On 27 May 2026, an award ceremony was held to honour the winners of the 3rd "Smart Scholarship. Professionalism" student competition, joint-hosted by Center-invest Bank and the Education and Science of the Southern Federal District Endowment Fund.

A total of 2,316 applicants from 87 secondary vocational education institutions applied to participate in the competition. The participants presented their business projects and implementation strategies across 5 categories aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals: "Education, Science and Consulting", "Medicine, Ecology, Green Economy and Healthy Lifestyle", "Manufacturing and Urban Environment", "Fintech and Information Technology", and "Agribusiness and Gastronomy".

An expert panel, comprising the bank’s specialists, university faculty members, and entrepreneurs from Southern Russia, selected 100 winners to receive a 30,000-ruble scholarship.