Mogesh Sababathy, who last year made the headlines for being a finalist of the Commonwealth Youth Awards, has been awarded the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Scholarship for the 2021 session.

The PhD student in Molecular Biology and Genetic Engineering at Universiti Putra Malaysia, was conferred the prestigious scholarship by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah himself at Istana Negara yesterday.

He was among 10 recipients of the award, but at the age of 23, Mogesh was the youngest PhD recipient of the scholarship.

Since its introduction in 2006, a total of 175 individuals have received the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Scholarship to pursue their studies at local research universities as well as the world's leading universities in the fields of Science and Technology, Economics, Law and Islamic Finance.

Last year, Mogesh, who hails from Shah Alam, Selangor, was conferred the Royal Education Award at his then studying place, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu.

Earlier last year, Mogesh became one of the 20 extraordinary young individuals from 18 countries who got shortlisted for the Commonwealth Youth Awards, for his project focused on sustainable development goal (SDG) of "Life Below Water".

He co-founded the 'Project Ocean Hope', a youth-led group that aims to raise the visibility of ocean issues and environmental conservation through campaigns and youth leadership training.

The group has also run educational community projects to reduce littering and unsustainable fishing practices, and an ocen literacy webinar series on waste management, reaching over 10,000 individuals across 15 countries.

Although Mogesh did not win the final prize as announced in a virtual ceremony on March 10, he did receive a trophy, a certificate, and £1,000 (RM5,521) to expand the impact of their projects, as all the other finalists did.

Congratulations Mogesh on your achievement! So young, yet so talented!

Keep achieving and making your family, and the country proud.


Source: Bernama
Photo source: Facebook