On 18 December 2018 Center-invest Bank and the Endowment Fund for Education and Science in the Southern Federal District awarded scholarships to the best 400 students from 17 of the region’s higher education institutions. Each student received a RUB20,000 scholarship and a certificate entitling them to a preferential rate on business start-up loans (8% per annum).
This year, 1,100 students entered the competition. From among these dedicated, intelligent and talented young people, the jury selected the top 400.
An award ceremony was held for the winners. The students were welcomed to the event by the deputy head of the Rostov-on-Don City Administration for social issues, Elena Kozhukhova, and also by the rectors of the region’s leading universities. These representatives noted the special contribution made by Center-invest Bank, which encourages the best students, increasing their motivation and their desire to study, and instilling a sense of civic responsibility in the younger generation.
The chairman of Center-invest Bank, Dr Vasily Vysokov, presented a winner’s certificate to each student in person. In addition, Ms Kozhukhova presented letters of thanks from the head of the Rostov-on-Don City Administration to a team of five students from Don State University who had won a youth projects competition at the Finopolis-2018 forum, and also to their mentor, an expert from Center-invest Bank’s Department for IT Development.
During the ceremony, the bank’s Director of Innovation, Yuri Bogdanov, spoke about the work of the bank’s accelerator. He presented awards to its five best graduates, noting that their business projects had been given a fresh boost thanks to support from Center-invest Bank’s specialists and partners.
Center-invest Bank’s accelerator is a platform that enables start-ups and existing businesses to work on their business development strategies, from writing a business plan to entering global markets. Free masterclasses and a unique programme to support youth enterprise give everyone the opportunity to start their own business together with a team of professionals.
Speaking at the award ceremony, Dr Vasily Vysokov said, "It was good to see that 82% of the applicants presented their achievements and skills in a format appropriate to a business development strategy. This shows that the new generation of students from southern Russia’s leading universities are open to new knowledge and innovations, and ready to compete in the new global economy. Therefore, in addition to a prized scholarship award, all of the winners are receiving a certificate entitling them to a preferential rate on a RUB300,000 business start-up loan. They are also invited to join Center-invest Bank’s business accelerator."
The Board of Trustees of the Endowment Fund has established a new scholarship in memory of the eminent Russian scientist, Yevgeny Guskov, and his lasting contribution to the development of Southern Federal University and the field of biology internationally. The university’s acting rector, Inna Shevchenko, and chairman of the Executive Board of Center-invest Bank, Sergei Smirnov, awarded scholarships to the university’s ten best undergraduate and postgraduate students in the fields of biology, genetics and medicine.
Center-invest Bank has awarded scholarships since 2003, and in partnership with the Endowment Fund for Education and Science in the Southern Federal District since 2007. (The Endowment Fund was established in 2007 on the initiative of Center-invest Bank, and is now the largest endowment fund in the region.) Over 18,000 students have taken part in the scholarship competition to date, and 4,500 scholarships have been awarded. Center-invest Bank and the Endowment Fund provide over RUB9m in scholarships and grants every year.