Concerned about the environmental issue in Indonesia, Ismi Farah knew that she wanted to learn more about environmental toxicology during her bachelors. After graduating, she wanted to continue to deepen her knowledge by pursuing a masters degree in the same field. After doing some research, Ismi found Chulabhorn Graduate Institute - ASEAN Foundation Joint Scholarship. After reading more about it, she learnt that this programme aims to build the capacity of the next generation of ASEAN scientists and postgraduate students from ASEAN can apply for this scholarship to study a course of their choice at the Chulabhorn Graduate Institute. In the end, she decided to apply for the programme and as a result, she became one of the chosen scholars to study at the Chulabhorn Graduate Institute in 2014.
At CGI, Ismi pursued her masters in Environmental Toxicology. Ismi shares that her learning experience at the institute was remarkable especially because of the professors and facilities. Ismi had the chance to obtain knowledge and experience from experts of this field, she shares “The Thai lecturers were great and many professors from worldwide top universities (MIT, John Hopkins, etc.) came to teach us directly”. She recalls her professors to be very kind and patient whenever she had questions, which made her studying experience very good. Ismi remembers that CGI provided an ideal study space, “the facility was great, the library has a comprehensive book collection. The lab facility was wonderful and ready to be used for our research. All the facilities and the atmosphere made us more comfortable to study and learn”.
Besides studying, Ismi had the opportunity to learn more about Thai culture, she fondly recollects, “I had the chance to learn the culture directly from the community as I travelled to some parts of the county”. In addition, CGI provided international students with classes focused on Thai culture and language. Throughout the studies, Ismi made friends from many countries, “CGI provided scholarship not only for ASEAN citizens but also for people from other countries. So, I have many friends from the USA, Netherlands, UK, Japan, Korea, etc”. From their diverse interaction, it gave Ismi a chance to learn more about different cultures and to expand her network.
Overall, Ismi feels that studying in CGI has changed her life and made her a better lecturer, “the experiences, skills and lessons that I learnt have made me a better person. Now I can transfer everything I learnt to my students”. Ismi highly encourages students to apply for the CGI-ASEAN Foundation Post-Graduate Scholarship programme, she recommends it because “CGI is a great institute to study. It has a very good atmosphere and good research facilities”.
“Thank you CGI-ASEAN Foundation Scholarship programme for giving me such a great opportunity”, said Ismi Farah.
