CBS’ Guy Morel High Achievement Scholarship Programme   2020 awardees to take up studies in September |18 August 2021

The Central Bank of Seychelles officially presented Pria Chavda and Ryan Bradburn – the recipients of the 2020 CBS’ Guy Morel High Achievement Scholarship Programme – with their scholarship award certificates, in a short ceremony held yesterday morning at the CBS building in Victoria.

Presenting the awards, CBS Governor Caroline Abel, noted: “The Central Bank has long recognised that it has a role to play in creating opportunities for the youth to develop their abilities and skills for the world of work.”

She further assured the two scholars of the full support of CBS and encouraged them to perform to the best of their abilities: “As small as we are as a country, there is no limit to the heights that we can rise when we decide to seize all the opportunities that are made available to us. We send you out with wishes of success and all our support, confident that you will give your very best to achieve your academic goals. You have shown your potential through your accomplishments so far and we encourage you to make the most of this opportunity you have been given.”

The awardees are both expected to begin their university studies on campus in September 2021, following a one-year delay due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Ms Chavda will be pursuing a three-year Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Banking and Finance at the University of Leeds, while Mr Bradburn will be undertaking a one-year Master of Laws (LLM) at the University of Hertfordshire, specialising in Governance, Risk Management and Compliance.

In accepting her scholarship award, Ms Chavda expressed her appreciation to CBS for initiating the scholarship programme: “I am very happy that the Central Bank has launched this initiative that values the skills and the talents of young Seychellois. It will help us develop our capacity and when we are equipped with all the skills, we will be able to come back to our country and help towards the growth of the financial sector.”

For his part, Mr Bradburn referred to his specific field of study: “There is a lack of qualified compliance officers in Seychelles, so I have taken this opportunity to assist towards the growth of the financial services sector and the economy in general. I would like to thank the Governor and the Central Bank for creating this opportunity for young professionals to develop expertise in this field.”

The chairperson of the Guy Morel High Achievement Scholarship Programme Committee, Second Deputy Governor Jenifer Sullivan, also expressed words of encouragement to the two scholars during the small ceremony: “I would like to congratulate both of you. All the candidates who applied were deserving of an award but your high academic achievement and field of study made your applications stand out from the rest. We wish you all the best and we will be following your journey.”

Ms Chavda and Mr Bradburn become the second cohort to benefit under the Guy Morel High Achievement Scholarship Programme. Initially launched in 2018, the programme awarded its first two scholarships for the 2019 academic year. The postgraduate awardee graduated in December 2020 and the undergraduate awardee will begin her third and final year of studies in September 2021.

Press release from CBS