ABU DHABI, (Pakistan Point News - 08th Jun, 2020) Two NYU Abu Dhabi alumni have been awarded the Yenching Scholarship by the Yenching academy of Peking University in Beijing, China.
NYUAD Class of 2018 alumna Marie-Claude Hykpo and alumnus Juan Diego Serrano Ortega from the Class of 2020 will pursue a one-year interdisciplinary master’s programme focused on studying China’s past, present, and future.
Marie-Claude Hykpo, who is French-Ivorian, graduated from NYUAD with a double major in Political Science and Philosophy. Marie-Claude has an interest in understanding Sino foreign policy and diplomacies, with a focus on China’s relationship with Africa and on Francophone West Africa.
On being awarded the scholarship, Hypko commented, "I applied to Yenching because I really wanted to deepen my understanding of China, especially its foreign policy and its various diplomacies. Thanks to NYUAD I have moved around all over the place and East Asia seemed like the perfect next destination for me and my interests. I'm also hoping that being immersed in Chinese culture and language will help me with my language skills."
Serrano, originally from Argentina, majored in Economics at NYUAD and is a recent graduate in the University’s 2020 cohort. During his time at NYUAD, he studied abroad in Shanghai, New York, and Accra in Ghana. Serrano has a particular fascination with understanding China’s economic development, and the country’s poverty alleviation efforts.
Serrano commented, "It is my great fascination with China and its development apparatus that drove me to apply to Yenching Academy. Through the programme, I am eager to enrich my understanding of China’s economic development and poverty alleviation efforts, as well as develop the necessary skills to adapt to the changing role China is having in the world stage. I will follow the Economics and Management concentration of the programme."
The Yenching Scholarship was founded in 2015, and aims to foster a deeper connection and understanding between China and the globe. Scholars are placed into an immersive learning environment where they are able to explore China’s historical, contemporary, and future reality, be that in political, economic, cultural, or diplomatic.
Six students from NYUAD have been awarded the Yenching Scholarship over the University’s ten-year history. In its first decade, NYUAD students have received a wide range of global scholarships and awards, including Rhodes Scholarships, Fulbright Awards, and Schwarzman Scholarships, among others.
