ArmInfo. Social investors and entrepreneurs Ruben Vardanyan and Veronica Sonaband, together with Anand Mahindra, chairman of the board of the international group of companies Mahindra Group, based in India, allocate funding in the amount of $ 7.5 million for scholarships to gifted high school students from all over the world who go to one of the schools and colleges of the educational system UWC (United World Colleges) and whose financial capabilities do not allow you to pay for the cost of training yourself.
UWC is a worldwide educational movement whose mission is to turn education into a force capable of uniting people, nations and cultures in the name of a peaceful and stable future. 17 international schools and colleges on four continents and a system of national committees in 159 countries and territories whose volunteers are engaged in the selection of UWC scholars regardless of their social and financial situation represent UWC.
All three of the above-mentioned benefactors actively support the UWC educational movement: Ruben Vardanyan and Veronika Zonabend founded the UWC Dilijan College in Armenia in 2014, while the Mahindra Group, led by Anand Mahindra, opened UWC Mahindra College in India in 1997.
As part of the agreement, Mahindra Group will provide 150 million Indian rupees (about $ 2.3 million) to pay scholarships to UWC Mahindra College students for five years. Half of this amount will be directed to grants to Indian citizens, and the other half to students selected by UWC national committees outside the country.
At the same time, the Scholae Mundi Foundation, established by Ruben Vardanyan and Veronika Zonabend, will allocate $ 5.2 million to pay scholarships for training in the next academic year. Of this amount, $ 3.7 million will be spent on scholarships to foreign students of UWC Dilijan College located in Armenia.
The remaining $ 1.5 million will be distributed as scholarships to students from Armenia, Georgia and Russia who will go to 16 other schools and colleges of the UWC system in different countries, including UWC Mahindra College. The Scholae Mundi Foundation earlier announced its intention to finance scholarship programs in the following years.
In an effort to emphasize the importance of scholarship programs, UWC Mahindra College and UWC Dilijan announced their readiness to allocate cross-scholarships: UWC Mahindra College will provide one place in the college and pay up to 100% of the cost of tuition and residence to a student from Armenia, and UWC Dilijan, respectively, one place in college and a payment of up to 100% of the cost of tuition to a student from India. The program is designed for five years.
Sir John Daniel, Chairman of the International Council of the UWC, said: "This exclusive initiative of outstanding entrepreneurs from different parts of the world will allow even more young people to become part of the UWC movement and to receive international education of world level. Life and study at one of the 17 UWC colleges will give them the opportunity to acquire the skills and experience of intercultural communication that they will need to become leaders of public opinion and make a difference for the better."
"Today it is extremely important in the complex, unpredictable conditions of the world to provide ample opportunities for talented students with great leadership potential. We hope that the scholarship program created by us will serve as a catalyst for the growing influence of the UWC movement in the world and will help to prepare bright leaders among the new generation who can easily navigate in difficult surrounding circumstances, "said Anand Mahindra, chairman of Mahindra Group.
"In our increasingly interconnected and rapidly changing world, it is extremely important to grow up open and discerning leaders who are carriers of well-defined humanistic values that will be able to navigate their course through a zone of uncertainty and play a significant role in the development of local and global communities. We are sure that formation of this type of leaders forms in the UWC system, and Scholae Mundi Scholarship Scholarship program will promote the inclusivity of this network, "said Veronica Zonaband, co-founder and chairman of the Board of Governors of UWC Dilijan College in Armenia, member of the Board of Trustees of the UWC United Kingdom).