Thai Nguyen (VNA) - Over 720 scholarships worth over 22 billion VND (990,000 USD) have been given to Vietnamese students under the Happel Scholarship programme funded by Germany’s Happel Institute over a decade.
A conference reviewing the programme was held in northern Thai Nguyen province on November 13 by the centre of education and vocational training cooperation under the Vietnam Study Promotion Association (VSPA) in collaboration with the Happel Institute in Vietnam.
Piloted in the Vietnam National Academy of Agriculture and the Hung Yen University of Technology and Education in 2005, the programme has benefited students in seven universities nationwide so far.
The beneficiaries included disadvantaged students with good study performances, children of families having rendered services to the national revolutionary and those living in remote and ethnic minority areas.
Each selected student receives a financial assistance of 30 EUR (around 718,000 VND) per month. They are requested to commit to serving communities in rural or disadvantaged areas after graduation.
The Happel Institute pledged to continue its support, towards expanding the programme to more universities in the next ten years.
On the occasion, the VSPA presented certificates of merit to three organisations and seven individuals for their contributions to the programme’s development.-VNA