On December 1, the Victor Pinchuk Foundation opens application process for grant competition under the WorldWideStudies

The Victor Pinchuk Foundation starts application process for the fifth competition of the WorldWideStudies scholarship program. Under this program aimed at fostering a new generation of Ukrainian professional elite, the foundation will award the winners of the competition - talented Ukrainians under the age of 35 – to pursue a Master’s Degree at one of the world’s best universities as rated by the QS and The Times Higher Education.

Submission of applications and online-registration is open on the website worldwidestudies.org from 1 December 2013 through to 15 May 2014.

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 2014;
• 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 jury 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 Victor Pinchuk Foundation expects students to return to Ukraine and work in their chosen field of study for at least 5 years. 

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 (maximum of USD 50.000 for the overall period of 1-2 years). Students are expected to cover the rest of the expenses by either contributing personal funds or finding matching funding.

Students who applied to the University of Cambridge (UK), University of Pittsburg School of Law (USA) and Faculty of Agriculture at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (Israel) will be able to get the rest of financing from the charity foundations supporting these universities.  This option has become available after the WorldWideStudies program of the Victor Pinchuk Foundation came into an agreement with the foundations to enhance scholarships available for applicants from Ukraine. More information is available on the WWS official website, Partners section.

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