Among the scholarship recipients of the Deutschlandstipendium program, there are many foreigners
At the same time, as Deutsche Welle notes, the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research provides half of the scholarship – 150 euros, but on the condition that state universities have found sponsors willing to contribute the remaining amount. As a result, the universities themselves must primarily take care of the scholarship: find partners and establish cooperation with businesses interested in young professionals. The full scholarship amount is 300 euros per month.
The German Federal Ministry of Education and Research had planned to increase the number of scholarship recipients to 160,000 in the long term, which is about eight percent of the total number of German students. Today, there are far fewer. In 2014, 22,500 people received the Germany Scholarship.
"Among them were 1,679 international students. This figure almost reached the target of 8 percent, but not of the total number of students, but of the number of scholarship recipients," emphasized Christina, a responsible employee of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, in an interview with DW. According to her, the largest number of scholarship holders come from Russia (153 people), followed by Ukraine (102 scholarship holders), then Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, and Azerbaijan.
"The Germany Scholarship is awarded to particularly talented students, regardless of whether they are foreigners or native Germans," clarifies Christina Brüning. "However, when awarding it, both the candidates' social engagement and the social status of their families are taken into account. Students' academic performance also plays a major role: the better the grades in their school-leaving certificates or in the first semesters at university, the greater the chances of receiving it."
Applications for the Germany Scholarship can be submitted directly at the universities. They, not the ministry, decide who receives the scholarship. The candidates' nationality plays no role, but, as practice shows, more and more international students with high academic performance are showing interest in the Germany Scholarship.
The Berlin School of Economics and Law (HWR) was able to provide 27 students with the Germany Scholarship in 2015. More than a thousand applications were submitted. Vice President of the institute, Professor Friederike Maier, talks about the difficulties of the program in an interview with DW: "The German government wants more scholarship recipients, but it is not easy for universities to find sponsors. The government planned to provide the Germany Scholarship to about 8 percent of all German students, but in reality it has only achieved 0.8 percent."
Professor Maier has been leading the Germany Scholarship program for four years and is very pleased that her university was able to find sponsors this year. "27 scholarship recipients for 10,000 students at our university is, of course, not very many, but we are happy about it. The fact is that our university is not directly involved in production; we provide theoretical knowledge, and we find sponsors through our former graduates who are entrepreneurs or have made good careers in big business. We also have benefactors from among the members of the institute's supervisory board," emphasizes the professor. Among the scholarship recipients are international students – Olga Ponamoreva from Kazakhstan, Daniel Yakh from Belarus, Anastasia Marenko from Ukraine, and others.
Daniel Yakh, 17, from Minsk is one of the youngest students in Germany. He graduated from an international American school in Minsk at age 16 and immediately enrolled at the Berlin School of Economics and Law. His school-leaving certificate was recognized as equivalent to a German one, and it contained only excellent grades. After the first semester, Daniel applied for the Germany Scholarship, and he had better chances than others: his current grades are also excellent, he gets "1s" in German, and furthermore, Daniel speaks five languages and participates in the institute's social life.
"I have been receiving the scholarship since April," Daniel says. "If I maintain the same excellent academic performance, there are chances to extend it for another year. I will strive for that, because 300 euros a month is good support for an international student. My parents live in Minsk, but they help finance my life in Berlin." Daniel studies in a dual education system: he spends three months doing an internship at a firm that advises clients on tax law, and three months studying at the institute.
"The firm pays me a salary, so I can spend some of the money on my hobbies – dancing and playing the piano," says the young talent. In 2012, he even represented Belarus at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest, but now he does not dream of a stage career, but rather of becoming a tax law specialist.
Anastasia Marenko is from Ukraine. A 30-year-old evening student at the Berlin School of Economics and Law, she works part-time during the day at one of the city's airports because she speaks four languages and dreams of starting her own business with her brother. In her free time, she developed a concept for a football club where native residents will play together with migrants. The goal is to bring together representatives of different cultures and mentalities and to better integrate foreigners into German society.
"I am glad that I received this scholarship," Anastasia admitted in an interview with DW. "I save part of it for starting a startup, and part goes towards paying for housing. I am happy for any financial support because it leaves me more time and energy for my studies. I advise you not to be afraid to apply for this or other scholarships. Who knows, maybe luck will smile on you too!"
Official website of the Germany Scholarship (Deutschlandstipendium): www.deutschlandstipendium.de