A GLASGOW graduate has donated the prize money from a prestigious award to help advance the work of a Bangladeshi ­college.

Christopher Sweeney was part of a delegation of students from Glasgow Caledonian University's School of Health Sciences who travelled to Dhaka in Bangladesh earlier this year.

He gifted the money from the GCU Public Health Nurse Award to the university's ­Grameen Caledonian College of Nursing in Bangladesh.

The 27-year-old said: "My visit to GCCN had a big impact on me.

"I spent a few days at the ­College and more than a week at a health post in a rural area where only a few people in the village could speak English.

"The poverty didn't stop ­everyone there and from surrounding villages bringing me gifts and tea. It was a big occasion for them to have a visitor. I also got to spend time shadowing the doctor as he visited ­different villages."

Christopher, who has worked in nursing in Scotland and overseas since his first graduation in 2008, was presented with the GCU Public Health Nurse Award, sponsored by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde Primary Care, when he graduated with a BSc (Hons) Specialist Community Public Health Nursing from GCU in November.

He has now donated the £200 prize money to GCCN. He added: "I was delighted to win but I couldn't have completed the course without the support from the academic staff and colleges though, so I certainly can't take all the credit.

"I enjoyed my time at GCU. As you have to be a nurse or midwife to enrol on the course, my class was full of people who had been working within the profession for many years and we were able to share our experiences.

"Glasgow also has the largest health board in Scotland, so it made sense to study a public health-related subject here."

The money will go to GCCN's Students Association and Alumni Association, at Christopher's request.

Christopher is now qualified to work as a health visitor but his studying days are not yet over.

He said: "I plan to study for an MSc in Public Health after I have spent a couple of years working as a health visitor."