The XXIII award ceremony for the Smart Scholarship contest winners took place on December 11. Center-invest Bank and the "Education and Science of the Southern Federal District" Endowment Fund allocated 12.5 million rubles for scholarships to 250 best students.

In 2025, almost 5,000 applicants from 25 leading universities of Rostov Region, Krasnodar and Stavropol Territories, Volgograd, Astrakhan, Nizhny Novgorod and the Republic of Adygea presented their progress and business projects to the Contest Committee.

The awards ceremony was opened by Chairman of the Board of Directors of Center-invest Bank, Doctor of Economics, Professor Vasily Vysokov: "Winning the Smart Scholarship contest is not only the joy of recognition, but also a great responsibility. New opportunities are opening up before you, and now it’s important to justify the trust by directing your talent and knowledge towards profound research and real actions."

The jury selected projects from 250 best students in 6 categories: "Agro-Industrial Sector and Gastronomy", "Education, Science and Consulting", "Production and Urban Environment", "Medicine, Ecology, Green Economy and Healthy Lifestyle", "Fintech and Information Technology", "The Cossackdom".

The Contest Committee evaluated the applicants’ financial literacy level, ability to apply their knowledge in business, and willingness to implement their own projects that are in line with the Sustainable Development Goals.

Supporting able-minded and talented youth is the priority mission of the bank’s social and educational projects. Center-invest Bank and the Endowment Fund have been awarding this smart scholarship since 2002. Over 23 years of the contest’s existence, more than 50,000 people participated in it and more than 6.5 thousand students were awarded with the scholarship. The capital of the "Education and Science of the Southern Federal District" Fund amounts to 307 million rubles, making it the largest endowment fund in Southern Russia today.