The ceremony of awarding educational grants was held today in Almaty. School graduates form underprivileged families, graduates of children orphanages, as well as young people with disabilities became recipients of the educational grants of the foundation.

The Board of Trustees of the Foundation has approved the list of the educational grants of competition winners. Out of 170 people who took part in the contest, 21 smart, bright, talented and ambitious young people became educational grant holders. The scholars will study in the leading universities in Kazakhstan – KIMEP, University of International Business, KazNU named after Al-Farabi, KazNTU named after K. Satpayev, KazEU named after T. Ryskulov. The Foundation will cover all the expenses of the students related to their studies during four years.

For the third year running, the Foundation awards educational grants for young people in need of support. This year, despite the financial crisis, the Foundation continues its mission, thereby increasing the total number of its scholars to 49 people.

The program of educational grants was announced on January 22, 2007. Within the program the Foundation supports young people from underprivileged families, children from orphanages and children with disabilities in their quest to get higher education. Its purpose is to identify and support young disabled people, graduates of children orphanages and children from underprivileged families, who have an active life position, desire to overcome barriers, aim to acquire professional skills and use their knowledge in the further work.

The selection process for awarding the educational grants of the Foundation, which determined the best applicants consisted of three rounds and was built on principles of objectivity, impartiality and transparency. The Expert Commission considered candidates on the basis of certain criteria, among which the most important are academic performance, leadership skills and personal characteristics.

The contest consisted of three rounds. The first one was conducted on the basis of the analysis of the submitted documents, which carefully studied the academic potential of the applicant, his or her accomplishments, awards and recognition, as well as the financial situation of his or her family. Apart from these parameters, special attention was paid to the essays, where applicants reflected their life position, social activity and leadership potential.