslim students and for its contribution to the vitality and academic expertise of the University's internationally renowned work in the study of the Muslim world. A notable example of this successful collaboration was the Centre's recent high profile involvement in the Vice-Chancellor's Research Forum: The Islamic World: Unity and Diversity.

The Rt Hon Andrew Smith, Member of Parliament for Oxford East spoke to thank the Secretary of State for launching the scholarship programme. He went on to praise the important impact that the Centre is making through its academic and outreach activities.

The enthusiasm among all those who attended the ceremony holds promise that the scholarships will achieve the goal of raising the aspirations of young men and women, thereby creating opportunities for them to pursue higher education, and so encouraging them to play a full part in the wider society.

For further information on the scholarships, click here.