September 2, 2009 – Almaty hosted the ceremony of awarding the educational grants of Yerzhan Tatishev Foundation. School graduates form underprivileged families, graduates of children orphanages, as well as young people with disabilities have become the holders of educational grants of the Foundation.

The Board of Trustees of the Foundation has approved the list of the educational grants 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 orphanages and children with disabilities in their quest to get higher education. Good education has always been fairly expensive. That is why the program was created to support young talented and clever people who are experiencing difficulties in paying for their further education.

The purpose of the program 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 of these parameters, special attention was paid to the essays, where applicants reflected their life position, social activity and leadership potential.

During the second qualifying round, the candidates showed their leadership potential and personal qualities. The uniqueness of this part of the contest is that different interactive methods are used in the process of selection, such as role-plays, conditional problems, individual and group assignments, etc. This approach creates the environment in which participants are able to fully demonstrate their leadership and organizational skills, teamwork, decision-making in complex situation, communication and presentation skills, speech and writing, creativity, intelligence and common culture, their response to activities and efficiency.

In the third round The Board of Trustees determined the winners of the contest.