Fifty students from nine higher education establishments of Moldova came into possession of Merit Scholarships worth 12,000 lei each. The money will be transferred to their accounts in one tranche. Director of the Educational Advising Center Angela Muset has told IPN that besides the traditional file with certificates showing their knowledge, the students and master’s students had to also present an essay on a free topic, not on a chosen topic as the previous years. This year the Merit Scholarship Program reached its 21st edition.
“The applicant students were offered more opportunities this year. They could write an essay on different themes so that all the students, those who study socio-humanitarian sciences, exact sciences, technical-engineering or medical-biological sciences, write about what is closer to their soul or their areas of activity. This showed their creativity and freedom of through,” stated Angela Muset.
This year’s contest involved 266 students and master’s students. After assessing them, including by a general knowledge test, there were chosen 50 winners – 35 last-year bachelor’s students and 15 master’s students. The 50 winners were selected by an independent expert commission that consisted of representatives of the academic community. Special emphasis was placed on the students’ involvement in extracurricular activities, including volunteering or different projects.
Attending the award ceremony, chairman of the Parliament’s commission on culture, education, research, youth and mass media Vladimir Hotineanu praised the Moldovan students for their accomplishments, expressing his confidence that namely the young awardees will contribute to solving the problem of shortage of staff in rural areas.
Gheorghe Graur, master’s student of the Police Academy “Stefan cel Mare” of the Ministry of the Interior, said the sum of 12,000 lei is significant for a student who needs to purchase basic necessities for studying. “It is like a first salary for the efforts we made when studying. It is an essential stimulus. It is the first foundation stone for remaining in the Republic of Moldova,” he stated.
Awardee Ludmila Adamciuc, of the Academy of Economic Education, said that earlier she spent the monthly scholarship on required books, but now, as the sum is higher, she will use it to vacation or to organize her own wedding ceremony.
During the 21 annual editions of the program, about 5,000 students took part in the contest, with 1,330 of these being awarded Merit Scholarships. Since 2003, the contest has been staged by the Educational Advising Center under the aegis of the Council of Rectors of Moldova.
The scholarship program is financially supported by Moldova Agroindbank and Orange Moldova. The partners of the event are the National Association of Young Historians of Moldova and the advertising agency Kim Art, while the media partners are the weekly paper “Saptamana”, daily paper “Timpul”, newspaper “Ziarul de Garda” and IPN News Agency.
