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The Weidenfeld Scholars
To date 113 Scholars have taken part in the Weidenfeld Scholarships and Leadership Programme. They are an increasingly diverse group, originating from 37 countries, with new Scholars from Kosovo and Yemen joining the 2012-13 cohort. The group studies a wide variety of subjects in 25 different departments.
Ernist Abdirashitov - Alumnus
Country: Kyrgyzstan
College: Kellogg College
Subject: Evidence Based Social Intervention
Degree: MSc
Year started: 2007
Before coming to Oxford, Ernist had worked with the International Crisis Group in Osh, Kyrgyzstan, focusing on security issues facing Central Asia. Through further work with development projects in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, Ernist shifted his focus onto drug-related social issues, a pertinent issue given the region’s location and porous borders. Following a post with a project looking at Mental Health and HIV/Aids in Bishkek, Ernist began his MSc in Evidence-based Social Intervention with the expressed intention of tackling HIV/Aids-related issues in contemporary Kyrgyz society. Indeed, it was the emphasis on social change that related to Ernist’s ambitions of not only developing, but implementing initiatives to positively develop Central Asian societies.
Having completed his MSc in 2008, Ernist relocated to Osh, where he worked as a trainer/assistant to the Project Coordinator of the Central Asian HIV/AIDS Project (CARHAP) until April ‘09. Recently, Ernist has secured a position as an evaluator for the Agency of Technical Cooperation and Development, also in Kyrgyzstan.