'Study at Home, Slovakia Will Reward You' Scholarships to Be Given to Students

Bratislava, November 30 (TASR) - The Education Ministry will award 1,627 scholarships to domestic students and 43 to international students following the third round of the 'Study at Home, Slovakia Will Reward You' programme, and there are plans to continue it, the ministry's communications department has reported. The Education Ministry in cooperation with universities has registered over 6,000 applications. Scholarships have been awarded to 804 secondary school-leavers with excellent academic results (to receive €9,000 for three years of study), 423 students from socially disadvantaged backgrounds (also to receive €9,000) and 400 students enrolled to study for occupations that lack employees (to receive €16,500 for three years). At the same time, the ministry is working on further steps, including signing contracts with universities and distributing the funds. A total of 2,134 foreign applicants were interested in scholarships this year, 616 more than last year. Scholarships will be awarded to the 43 most successful foreign students who meet the criteria, including SAT test results, and have been admitted to Slovak universities. The successful students will receive financial support for three years of undergraduate studies as long as they comply with the conditions of the scholarship. This year is the last one in which the scheme is being funded by the Recovery and Resilience Plan. The ministry is therefore preparing to continue it via a new national project and plans to publish the details of the new calls in early 2025. In addition to providing financial support for students, the ministry is investing in modernising the university environment. In the next few years, it plans to invest more than €130 million, including more than €17 million in dormitories. It is also developing a centralised electronic application system to simplify the process for prospective students. lin/zel/df/am