British Council announces 2015 IELTS Prize awardees

This is a press release from the British Council.

MANILA, Philippines – Three outstanding Filipinos were named the 2015 IELTS (International English Language Testing System) Prize awardees by the British Council. Each awardee received P140,000 to help fund their postgraduate education overseas. 

IELTS is the world’s most popular English language test. More than 2 million IELTS tests are taken each year. It opens doors to life-changing opportunities such as living, studying, or working around the world. More than 9,000 organisations worldwide accept IELTS, including government, academic and employment institutions.

The 2015 IELTS Prize awardees were Yakov Jonathan Lerer, Ewygene Templonuevo, and Marie Cddyqa Jaya Rogel. 

Yakov Jonathan Lerer, who graduated with a degree in Comparative Literature from the University of the Philippines-Diliman, will study Critical Methodologies at King’s College London.

Ewygene Templonuevo will take up Translation Studies at Bangor University. She finished her undergraduate degrees in European Languages and Hotel, Restaurant, and Institution Management from the University of the Philippines-Diliman.

Marie Cddyqa Jaya Rogel is a graduate of Development Communication from the University of the Philippines-Los Baños and Diplomacy and International Studies from Rangsit University. She will be taking a Master’s in Sustainability, Culture, and Development in Durham University.

The 3 winning applicants to the IELTS Prize were chosen based on the following criteria: 1) their IELTS score, 2) motivation to develop their career, and 3) ability to demonstrate their potential to contribute to society.

“Besides demonstrating their English proficiency through the IELTS, we selected these three awardees based on their performance in the presentation and the panel interview,” said British Council Examinations Business Development Manager Diane Paruli-Pablico.

“We looked at the ways they expect their study experience to make a difference in their career as well as to enable them to contribute to their home country, and we were impressed at their ideas and how well they handled themselve,” Paruli-Pablico added. 

Nicholas Thomas, Country Director of the British Council in the Philippines, also noted that “Through our administration of IELTS in the Philippines, the British Council offers a highly trusted English language test that opens new doors for thousands of Filipinos every year, including students and professionals who want to pursue their dreams of studying overseas.”

“We were very impressed with the quality of the applications for the IELTS Prize and are delighted to be offering awards to three outstanding candidates,” he continued.

The British Council in the Philippines delivers the IELTS examination three times a month in over fifteen locations across the country.  More information about the IELTS test is available online. 

The British Council is the UK’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities. It creates international opportunities for the people of the UK and other countries, and builds trust between them worldwide. It works in more than 100 countries with over 7,000 staff, including 2,000 teachers, that work with thousands of professionals and policy makers and millions of young people every year by teaching English, sharing arts, and delivering education and society programs. – Rappler.com

For more information, visit the British Council’s Twitter or official blog.