Lewis John Holmes-Ruiz

MIBML with Spanish - received £2,500

Project: To further push and develop the promotion of Scotland and Scottish culture abroad and vice versa with Spain whilst using fitness challenges as a vehicle for a cultural and hobby-based exchange. This will be done by hosting a project labelled as the CCFC “Cali Cross-Fit challenge”. The idea is to partner with multiple local gyms in order to organise and promote Scottish-themed fitness challenges with an educational briefing beforehand and a reflective drinks & snacks tasting session afterwards. The competitions & workouts will be inspired by Scotland’s natural landscape, landmarks and events such as Loch Ness, Ben Nevis and Breckon Beach and will allow local students, fitness enthusiasts and keen participants to learn and experience a foreign culture whilst also having the opportunity to educate others regarding their own. CCFC will be documented and shared on multiple social media and entertainment platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, Facebook, WhatsApp & YouTube.

“I was very pleased and excited when I received the news that I had been selected and later awarded the Stevenson scholarships for the 2024-2025 academic period WHILST I am enrolled in ESIC marketing school in Barcelona.

The application and double header interview process was a comfortable and fun new experience. It allowed my lecturers and external panel members to provide me with a chance to tweak and further develop my concept in order to make it as entertaining and effective as possible.

In regard to electing a final concept for my project, I knew from the start that it would be fitness based due to my interest in it. From there many ideas stemmed to me however the first interview round helped me deliberate and then lock in on what is now CCFC. In preparation for both interview rounds I made sure I really knew my idea inside out and clearly presented its appealing factors. Reaffirming my budget allocation alongside having general knowledge regarding the Stevenson Scholarship itself were also key in the success of my interviews. I can’t wait to take part in my exchange and to add another exciting project in the mix such as the Stevenson scholarship project is even better.”

Natalia Grochowska

MIBML with Spanish - received £2,500

Project: A blog directed to other students who are considering doing an exchange which will encourage students to study languages and participate in a year abroad. The purpose of the blog is to entice people towards studying languages, as this has been decreasing throughout the years, but it is still a vital skill in the workplace. Every month, I will publish a blog post about different topics and about my experience in Valencia - and specifically the cultural differences, the challenges that I face and how I overcome them, the food culture, and top tips for students going on exchange. As part of this project, I plan to connect with other people and network with them to encourage cross-cultural knowledge and to promote the Scottish culture.

"I am so delighted that I have been awarded the Stevenson's Scholarship for this academic year during which I will be studying at Universidad Europea de Valencia, and I am grateful for being nominated for this award. The two-stage interview process was very relaxed and not stressful. The first stage consisted of an interview with my lecturers, and this allowed them to review my idea and give me advice on what I should investigate more on and what ideas I needed to adapt which was extremely helpful and made me feel very prepared for my final interview.

The second stage consisted of an interview with an external panel where part of the interview was carried out in Spanish. To prepare for this interview, make sure to know the history of the Stevenson's Scholarship, have a clear idea about what your project is and what elements it will consist of, and know exactly how you would utilise the funds. The panel was very interested in my idea and engaged a lot which put me at ease on my interview. The interview only lasts a few minutes, so make sure to get all of your ideas across and show off everything that you have prepared!"

Matthew McColgan

MIBML - received £2,500

Project: To foster intercultural exchange between Scottish and Spanish students whilst promoting Scottish heritage and culture through an interactive challenge-based event called “Highland Juegos”. Based on the traditional Scottish Highland Games, the “Highland Juegos” will see participants will engage in activities and challenges taking inspiration from Highland Games classics such as the caber toss and tug of war, whilst learning about the history and evolution of the tradition.

“I’m grateful to have been awarded a Stevenson Scholarship for my year abroad where I will be studying at ESIC university in Barcelona. I found the process to be fair and straightforward, and appreciated the advice and input from the interview panels to refine my project idea further.

I wanted to do something creative and outside the box for my project, and I enjoy interactive events with an active element. The interview panel received my initial idea for the “Highland Juegos” well and helped me to improve and adapt the project concept into a solid proposition. In preparation for my interview, I consulted this page to get a feel for what previous successful students had done, as well as finding out about the Stevenson Scholarship’s origin and process.

I would highly recommend any ambitious students going on a year abroad to apply for this scholarship as it has been a wholly positive experience for me, and I’m excited to put my project into motion in Barcelona.”

Nathan Shevlin

LLB Law with Spanish - received £2,500

Project: To encourage others to study languages and to educate others on Spanish culture, and, furthermore, share my experiences of Scottish culture- thus creating and fostering a cultural interchange- through creating and developing a YouTube channel, through which I will record, edit, and upload videos not only discussing my experiences abroad, but also videos interviewing Spanish students as well as other exchange students from Scotland, allowing me to use this project to promote positive relations between students from both countries. These videos will be shared with local schools in Scotland in order to demonstrate the benefits of studying a language at university, in aiming to encourage more people to do so.

“I am delighted to have been selected for, and awarded, a Stevenson Scholarship for this academic year, during which I am studying in Málaga. The two-stage interview process was a very positive and non-stressful experience, through which my ideas were expanded upon and developed collaboratively with the members of the respective interview panels.

The process of choosing a project involved narrowing down my initial ideas and adapting them to maximise their potential benefits. Through this, the idea of vlogging my experience abroad- given its flexibility- came about. To prepare for the interviews, I researched the Stevenson Scholarship and its history, as well as ensuring I had a firm knowledge of my own project and what I would potentially spend any money received on.

I am incredibly excited to complete my project and honoured to take on this opportunity to represent Scotland whilst in Spain.”