High achieving students receive Erasmus Mundus, Fulbright, and Bseisu Cambridge scholarships

Abu Dhabi, May 25, 2019: Four talented students from NYU Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) have been awarded prestigious global scholarships to further their studies at top schools around the globe.

Class of 2019 senior Amal Badri, 21, from the UAE, currently majoring in Mechanical Engineering, has been awarded the UAE Fulbright Scholarship and will pursue a MS in Mechanical Engineering at Penn State University following her graduation from NYUAD in May.  She is NYUAD's second UAE Fulbright Scholar.

Badri said, “As a Fulbright Scholar, I will have the opportunity to pursue the country’s vision for the youth and for education through cultural exchange between the US and the UAE. I’ll focus my research on nanotechnology at one of US’s top engineering schools, in hopes of promoting this field in my country.”

Class of 2018 alumna Hannah Taylor, and Class of 2019 senior Filip Karan, have been selected as recipients of the Erasmus Mundus Scholarship, supporting graduate studies at one of the Erasmus Mundus Joint Programs in the European Union. The Erasmus Mundus Scholars Program aims to enhance the quality of higher education and promote dialogue and understanding between people and cultures through mobility and academic cooperation.

Taylor, 22, from the US, will go on to pursue the Global Public Policy track of the Erasmus Mundus Master’s Program in Public Policy, which takes place at Central European University (CEU) and the Barcelona Institute of International Studies (IBEI).

On receiving the scholarship, Taylor said, “I chose this program because it combines my desire to strengthen my quantitative research capacities with the frameworks and skills necessary to engage in policy-making and governance at a global level. I hope to emerge from this program equipped to tackle complex policy challenges holistically, as a scholar and a practitioner. Long term, I hope to work in an international organization advocating for criminal justice and drug policy reform.”

Filip Karan, 22, from Croatia, is due to graduate from NYUAD this month with a double major in Social Research and Public Policy and Political Science and has accepted the scholarship to pursue the European Master of Public Health at the University of Sheffield, United Kingdom, in his first year and Maastricht University, Netherlands, in his second year. Karan said, “It excites me that I will be studying in Europe among a cohort of highly diverse students who are all passionate about addressing some of the most salient public health issues of today. The scholarship will provide me with the opportunity to continue building upon my research on the second-order effects of public health campaigns, a topic which I explored in my capstone in the scope of HIV-prevention, as well as to study best practices in addressing key public health issues. Furthermore, I believe that pursuing graduate studies in a globally minded, yet European-focused Public Health program will equip me with both theoretical knowledge and practical skills to one day achieve my dream of working for the European Union. Being a first-generation college student, I am immensely thrilled to have the opportunity to continue building upon my education.”

Yazan Al-Ajlouni, 22, from Jordan, has been awarded the Bseisu Cambridge Scholarship, administered by the The Amjad & Suha Bseisu Foundation and the Cambridge Trust, to pursue a MPhil at the University of Cambridge. Al-Ajlouni commented, 'I am very happy with the opportunity and to be able to complete public health training at one of the most prestigious institutes in the world. At NYUAD, I had the opportunity to publish more than 10 peer-reviewed publications and a few book chapters that I then presented globally. With this scholarship, I hope to relay the information back to public policy makers here in the UAE in order to contribute to the healthcare sector effectively. I also hope to be able to use the skills from this program to conduct research on health disparities in my home country in Jordan and direct policy-makers and intervention efforts for better health outcomes for vulnerable populations.”

Since welcoming its first class in 2010, NYUAD students have received a number of notable global awards, including the Rhodes, Fulbright, Yenching, Truman, and Schwarzman Scholarship, among others.