This visitorship scheme has been running since 2011 and was initially a collaborative project between So-Wide and Tibetan and Himalayan Studies in Oxford. However, due to the sudden passing of So-Wide’s founder, Geoff Bamford, the project was paused for a year. In 2024, Loplao revived the scheme in collaboration with Oxford Tibetan and Himalayan Studies. Loplao is a CIC registered in the UK with the aim of promoting and advancing Tibetan language and culture worldwide. This is an important platform for Tibetan scholars to showcase Tibetan Buddhism, especially given the fact that, while there are Buddhist scholars at Oxford, there are otherwise no Tibetan scholars of Buddhism at the university. Additionally, providing such opportunities for Tibetan Buddhist monks to visit institutions like Oxford could create a pathway for monks to participate on international platforms, which is important for Tibetan culture and Buddhism.

 

The goal of this scheme is to invite one traditionally trained Tibetan Buddhist scholar to Oxford each year, with the intention of facilitating an exchange between academic students, researchers of Tibetan Buddhist studies, and practitioners from Tibetan Buddhist traditions. So far, many Tibetan monks, including Dzongsar Kyentsen, Arja Rinpoche, Yangten Rinpoche, and Geshe Zoepa, have visited Oxford to teach and give public lectures on Tibetan Buddhism, as well as to imbibe aspects of Western academic rigour. These visitors reside in Oxford for a term, after which they return to their respective institutes in India or Nepal to share what they have learned from their Oxford experience