Malaysia despite being a small country, is home to many extraordinary and accomplished students who have made the country proud.

K. Sivasanghari is one such scintillating young woman who is among the 11 outstanding recipients who were given the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Scholarship (BYDPA) for the 2020/2021 session. The Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah has awarded the prestigious scholarship to Sivasanghari to pursue her studies in Aerospace Engineering at Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM).

The scholarship ceremony was held at Istana Negara on July 21st (Tuesday). More than 700 students applied for the scholarship, but after an evaluation process on the applicants, only eleven students were awarded with the scholarship.

BYDPA offers scholarships for students interested in pursuing a Master’s and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) programs in the areas of Science and Technology, Economics, Law, and Islamic Finance. It provides a lifetime opportunity for students to pursue their studies at any local institutions or foreign universities.

“The scholarship recognises the excellent capabilities of the recipients academically, curriculum as well as other factors. I hope the recipients will protect their good names and be successful as they are bringing the name of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s institution throughout their studies,” said Public Service Department (JPA) Director-General Dato’ Mohd Khairul Adib Abd Rahman.

“I also hope they will contribute back to the country,” he told the media. “Due to the movement control order (MCO), all the interviews were conducted online,” he said.

Apart from Sivasanghari, five recipients for the PhD courses were Noor Amiera Alias, a student of Paediatric Rehabilitation (Children) at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM); Amalina Hanani Ismail (Civil Environmental Engineering, Imperial College of London); Muhammad Hafizul Hazmi Wahab (Computer Science, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM); Ong Yi Ni (Chemistry, University of Oxford) and Bryan Lim Wei Tern (Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, Imperial College of London).

All the best Sivasanghari! That’s one heck of an achievement.