Find out whether you could benefit from one of the scholarships offered each year via the QS Education Trust.
More than 150 postgraduate students from all around the world have benefited from QS scholarships over the past six years. And there are now plans to extend the scheme to undergraduates.
QS is the only publisher of global rankings to devote some of the income from associated conferences and other activities to help outstanding students. The QS Education Trust was founded in 2005 and now has funds of more than US$1.2 million to support students taking MBAs and other graduate programs.
The original aim was to become the world's largest independent community-based provider of graduate scholarships. But the company hopes to incorporate undergraduate studies in 2012.
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At present, there are separate schemes for MBAs and other graduate programs. Most awards are worth between $10,000 and $20,000, but one at Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School, in Belgium, offered in association with several leading MBA recruiters, is worth a total of €425,000.
“QS Scholarship winners are united by their demonstration of responsible leadership and community commitment, in very varied circumstances” Nunzio Quacquarelli, managing director of QS.
There are dedicated awards at 14 business schools, but other scholarships can be taken up at universities all around the world.
Alexandru-Cosmin Buteica used his to take MSc programs in management and business administration at the Rotterdam School of Management, at Erasmus University. While there, he also spent a semester as an exchange student at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, in Santiago.
Alexandru learnt of the awards when he attended a QS Top MBA and Masters Fair at the University of Bucharest, where he took his first degree. He was awarded the QS Top Community Scholarship, for demonstrating commitment and skills in contributing to the advancement of communities.
The co-founder of FORCE, the Foundation for Opportunity, Responsibility and Chance for Education, he has since won a place on the International Talent Program run by ING, the Dutch bank.
He said: “I plan to build up a strong career path in the future, and do what I like best: learn from the people that surround me, invest in my personal development and give as much time, energy and knowledge as I can to the communities in which I am active and especially to the youth. I am still involved in various Romanian NGOs and I do my best to contribute to the development of communities and invest in youth education.”
Alexandru, who is now 25, added: “The QS scholarship was a great financial opportunity for me, as it covered the whole tuition fee for my master’s. I am most grateful to the QS foundation for offering this scholarship, which contributed to my international education and personal development.”
The deadline for applications is May 28, 2012. Universities and business schools and universities interested in the scheme should email scholarships@qs.com.