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Star Students Join First Minister to Inspire More Welsh Youngsters

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To mark St David’s Day, four talented students representing Wales at leading US universities inspired young people from across the country to broaden their horizons and apply to top academic institutions all over the world.

Yousef Bakshi, 19, Elli Rees, 20, Donte Day, 18, and Liam Rahman, 27, are all studying or have studied at some of the most prestigious universities in America including Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Chicago and St John’s College in Maryland, and form part of Wales’ Seren initiative.

They now want to encourage the next generation of Welsh talent to follow in their footsteps and help those who are interested in studying overseas to get the confidence and know-how they need to take the next step and apply.

These Welsh students are taking part in a digital national event on St David’s Day with First Minister, Mark Drakeford, and Minister for Education, Kirsty Williams, designed to give advice to young people who are thinking about going to university overseas and to help raise their ambitions to reach for the stars.

The event will provide general information and guidance on applying and studying abroad as well as share Yousef’s, Elli’s, Donte’s and Liam’s own personal insights into how they were supported to pursue their US dreams. The students will form a panel answering questions about why they chose to apply to universities overseas, what it has been like to study abroad, and their top tips for others who are thinking about doing the same.

The four learners have all been involved in the Seren programme – an initiative designed to support Wales’ brightest students to reach their full potential. Since it was established in 2016, Seren has worked to build links with international universities including Yale, Harvard and MIT, and helps students to take part in a number of residential summer schools with these partners.

The summer schools, which are currently taking place virtually but would normally see students spend weeks on site at the campuses, provide the opportunity to gain an insight into what life would be like at the universities as well as the chance to speak to admissions tutors and get the inside knowledge on how best to prepare for applications.  The aim of the schools is to increase students’ confidence, ambition and determination to compete – and succeed – against their counterparts globally.

Panel member Donte is one of the young people in Wales to have benefited from the initiative. After completing a two-week residential summer school at Yale University – the Yale Global Young Scholars Programme – the teenager from Cardiff has since gone on to secure a place at the University of Chicago and is currently in his first year of an economics degree.

Thanks to initiatives like Seren, Wales is now punching above its weight when it comes to representation for a small nation at top universities. Latest figures show that more partner students from Wales take part in the annual Yale Global Young Scholars Programme than from any other non-US region or nation.

A key benefit of the Seren programme is that it helps Welsh talent develop their skills at leading universities and go on to work in impressive roles so that they can share their experience and expertise and help support the next generation of Seren students when they return to Wales.

Liam Rahman, another panellist at the St David’s Day event, is an example of this. Liam pursued his undergraduate studies at Yale-NUS College and Yale University, graduating with a distinction. From Carmarthenshire, Liam has also worked in private equity and investment management roles at leading global firms in Singapore, Oslo & Hong Kong. Since returning to Wales in 2017, he has further developed the business he started aged 18 with his mother – Equal Education Recruitment – which works with schools and other public bodies, including the Education Workforce Council (EWC), to attract and retain the best teaching talent.

Liam played an integral role in the creation of a partnership between Seren and Yale, enabling Welsh students to attend its summer programme. He has also supported new partnerships with MIT, UChicago and Harvard, improving STEM education in Wales and widening access to higher education. In 2019, Liam was awarded a St Davids Award in the International category, presented at the Senedd by Wales' First Minister, Mark Drakeford MS, for expanding access to world class educational opportunities to students across Wales. He has now been selected to study both an MBA and an MA in Education at Stanford University, California, starting in September 2021.

Liam said:

“Studying abroad is an amazing experience that teaches you so much while giving you different perspectives. I loved my time abroad but always knew I wanted to come back to Wales because it’s really important to me that we contribute to Wales’ development, and mentor and support the next generation of Welsh talent.

“There are many Welsh students who are interested in studying abroad but don’t have the confidence to apply, don’t know how to do so, or are worried about finances, but information and support are on offer and generous funding options are available. It’s crucial that we remove such barriers and encourage students to pursue their ambitions.”

To help support students in Wales to apply to US universities, in 2017 Welsh Government and Seren also partnered up with the US-UK Fulbright Commission who deliver the Sutton Trust US Programme in partnership with the Sutton Trust – a scheme that supports high achieving state school students from low income families to apply for admission to top US universities and gain comprehensive financial aid.

Thanks to this partnership, the number of Welsh applications to US universities has increased by 130% over the last three years with more than $4.5 million of funding (around £3.4 million) being provided to Welsh Seren students studying undergraduate degrees at top American universities during this time.

Education Minister Kirsty Williams said:

“Initiatives like Seren have played a key role in supporting Wales’ learners from all backgrounds to reach their full potential and compete with their international counterparts.

“It is great to see so many students from across the country thriving at top universities all over the world, but we want to help even more students achieve their goals and today’s event will help with that.

“Seren has also helped to create thousands of summer school places with some of the most globally renowned universities such as Oxford, Harvard and Yale, helping to raise ambitions, instil confidence and support young people to succeed. Over recent years we have proved that Welsh students, from all backgrounds, are amongst the very best in the world. Our panellists here, and our Seren students across the world are testament to this.”

Seren has created over 400 individual places for Seren students to experience summer schools this year, up from 22 places when the programme was first piloted with Jesus College at Oxford University in 2016. The summer school places will give students the opportunity to learn from and be supported by world-leading academics and practitioners from top universities all over the world, both in the UK and internationally, including MIT, Yale-NUS and Oxford.

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Rachel has worked with Business News Wales since its inception in 2015 and has spent the last decade specialising in digital marketing. Her journey, driven by a love for travel and culture, has seen her work with renowned national brands.

Rachel now leads web management, marketing, and production, drawing on her expertise in WordPress, HTML, email marketing, Photoshop design, and social media tools. Her multifaceted skill set cements her as an invaluable asset to the team.

 

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