"The IDS Scholarship gave me an invaluable opportunity to learn from prominent researchers and tutors in an enriching and diverse learning environment. The scholarship gave me the opportunity to meet with a network of people that have influenced my education and professional development. It also gave me a golden opportunity to further improve my capacity to support the priority needs, rights and dignity of the most vulnerable women and girls in Sierra Leone through my work here with UNFPA.”

“Learning at IDS made me a part of a global think-tank; I unlearnt rigid ideologies, relearned best practices to amplify my skills and knowledge for the attainment of the sustainable development goals, and lastly, learnt new approaches and application of various methodologies and skills to everyday life context.

I graduated with MA Merit in Power, Participation, and Social Change. The IDS scholarship has put my feet in some high-profile organizations where I volunteer and currently work. I volunteer with Women in Global Health (WGH, USA) as a Research Volunteer, where I analyse the gender inequalities in representation within the World Health Assembly. I have been nominated a youth board member on ASFAR Resolve Network's board. 

Currently, I am working with the Patient Access Services division of the NHS, where I draft and review policies targeted at improving equal access to healthcare services for all, regardless their gender, race and social mobility.”

"My time at IDS has become a defining period in my life. It is difficult to overestimate just how much I learnt personally and professionally from the teachers, the seminars, the assignments and perhaps most importantly, the people who walk through those corridors. My research and activism in India and the UK has been catapulted thanks to my experiences at IDS and the friends I made along the way."  

"IDS was essential for my personal and professional development. Not only did it give me the opportunity to learn from great teachers and developers, but it also allowed me to be part of a community of people who have spent years fighting for justice and equality in their countries. This gave me new perspectives and allowed me to return to Chile to work on the Constitutional Convention with many more tools and the desire to transform inequalities." 

"IDS was exactly what I needed to pivot my career as a development professional. At IDS, I got the tools, skills, and knowledge to scale my work, mobilise resources, build organisations, and drive community change sustainably. In addition to this, I found a global network of people from different backgrounds that gave men unique perspectives to development issues. All these would not have been possible without the Graduate Scholarship I received from IDS.” 

"IDS scholarship was an amazing opportunity to take my career to the next level. I learned from great professors and also met talented colleagues. My time in IDS helped me broaden my vision and understanding of development by analysing social problems and policies from different countries in dept. Beyond that, it was essential for my personal growth. I became part of a wonderful community that is making a difference in the world. Now, I am back in Peru, working for the Government, developing and implementing labour policies that allow many vulnerable young people to access better jobs."

"Being awarded with the IDS scholarship allowed me to learn from teachers and practitioners from all around the world on how to bring about social change in the different spaces we are engaged in. Despite having been involved in social projects for many years in Latin America and Africa, I had not had the opportunity to reflect on my position as a development practitioner. For me, studying for my MA at IDS was a wonderful opportunity to learn about new insights about power and participation to make social change happen."

"The IDS Scholarship gave me the opportunity to learn 2 major things; Global Development and Aid and Poverty. Combining these two courses gave me the initiative to work towards introducing a Development Studies Library in Nigeria. The aim is to encourage the youths to examine cases like the Green Revolution in China, Climate Change around the world and Poverty Alleviation programs across developing countries and see how we can adopt or create new ways to take our rural poor out of poverty.

Writing my dissertation introduced me further to the various dimensions of poverty and the importance of education to Children and this led to the establishment of my NGO in Nigeria - Vickies Foundation, which is focused on sponsoring children to school, constructing libraries for poor schools, creating a Development Studies section in University Libraries, teaching the youths various vocational skills and hoping to break some cycle of poverty along the way."

"The IDS graduate scholarship made studying about development issues a reality for me! With thought out global leaders from various geographies, I was in a space where I discussed ideas, challenged normative positions, and deepened my intellectual curiosity. While the experience at IDS has been truly life changing, it provided me with conceptual, theoretical and analytical grounding at a time when I was grappling with fundamental questions about understanding and achieving social change in Pakistan. These understandings of how development shapes lived experiences allowed me to return to Pakistan. I came back with renewed energy and objective to identify new pathways and dimensions of understanding social change. I am committed to pursuing further education and shape my ideas in nuanced ways."

"The IDS Scholarship allowed me to deepen my understanding of international development and the role of business in facilitating development, expand my professional network, and bring me closer to achieving my goal of being a global leader in the social and sustainable entrepreneurship space.

I continue to work with the GoodWorks Advisory and Impact Limited (The GoodWorks Company), I am leading the team at the Hope Inspired Foundation for Women and Youths, and I am working with ITAD Limited as a researcher, IDS, and the IDS Scholarship have been pivotal to my journey, and this is just the beginning.

Without the support of the IDS Scholarship fund, I would not have earned my master's degree in my preferred program and at my preferred institution, IDS."