HUNTING FOR FUNDING: ISA’S FIRST SCHOLARSHIP FAIR- Wouter (the Netherlands)

This week marks a major milestone in Estonian history, as celebrations on 100 years of its Independence take place. It also marks a major milestone in the history of the International Student Ambassadors of the University of Tartu, for we held our first Scholarship Fair.

With a total of 92 attendees hunting for information on funding opportunities and a strong organizing team, its success can be measured both in attendance and in enthusiasm. With three elaborate presentations and four manned booths, we reached many students and got to provide them with valuable knowledge.

“Crowded and cosy, the attendance exceeded expectations.” Photo credits: Wouter Heemskerk

The first presentation was held by Tuuli Vallisso, who gave a comprehensive explanation of the rules and regulations regarding national state allowances and stipends such as the needs-based and special needs-based allowances. As many degree-seeking students were asking about applying for stipends provided by the local government, her presentation was very worthwhile. She also explained shortly about the achievement stipend and the opportunities to receive doctoral allowances and stipends. For those who want to read through the PowerPoint slides, they are available here: state-allowances-and-stipends.ppt

“Presentation on guidelines for allowances and stipends from the Estonian government by miss Vallisso.” Photo credits: Wouter Heemskerk

Miss Vallisso’s presentation was followed by a presentation from Ülle Tensing, who is a representative of the Study Abroad Centre. Her presentation focused on funding opportunities for, you guessed it, studying abroad. She kindly immersed us into the world of Erasmus+ grants for both studying and traineeships, International Student Exchange Programmes, mobility programmes and more. To get a more detailed view of the precise matters discussed, we invite you to take a look at the presentation slides: Study-Abroad_-scholarship-fair.pdf

“Study Abroad presentation by SAC representative Ülle Tensing” Photo credits: Wouter Heemskerk

After a short break to catch our breath and let the heat escape the room, the representative from the Archimedes foundation, Kadri Orula, talked about Dora-Plus grants for short- and long-term mobility, as well as the Kristjan Jaak scholarship for studying abroad. Her presentation slides can be found here: Scholarships_for_students_UT_19022018_Kadri

“Archimedes foundation presentation by Kadri Orula” Photo credits: Wouter Heemskerk

The four booths were manned by the presenters and further exhibitors. One of these booths was dedicated to studying in the United States, manned by EducationUSA Tartu’s advisor Laura Suur. She was happy to help prospect transnationals get acquainted with the inner workings of the Fulbright Scholarship. The others were manned by the International Student Ambassadors, the Study Abroad Centre, and the Archimedes Foundation. After the presentations had ended, each booth got flooded with students longing for more advice on applying for scholarships, often within the context of their personal circumstances.

“Students show their enthusiasm for scholarship opportunities by flooding the booths for further information” Photo credits: Wouter Heemskerk

All in all, it was an exciting and educative event which inspired students to seek out funding for their degrees and further studies, be it in Tartu or abroad.

“A smile a day keeps the low grades away” Photo credits: Wouter Heemskerk

Written by:

Wouter Heemskerk

MA in International Relations and Regional Studies

We are International Student Ambassadors of the University of Tartu. Through our experience, you can start planning your studies at the University of Tartu. We hope you enjoy our blog.