Merit Scholarships 2011 announced

The Educational Advising Center (EAC) has launched today the XVI Merit Scholarships 2011 competition which will produce annual scholarships for 50 undergraduate and graduate students, Info-Prim Neo reports. EAC director Angela Muset has told a press conference on Friday that this year's edition offers 35 scholarships for final-year students and other 15 scholarships for master's degree students. The size of the scholarships is 12,000 lei. Eligible to apply are students and master's degree students in full-time education from all specialties, who have have an average grade for all the years of studies not lower than 9 for the humanities, 8.5 for exact, technical, medical or biological sciences and 8 in the case of students with disabilities and/or orphans. Applications can be submitted until November 3. Ineligible are the students who won scholarships at national competitions, including previous Merit Scholarships editions, in 2011 and 2012. The competition consists of 2 stages: an assessment of applications followed by an interview, which this year's applicants will have to take in a foreign language. The applications will be assessed by a Council of Experts and a Council of Donors, and the results will be announced on December 8. An awards ceremony will also be held, later in December. Attending the launch event, Deputy Education Minister Loretta Handrabura stated the project contributed to promoting excellence in education. European countries greatly treasure competence, performance and competition, and these are exactly the three objectives this contest pursues, she remarked. Those interesting in applying can find more information, including the application form, online at www.eac.md or directly at the Educational Advising Center's office. The competition is traditionally held under the aegis of the Rectors' Council. The first edition was held in 1996.