The Ministry of Public Administration and Justice, the Institute of International Education (IIE) and the US corporation GE held a joint conference on Monday on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the GE Foundation’s Scholar-Leaders scholarship programme.
The eight Hungarian winners of the GE Foundation’s Scholar-Leaders scholarship programme were announced at the event. Minister of State for Social Relations Zoltán Kovács, US Ambassador to Budapest Eleni Tsakopoulos Kounalakis and György Zolnai, Chair-Chief Executive of Budapest Bank handed over the awards to the students.
Minister of State Zoltán Kovács highlighted at the award ceremony that, in addition to traditions, the experience and knowledge of a country’s international partners are also very important. Today’s young generation, whose members were born after the change of regime, will create their own traditions with their scholarships, travels and experience gained in the employ of international corporations. In order for Central and Eastern-Europe to become an even more attractive investment target on the foundations of a multi-faceted, international managerial concept, the Ministry of Public Administration and Justice is committed to cooperating with the business and non-profit sectors in innovative talent fostering programmes that are designed to boost competitiveness.
US Ambassador Eleni Tsakopoulos Kounalakis said that the US corporation GE with a great history wishes to give something back to the community in which it operates, and the scholarship programme is an example of this. She encouraged scholarship holders themselves to ponder what they can do for their community because every country needs active citizens who shape and develop the fate of the nation. At the same time, she also encouraged students to study in the United States.
György Zolnai said that this programme concentrates on the future and helps students build relations with members of the business community. After the award ceremony, the IIE organised a round-table discussion on the training of the future’s Eastern-Central-European executives.
The GE Foundation Scholar-Leaders scholarship programme was created to give participating students a chance to develop their managerial skills with the aid of financial and professional support and to contribute to the development of a regional managerial generation that is competitive also by international standards and serves the best interests of the community. As part of the programme implemented with the participation of Hungarian, Polish, Czech and Romanian universities, the regional camp of GE Foundation Scholar-Leaders scholarship holders will increase by 32 students this year, and will reach 430 in total.
The scholarship programme was first announced at five Hungarian universities in 2002 (Budapest Corvinus University, Budapest Technical and Economics University, Miskolc University, Pécs University of Sciences and Pannon University) amongst students in their second year studying economics, management, engineering and technology. Thanks to the success of the Hungarian initiative, the programme was launched in Poland in 2003, in the Czech Republic in 2004 and finally in Romania in 2006. In 2012, applicants from 20 universities from the above-mentioned four countries were eligible for scholarship grants based on their outstanding study results, extracurricular activities and other special skills (e.g. active role in student groups, voluntary work, community work, managerial skills). Within the framework of the programme, the students selected on the basis of a system of stringent criteria are awarded a grant of one thousand five hundred euros a year over a period of two years and also attend a regional managerial skills development seminar in the summer.
(kormany.hu)
