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$27m scholarship program to benefit African students

5 Oct 2016

Over the next seven years, the University of Edinburgh, in partnership with The MasterCard Foundation, will provide $27 million in scholarships to aid some 200 African students. It will ensure access to education for bright young leaders who have a personal commitment to changing the world around them and improving the lives of others.

Old College of Edinburgh University

Image credit: Kim Traynor (CC BY-SA 3.0), via Wikimedia Commons

Full scholarships will be offered to 80 undergraduate and 120 postgraduate African students. The initiative will enable Edinburgh to offer opportunities to the brightest and best African Scholars.

Munini Musembi, from Nairobi, Kenya, is one of the first undergraduate recipients and will begin studying mechanical engineering at Edinburgh shortly.

"I was so elated when I received The MasterCard Foundation scholarship to study in Edinburgh. This will be an enlightening experience for us as the first cohort of MasterCard Foundation Scholars. I hope that our experiences will also benefit future scholars at the University. It was a long process to get here, but I am very grateful for the opportunity," said Musembi.

The university will work with partners to recruit and provide comprehensive support to talented scholars with great potential, but who face significant financial barriers to entry in higher education.

To date, the Scholars Program has committed over US $700 million to support the education and leadership development of over 30,000 young people. Edinburgh is the first university in Europe to collaborate with The MasterCard Foundation Scholars Program.

Africa Week

The announcement comes as part of the University of Edinburgh's Africa Week - a series of events from 3-7 October - highlighting the University's partnerships and research in Africa.

Edinburgh welcomed 583 students from 33 African countries last year. The University's largest cohorts in 2015/16 included 124 students from Nigeria, 117 students from South Africa and 76 students from Kenya.

The University is engaged in multi-disciplinary research relating to Africa through Edinburgh's four Global Academies - Development, Health, Justice, Environment and Society.

Edinburgh's Centre of African Studies is a world leader of research on Africa and ostensibly the largest research hub of its kind in Europe.

Reeta Roy, president and CEO of The MasterCard Foundation, said: "We welcome the University of Edinburgh, our first European partner in the Scholars Program. We are excited to work with a visionary partner who shares our commitment to ensuring that all young people, no matter their starting point in life, should have an equal chance to a quality education and pursue their aspirations. I know that the University of Edinburgh will be a tremendous resource in equipping scholars with the knowledge and skills they need to lead their communities."

The principal of the University of Edinburgh, Professor Sir Timothy O'Shea, said: "This visionary gift shows the extraordinary global impact philanthropy can have. We understand the transformative power of education and the value of a truly diverse, international campus."