The Victor Pinchuk Foundation awarded grants to 19 young Ukrainians for studying in the world’s top universities

On Wednesday, 29 June 2011, the Victor Pinchuk Foundation announced the names of 19 winners of the second competitive selection process under the World Wide Studies program. The young scholars will receive grants to pursue a Master’s Degree in the world’s top Universities, as ranked by QS and The Times Higher Education. The finalists were selected on the basis of a competition among more than 100 applicants. The entire grants provided by the Foundation for the World Wide Studies in 2011 totaled in UAH 4 383 970.

This year the Victor Pinchuk Foundation grants are awarded to: Maksym Buhai (Bila Tserkva, Kyiv Region), Diana Goldstein (Kyiv), Andriy Kril (Ugryniv, Ivano-Frankivsk Region), Maryna Kuzmenko (Kyiv), Yuriy Lotonenko (Kyiv), Oleksandr Luhovskyi (Yalta, Crimea), Bohdan Nyschiy (Kyiv), Maria Parubets (Kyiv), Kateryna Perepechai (Berezne, Rivne Region), Uliana Poltavets (Kyiv), Anastasia Prymovych (Lviv), Olena Ptashenchuk (Odesa), Oleksiy Ryzhkov (Kaniv, Cherkasy Region), Ivan Romaschenko (Kyiv), Alina Sviderska (Kyiv), Olga Sinkevych (Lutsk), Maria Trylis (Kyiv), Aliona Shkrum (Kyiv) and Natalia Scherbynska (Kyiv).

On the occasion of completion of the second World Wide Studies competition, the Foundation held a formal ceremony where Victor Pinchuk and the project grantees signed the declaration on mutual intentions and commitments aimed at fostering a new generation of Ukrainian professional elites. Additionally, the finalist had a chance to communicate with ambassadors of the USA and leading European countries, successful diplomats, business leaders, and representatives from government and public organizations.

Addressing the project participants, Victor Pinchuk stated: “You will study together with people from different countries. But an opportunity to modernize a country, creating it from scratch in some aspects, won’t be available to each of them by far. But the task will fall on you. So, do remember how badly you are needed here.”

He also added: “Right now our hope for national success is you. It is up to you as a community of scholarship holders and the new modernly educated generation in general to achieve this success in the coming years.”

Finalist of the second competition will commence their education in autumn 2011 at the Universities of Great Britain (7 students), Denmark (2 students), Malta (1 student), the Netherlands (4 students), the USA (3 students), France (1 student) and Sweden (1 student) in the fields of environment and ecology (2 students), agriculture (2 students), law (11 students) and public administration (4 students).

Over 100 applications from all regions of Ukraine were submitted for consideration during the open nationwide competition. Following the preliminary selection, 50 candidates were invited to an interview to present their vision on how the acquired knowledge will be applied upon return to Ukraine. On the basis of the interview, International Selection Panel decided on 19 finalist of the project.

This year the World Wide Studies Jury, apart from the Victor Pinchuk Foundation representatives, also included: President of the Ukrainian Club of Agrarian Business Alex Lissitsa, Executive Director of European Business Association Anna Derevianko, Director of the Institute for Demography and Social Studies of Ukraine Ella Libanova, Country Director of the American Councils Christina Pendzola-Vitovych, Director of Counseling Center of the EducationUSA Viktoria Mikhailenko, Head of external relations division of the World Bank in Ukraine Dmytro Derkach, partners and advisors of the top law firms in Ukraine: Mykhailo Kharenko, Timur Bondarev, Vadym Belianevych, Volodymyr Monastyrsky, and others.