3 November 2022

“On 20th September I received an email stating, “Congratulations, you have passed the rigorous selection process set by Arkwright Engineering Scholarship and you are now Confirmed as an Arkwright Scholar”. I did it. I couldn’t believe the words coming out of my mouth. I, Muntaha Akbar, had gotten an Arkwright scholarship! I was over the moon. The Tremendous amount of hard work I had put in, from the application itself to the Interview. It all paid off.

When I first heard about the Arkwright Scholarship, I just thought this will be easy, just fill in a form and done. I didn’t realize the application was such a rigorous process – there were application forms, an exam, and an interview. I am so thankful to my teachers, who provided so much support throughout my application process and helped me practice with mock interviews. Their support and encouragement gave me a huge confidence boost and helped me to prepare me for the Interview.

Being an Arkwright Scholar is a once in a lifetime opportunity. This prestigious award will give me a chance to connect and socialize with people and companies, giving me a real taste of the world. I am looking forward to going on connect days and workshops – I feel these will help to further expand my knowledge on STEM, help me connect with other scholars, and provide me experience and an insight into the different Fields of Engineering; But what I most look forwards to on this 2-year journey is the Mentoring. The Arkwright Engineering Scholarships generously provides a mentor for 2 years, which will be very helpful as I will have someone to look to for support and ask for advice and guide me as I embark on my engineering career.

Alongside all the other amazing opportunities. the Scholarship will also link me with a company, which will allow me to get a real insight into my aspiring career and network with people currently working within the industry.

I have been very Fortunate to be selected out of the whole country to be given this distinguished award and I look forward to the next two years of my scholarship.”