With a vision of ‘inspiring education in Bhutan’, the Royal Thimphu College was founded with the aim of providing an alternative to exam-centered, textbook-based learning that would inspire the students to achieve their full potential and also positively affect changes in the landscape of tertiary education in the kingdom.
RTC’s mission is to produce graduates who are well-rounded, life-long learners and therefore challenge its students to think critically, act independently, and be responsible for their own learning. Therefore, it has made enhanced efforts towards the development of skills in communication, analysis, critical thinking, problem-solving, etc., as well as providing opportunities for internships and on-campus jobs. There is a strong support system for students through programmes such as the ‘Orientation to College Learning’ programme that helps students adjust to college life as well as faculty advice, personal counseling, a Learning Resources Center (LRC) for tutoring, and a Career Development Office. The directly elected student government body plans and runs most of the student activities.
RTC constantly develops and introduces courses to address specific learner needs such as the recently introduced courses in BA Anthropology, BA Mass Communication, and BSc Nursing, all of which were introduced in 2018, thereby opening up new avenues to graduates in these fields.
RTC’s partnership with SEISA University in Japan provides a mutual exchange of students across campuses in addition to exchange agreements with institutes in Switzerland, Canada, and the USA (Texas A & M, Kingsville). Our award-winning semester-long programme brings students from Wheaton College, USA to RTC every semester. These institutional linkages provide opportunities to students for international learning and exposure.
In the past, the college has hosted talks by distinguished leaders such as the then Prime Minister, Opposition leader, and Chief Justice amongst others -celebrated authors, government officials, renowned academics, and business leaders. More recently, in July 2019, RTC was the chosen venue for the second biannual Bhutan Economic Forum for Innovative Transformation (BEFIT), a national platform that brings together international and local expertise to share best practices and come up with innovative solutions.
In addition, students are encouraged to get involved in various club/community activities that help them stay healthy and foster their civic sense, such as blood donation drives, clean-up campaigns, and marathons. Not only that, student teams from RTC have won prizes at the Mekong Business Challenge for three consecutive years. It is an annual entrepreneurship challenge for university students in the Mekong region which includes Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, and Myanmar.
The college tries it level best to provide the best educational experience for its students that would benefit them throughout their life. With a view to attracting capable students from all walks of life, including those from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, RTC, with its local partners, provides scholarships to over 50 students. Unfortunately, more scholarships cannot be provided due to lack of funds since the college is committed to continuing to provide the same level of annual scholarship support (approximately US$ 100,000 p.a.), as well as keeping the fees low enough to make its education affordable to potential students.
A significant portion of the students come from poor families, often with parents who have little or no education, and who find it extremely difficult to pay their children’s tuition. Many students simply do not apply because they know they do not have the financial capability to cover the fees or they are unable to secure education loans from the local banks. Therefore, to enable more highly qualified but needy students to enroll at RTC, the college has set up the RTC Scholarship Fund. The proceeds of the fund will be used to finance students from under-privileged and under-represented backgrounds so that the RTC student body is more diverse and representative.
We hope that you will share in our goal of making a difference. The entire college community will greatly appreciate any contribution you can make to the RTC Scholarship Fund. Contributions can be made in cash (appropriate receipts will be issued) or, for larger contributions, we can arrange for bank wire transfers. Contributions from the United States could be routed through our local partner, Bhutan Foundation (headquartered in Washington DC) which would also have the benefit of qualifying as a tax-exempt contribution. https://bhutanfound.org/partners/#royal-thimphu-college.
Click on the links below to :
Download the Contribution Form