Tirayr
Vardazaryan

"To be chosen for the Chevening Scholarship I had to be an individual with promising career aspirations. I demonstrated my competence for the award with my history of rigorous work experience. Prior to joining Nottingham Law School I gained a PhD from Yerevan State University in Armenia, where I also worked as a lecturer, practicing advocate. Additionally I used to work for the Central Bank of Armenia and other commercial banks.

"A Chevening Scholar is also required to be proactive and show commitment to their own goals, have leadership potential and possess many other qualities which make them stand out amongst hundreds of applicants. I fulfilled this criteria as I am the owner of a law firm, and often volunteer for NGO, dealing with environmental issues. Recently, in cooperation with the Armenian Association of International Law, Friedrich Ebert Stiftung and the US State Department, I drafted a law on employment agencies aiming to fight human trafficking through forced labour.

"Having qualities of a change maker definitely increased my chances of winning the scholarship. I tend to believe that the jury panel were satisfied with my ability to bring about a change in jobs in my home country, which I have been doing for the last several years.

"When choosing a university, I found Nottingham Law School online and read all the information available on the NTU website. I was intrigued by articles on Google which informed me that NTU’s Law School had leading courses on Insolvency Law. It also suggested some other courses regarding Employment Law which heightened my interest.

"I was given a golden opportunity to pick up all the modules I was interested in through Nottingham Law School’s flexible syllabus. My final course covered different aspects of Employment Law, Insolvency Law and Corporate Law. At the same time I had a chance to familiarise myself with admission procedures and practice for the European Court of Human Rights.

"Studying with a scholarship might be attractive for many people because it is an opportunity to study free-of-charge, but for me being awarded a scholarship meant accountability. It made me feel responsible towards the fund, my home country and my university.

"What's more, for me receiving a scholarship meant leaving several favourite jobs and my sustainable life in my home country for the sake of larger goals. At this point, I was not ready to go for any scholarship which was on offer. Hence, I chose a scholarship which has an impressive track record; hundreds of extremely successful alumni around the world. I knew that the Chevening Scholarship was the one which would help me to reach my goals.

"Achieving this scholarship has given me ample opportunity to network with many people from different countries, and I am very happy to have made friendships with so many great personalities from the UK and all over the world.

"I also appreciate the opportunity to live in the UK, a developed country with a rich history and culture, where I have been able to improve my English and learn how people here live and work. I feel a great sense of accomplishment from the knowledge I gained during my degree that I can take with me back to my home country. All these aspects are so important for a person who aims to change the environment where he has grown up and lived all his life.

"Once I am back home, I have plans to contribute to the process of passing legislation which will protect employees from abuse by their employers. In the long run I think about developing my own law firm and working with the Armenian government to enhance legislation and promote positive change."