Anna Komorowska presented the bridging scholarships

"This initiative is helping hand extended to young, ambitious and courageous people" - spoke about the Bridge Scholarship Program Anna Komorowska Bronislaw, who took the honorary patronage of this year\'s edition. "Roman proverb says: audaces fortune iuvat, which means fortune favours the brave. You are brave, because first - despite objective, serious difficulties you have chosen to continue your education, and this is demonstrated great courage. You have also dared to also ask for help, for the scholarship, you were afraid or ashamed of this" - she said at the launch of the program at the Presidential Palace.

Bridge Scholarship Program involves 1300 people this year. In earlier editions, nearly 17 thousand scholarships were awarded. Scholarships for the first year of the daily master\'s studies have been given to more than 12,000 high school graduates, including 821 in the current, 12th edition.

Bridge Scholarship Program was initiated in 2002 by the Polish-American Freedom Foundation. It is targeted at first-year students enrolled in full-time master\'s studies, coming from rural areas or small towns, especially children from families of former state farm workers. Eligible for scholarships in the amount of PLN 500 per month are high school graduates from low-income families, who have very good study results.

"The program gives high school students the prospect of getting a scholarship at once, from the first month of study, which will encourage many of them to cross the university gate despite the difficult material conditions in the family" - said president of the Polish-American Freedom Foundation Jerzy Koźmiński.

Scholarship holders who achieve high academic performance have a chance for assistance in successive years of study - in the "Top Student" competition. They can also apply for corporate scholarships for their third and fourth years, internships at American companies (with the Polish-American Internship Initiative), and doctoral scholarships.

"This is my third year under the wings of bridge scholarships programs and all the partners. I can say that the door that opened up before me after I became a member of this program - opened a world of almost endless possibilities. I could deliver my first conference speech, I could meet with amazing people during a workshop for bridge leaders, and next year I may be able to study at a foreign university under the Erasmus exchange programme" - said Małgorzata Gałka, Lodz University of Technology student majoring in management and production engineering.

The scholarships are sponsored by a coalition of various organizations and institutions, including the network of nearly 100 non-governmental organizations - emphasised Koźmiński. The partners contributed nearly 78 million zlotys to the implementation of the 12th edition.

PAP - Science and Scholarship in Poland

zan/ agt/ jra/ mrt/

tr. RL