Starting next year, Abraaj will support five outstanding individuals for the next five years, from across Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, Turkey and Central Asia as each pursues his or her creative aspirations at the RCA.
As the largest international scholarship programme in the creative postgraduate sector, each student will be enrolled full-time in Masters of Arts programmes in design and the arts. The first cohort of Scholars from India, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Thailand, and Turkey begin their studies this month and will receive full payment of their tuition fees as well as living expenses.
The launch event, held at the RCA in Kensington, was attended by Rt Hon Sajid Javid MP, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport; Mr Arif Naqvi, Founder and Group Chief Executive of The Abraaj Group and Dr Paul Thompson, Rector of the Royal College of Art, as well as leading figures from the art and design communities, financial, political and philanthropic arenas.
Commenting on the scholarship programme, Right Honourable Sajid Javid MP, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, said: “I’m a firm supporter of anything that helps people with the potential to engage with the arts, cultural and creative industries to do so. The Abraaj RCA Innovation Scholarship is a brilliant example of this. I hope the Scholars will go on to become cultural pioneers not just in their own communities but across the globe.”
