The Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah today conferred the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Scholarship (BYDPA) for the 2020/2021 session to 11 students of higher learning institutions, at the Istana Negara here.

Six recipients for PhD courses are Noor Amiera Alias, a student of Pediatric 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); Bryan Lim Wei Tern (Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, Imperial College of London) and K. Sivasanghari (Aerospace Engineering, UPM).

Meanwhile, five recipients for the Master’s degree programme are Mohamad Khairul Hafizi Rahimi (Electrical Engineering, UKM); Nur Khairina Khairu Najihan (Mechatronics, University of Tokyo); Farah Syazana Aspar (Medical Ethics Medical Jurisprudence, University of Melbourne); Rohaisha Jamil (Law, King’s College London) and Low Suey Yee (Parasitology, UPM).

As at 2019, BYDPA has sponsored 161 students, 82 for PhD courses and 79 individuals at the Masters level with sponsorship covering four main fields, namely, science and technology, economics, law, and Islamic finance.

Meanwhile, Public Service Department director-general Datuk Mohd Khairul Adib Abd Rahman when met by reporters said that the scholarship recognises outstanding achievements of the recipients, both in academic and co-curricular activities.

“I hope the recipients will be successful as they are bringing the name of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s institution throughout their studies,” he said.

The recipient of the PhD scholarship, Bryan Lim, 24, said that he hoped to contribute to the country in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) upon completion of his studies.

“I feel happy because without this scholarship I would not be able to continue my studies at the PhD level ... so I really feel proud and will do my best,” said Lim, former national tennis player.

For Mohamad Khairul Hafizi, 24, from Kelantan, he intends to become an educator in engineering after completing his Master's degree.

-- BERNAMA