The Tibetan Scholarship Programme Alumni Association (TSPAA) has launched a new website aimed at enabling all Tibetan scholarship programme alumni to connect with each other and provide updates about their work. This website is also expected to call upon all the alumni who have studied abroad and not returned to come back to India to serve their community in exile.
Under the TSP, students can apply for a scholarship to complete a two-year Master’s Degree programme in the United States. The alumni are then expected to return and work for the betterment of the Tibetan community. However, according to TSPAA figures only 150 of the 410 alumni are currently serving the Tibetan community.
One of the recipients of TSP, the Sikyong or Prime Minister of the Tibetan Government-in-Exile, Dr Lobsang Sangay, said, “My selection for the Tibetan Scholarship Programme gave me a rare opportunity. My legal education at Harvard Law School made a profound impact on my life.” He added, “As a democratically elected political leader, much of my keen desire in bringing change to the Tibetan society and transforming ideas into action comes from my education. Therefore, I fully encourage Tibetans to participate in TSP and become strong advocates of Tibet and Tibetan people”. Dr Sangay studied at Harvard Law School, considered to be the premier law school.
TSP alumni with the recipients of TSP-2016
Photo:TSPAA
At the press conference, a message from His Holiness the Dalai Lama was read, “It is very good both for the community and yourselves that you will be learning new ways and methods to address problems, a new way of thinking and doing things is important as we could learn from it; but at the same time remember your cause, why you are being sent there; not to settle and work there but to return on completion of your education and serve the community and our cause. So, I congratulate you on your achievement and knowledge and pray that you return to serve our cause and people in whatever way you choose.”
The website will showcase how TSP alumni from different academic and occupational backgrounds are contributing to the Tibetan community and to the world. It will also feature their testimonials, upcoming events, opportunities and success stories.
The TSP is sponsored by the United States Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and administered through a Cooperative Agreement with The Tibet Fund, in collaboration with the Central Tibetan Administration’s Department of Education. It is available for applicants from eligible Tibetan refugees residing in India and Nepal.
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