Go Ahead: First steps toward a bright academic and professional future
Giving youth’s interest in joining distinguished opportunities to study abroad or participating in international training programs and in continuation of our goals in building the capabilities of young people and increasing their knowledge, Social Developmental Forum implemented Go Ahead Bootcamp to introduce young people to the most important study and training opportunities available, application conditions and criteria and how to submit a competitive application.
3 training days in which 40 young men and women participated in various knowledge workshops, activities and training led by a team of mentors, academics and graduates of international programs who shared their practical and personal experiences and provided collective and individual consultations to the participants in order to guide them to the opportunities best suited to them.
The workshops included a review of the basic criteria and conditions for American or European scholarships and opportunities in general and also addressed the basic English language requirements for these opportunities as participants learned the difference between the TOEFL and the international IELTS exams and the cost of each exam and the official authorities that grant it.
The camp’s sessions also touched on academic and the professional plans, the importance of drawing a clear plan when applying for any scholarship or training opportunity, the importance of community participation and the extent of its impact on strengthening the application, as well as the importance of academic and professional recommendation letters and the most important techniques and advice to pass personal interviews.
A large part of the camp has been devoted to writing motivation or personal statements for international study programs as it is one of the most important requirements of these programs and may constitute the difference between obtaining the scholarship or not, Yara Al-Zenati, a graduate of the British Chevening Scholarship, gave young people different and important tips for writing motivation letters and answering the most prominent essay questions in grant applications and training programs. “I am happy to participate in Go Ahead Camp to share my experience with young people to increase their chances of accepting similar programs.”, she noted.
And on the Forum’s role in implementing the camp, Nareman Hwaihi, Program Officer stated, “The Forum is invested in developing the skills and capabilities of youth in several fields, especially the education sector. This camp came to help young people in planning their academic and professional future by investing in all the opportunities available to them. Gaza’s youth are capable and skilled and we hope that Go Ahead camp puts them on the road to achieving their dreams.
Tala Abdel-Hadi, one of the participants in the camp, said that she learned much from the various workshops of the camp: “I benefited greatly from the camp and got to know various details related to scholarships’ registration which I didn’t know before, besides identifying many grants such as Chevening and other European grants as well as American grants like Fullbright. I also got acquainted with the IELTS test, its structure, how to prepare for it, and which countries receive its results. I only had little knowledge of the examination before the camp. I certainly intended to apply for it because it is a basic requirement for the majority of scholarships, but after the camp I have more confidence and I know exactly where to go to take the exam. ”