The Victor Pinchuk Foundation stops application process for the WorldWideStudies scholarship program on May 15

The Victor Pinchuk Foundation stops application process for the competition of the WorldWideStudies scholarship program on May 15. Under this program aimed at fostering a new generation of Ukrainian professional elite, the foundation will award winners of the competition - talented Ukrainians under the age of 35 willing to pursue a Masters Degree at one of the world’s best universities.

Submission of applications and online-registration is open on the website worldwidestudies.org

This year the Foundation will first of all support candidates applying for the following fields of study: agriculture, environment and ecology, law, public administration, alternative energies and aerospace engineering. The Foundation may, in exceptional cases, also consider applications from other fields of study if a student provides a convincing rationale of his/her personal choice and its benefit for Ukraine.

Additionally, as part of the regional project WorldWideStudies – Engineers of the Future, young people of Dnipropetrovsk will have an opportunity to gain financial and administrative support of the Foundation to pursue a Master’s degree at one of the world’s best universities.[1] The Foundation launched this project in October 2012 with an intention to foster new generation of professional elites in engineering field selected by the Foundation as the top priority for the future development of the region and Ukraine.

Potential Project participants - grantees:

• must be citizens of Ukraine and under 35 on the date of enrolment in the University;
• must have a Bachelor or higher Degree in the field required by the chosen foreign University and the Master’s program;
• should be admitted to the Master’s program of the University outside of Ukraine and be able to start their education in the autumn of 2013;
• must have a clear plan for applying in Ukraine the knowledge and skills acquired;
• must be committed to work in Ukraine for at least five years after finishing their studies.

The candidates will be shortlisted based on an open, nationwide competition and after having successfully applied to their chosen university. Afterwards they will be invited to an interview with the independent WorldWideStudies Selection panel on their study plans and on how they plan to apply the knowledge acquired upon return to Ukraine. Based on these interviews the selection panel selects the winners.

The grants will be used primarily to cover university tuition fees, books and medical insurance. The grant size is determined for each individual case based on personal needs and merit. The majority of the grants shall cover up to 60% of the total amount required (100% for the Dnipropetrovsk engineers), but not more than USD 50.000 for the overall period. Students are expected to cover the rest of the expenses by either contributing personal funds or finding matching funding. The Victor Pinchuk Foundation expects students to return to Ukraine and work in their chosen field of study for at least 5 years.

To date 55 young people have won the WorldWideStudies grants. Half of them have returned to Ukraine and started working in the field-specific companies, and the rest of the scholars are currently completing their training in the leading universities of the USA, the UK, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, France and Germany.

Overall, since project launch, the Victor Pinchuk Foundation allocated UAH 11 857 000 for the WWS.

Detailed information about terms and regulations of the competition, as well as recommendations on the selection of Masters programs, host countries, information on specifics of education in these countries, the WWS application form can be found on the WorldWideStudies website.