The first three Deutschlandstipendien [new form of scholarship] for students of the University of Bremen are now assured: an endowment sponsored by the Förderverein des Industrie-Clubs Bremen e.V., an association of industrial enterprises in Bremen. For the coming year, the Industrie-Club Bremen e.V. will be funding three new scholarships, each in an amount of € 150 per month. The scholarships will be topped up in the same amount by federal funds. The endowment agreement was signed yesterday in the rooms of the Industrie-Club Bremen.
In a statement to mark the occasion, the boards of the Förderverein and the Industrie-Club expressed their conviction that the private sector should recognize there is a public duty to support education and research, especially in the area of providing support for talented young academics: “We want to make a contribution to dealing with the challenges facing the corporate sector and society as a whole, and hope that this commitment on our part will serve as an example for other sponsors.”
University President Professor Wilfried Müller welcomed the quick response to this new form of scholarship: “This endowment for the first three Deutschlandstipendien in Bremen financed by the Förderverein des Industrie-Club Bremen bolsters our motivation. It helps us to realize the idea of a ‘campus of talent’ and is a boost along the way to consolidating our position as a university of excellence.”
Last year the German Bundestag and Bundesrat passed an scholarship act which provides for a national scholarship program – the so-called Deutschlandstipendium. In 2011 the University of Bremen is already able to provide this new type of scholarship for 80 of its students.
The aim of the German Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) is to improve support especially for outstanding young academics. The selection procedure rests in the hands of the universities. Elucidating the selection procedure at the University of Bremen, Wilfried Müller says “We are particularly interested in providing support for especially committed individuals. Talent and academic achievement are not the sole criteria. We believe it to be just as important that recipients of scholarships exhibit a certain duty towards society, and personal circumstances also play a role.” Therefore, at the University of Bremen, applicants for scholarships must not only have an outstanding academic record – they must also have a sense of social duty and show self-initiative and flexibility. Special personal circumstances that may be taken into account include caring for children or family members, a migrant background, or entry into higher education via an unconventional route, the so-called zweite Bildungsweg.
You can find more information on the Deutschlandstipendium at www.uni-bremen.de/deutschlandstipendium.
