Anybody looking for a postgraduate scholarship at Oxford University but can’t afford it? Robert Kyprianou might be able to help.
The British-born Cypriot, 62, was the first student of Cypriot origin to study at Brasenose college in Oxford; and he now wants other Cypriots to have the same opportunity by creating a scholarship in perpetuity for bright students who he feels deserve a shot.
Kyprianou’s parents were among the first wave of economic migrants to the UK following the end of World War II.
For the eldest child of poor immigrants, there was no money for higher education. “If my mum had to spend £10 on education I would have had no chance of going to university,” he told the Sunday Mail.
Instead, he considers himself lucky because in those days, higher education was fully funded, and his costs were covered by the UK government with an academic scholarship while he worked summers to contribute to the family’s income.
His solid education at Oxford enabled him to move on to a successful career and now he wants to give something back.
Having four sons himself and supporting them through university, Kyprianou said he realised that nowadays, with the economic crisis, there were many bright youngsters from Cyprus who would miss out.
In acknowledgement of the financial support he received at Oxford, he decided to offer a scholarship for postgraduate studies to Brasenose college. Only residents of the Republic of Cyprus are eligible to apply. The scholarship will cover 100 per cent of University and college fees and a grant for living costs of £14,057 (around €19.200
For this he created a fund for one place every year, in perpetuity. However this year he has managed to accommodate two.
Kyprianou is excited about the two Cypriot students who have been chosen to start their studies this year and is currently in Cyprus to meet them. Both are from Larnaca with a family background from Tricomo and Ayios Georgios in Famagusta area and he feels an emotional attachment as his family is also from Famagusta, though this is just a coincidence, he said.
One of the students, Pieris Christofi studied mathematical operational research in Warwick, and the other, Andria Pantelidou previously studied law at the University of Cyprus. The fact that she has a background from a state university in Cyprus demonstrates the quality of public education in Cyprus, Kyprianou said.
His aim is to establish something akin to the Rhodes scholarship albeit on a more modest scale. The philanthropist envisions that the students will eventually create a supportive alumni network when they slowly grow in numbers. Current students and alumni are encouraged to eventually give something back to society, such as supporting other students, whether in Cyprus or the UK.
Kyprianou believes it is important to give money directly to the students. “I could have invested in a lab or another building”, he said, “but what good would it do if the bright students cannot go there?”
So far, the students have been notified about the existence of the scholarship either directly by the UK university or stumbled across it when they were looking for funding on the university’s website.
However, Kyprianou wants more students in Cyprus to learn about the opportunity and he is also thinking of expanding the scholarship, for example in the form of bursaries, to undergraduate students as well.
The philanthropist also believes in supporting Cyprus in other ways as he believes the island’s diversity and beauty need publicising. Cypriot science, art, history are also on his radar.
He is on the board of directors of NIPD genetics, the institute which houses the Cypriot researchers who discovered the non-invasive pre-natal screening test for Down’s Syndrome and other genetic disorders. Dr Philippos Patsalis and his team discovered this affordable test in 2011, and now it is available to women around the world. Kyprianou invests in this company, as he said, “because this breakthrough by Cypriots is a major benefit for many, with a global impact”.
An ambassador for Cyprus and a lover of adventure travels, he has also placed a Cypriot flag on Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa, which, as far as he knows, is still there for all climbers to view. After having travelled to many places around the world, he also wanted to give people an inside into the beauty of Cyprus, which is why he has cycled around the whole island, and created a blog where he published photographs of his roundtrip in 2013.
Because he is also a keen photographer, and to record and publicise a part of Cypriot history, one of his future projects will involve taking photographs of as many of the churches in Cyprus that he can. Robert plans to take pictures which capture the essence of each church, whether it is a beautiful interior or the location of the building. These are going to be published as a collection highlighting a history that not many know about.
In order to bring the Diaspora to Cyprus, in this case to bring British-born Cypriot artists to Nicosia, he has also organised and sponsored an exhibition of three artists from London, and himself, in Nicosia for next year. This exhibition at the Zampelas art gallery will be open during the month of April.
To check details on the scholarship, please see this page:
Cyprus Mail