Supported by The Kellner Family Foundation grants, 61 students are bound for 50 universities in 12 countries across the globe

Under its Universities project, The Kellner Family Foundation has awarded grants to 61 talented Czechs, who will be embarking in the 2022/23 academic year on a journey to broaden their knowledge at 50 universities around the world. Their destinations include the prestigious University of Oxford, University of Cambridge and ETH Zurich. 

This is the first time the Foundation has distributed a total annual amount of CZK 15 million in grants to outstanding students. Over the last 13 years, the Universities project has supported 239 Czech students fresh out of secondary school with financial support for their studies and related costs. The Foundation has a long history of paving the way for talented, driven and diligent young people to experience a high-quality education. Many of those students are determined to use their international experience for the benefit of Czech society and, in doing so, contribute to its development.

  • In the 2022/23 academic year, the Foundation will support 61 students under its Universities project.

  • For the first time, the Foundation will be distributing a total annual amount of CZK 15 million to students.

  • Students will be commencing studies at 50 universities in 12 countries.

  • Among the students receiving financial support are 14 Open Gate Grammar School alumni who have already studied under a needs-based scholarship from the Foundation during their secondary school studies.

  • Over the last 13 years, the Foundation’s Universities project has supported 239 students.

For the 2022/23 academic year, the Foundation approved grants for 61 talented students, 21 of those students receiving support for their first year, 20 for their second year, and the remaining 20 for their third or later year. Selected from 116 applications by committee members in a two-round process, students were considered on a strictly case-by-case basis, as in previous years.

For the 2022/23 academic year, the Foundation approved grants for 61 talented students, 21 of those students receiving support for their first year, 20 for their second year, and the remaining 20 for their third or later year. Selected from 116 applications by committee members in a two-round process, students were considered on a strictly case-by-case basis, as in previous years.

“The Foundation’s long-term vision is to transform society through high-quality education. With this in mind, when we select a student to receive a scholarship, we attach importance to how their experiences might later benefit Czech society, and we look at the student’s determination to contribute in their selected field in the Czech Republic in the future,” says Petra Dobešová, member of the Board of Trustees of The Kellner Family Foundation.

According to region, most of the students are from Prague (18), followed by Central Bohemia (10), Ústí nad Labem (8), Moravia-Silesia (8), and Zlín (6). Grants for studies and associated expenses were also awarded to five students from South Moravia Region, and one each from Karlovy Vary, Hradec Králové, Liberec, Olomouc and Vysočina Regions.

Fourteen Open Gate High School alumni will be among the students awarded grants in the coming academic year. These young people have already benefited from The Kellner Family Foundation with needs-based scholarships during their secondary school studies.

Ever since the Universities project was launched, we have placed great importance on making sure students who receive our grants can study their chosen fields at reputable universities. UK institutions in this respect are world class, and so we can keep sending talented Czechs to the UK despite the surge in costs associated with studying in post-Brexit Britain, we have increased the pool of financial assistance available in the Universities project to CZK 15 million. The average cost of an academic year in the UK is currently around CZK 1 million.

Petra Dobešová

Petra Dobešová

Member of the Board of Trustees of The Kellner Family Foundation

Brexit has not affected student preferences, with more than a third heading to the UK

Brexit and the soaring costs of studying at British universities have not completely upended grant applicants’ preferences. In the 2022/23 academic year, more than a third of students supported will again be heading for institutions in the UK.

“Ever since the Universities project was launched, we have placed great importance on making sure students who receive our grants can study their chosen fields at reputable universities. UK institutions in this respect are world class, and so we can keep sending talented Czechs to the UK despite the surge in costs associated with studying in post-Brexit Britain, we have increased the pool of financial assistance available in the Universities project to CZK 15 million. The average cost of an academic year in the UK is currently around CZK 1 million,” says Petra Dobešová.

Grantees will also be studying at universities in the Netherlands (10), USA (6), Ireland (5) and Switzerland (3). Students in arts will get to study at renowned Austrian and Spanish universities, while those in the engineering fields will study in Germany, where the range of English-language courses has expanded in recent years. Finally, a handful of students are headed for Canada, France and China. Describing the shifting trends among new grant applicants Petra Dobešová says: “Most new students go to universities in the Netherlands. An equal percentage of students will study at institutions in the US, Ireland and the UK, and we are also noticing a growing interest in top Swiss and German institutions.”

List of universities where Czech students will be studying with financial assistance from The Kellner Family Foundation’s in the 2022/23 academic year

United Kingdom
Coventry University
Imperial College London
Newcastle University
Northumbria University
Swansea University
University of Sheffield
University College London
University of Aberdeen
University of Cambridge
University of Glasgow
University of Dundee
University of Oxford
University of Nottingham
University of York
University of St Andrews
University of the West of England, Bristol

Netherlands
Academy for Circus and Performance Art
Breda University
Delft University of Technology
Eindhoven University of Technology
Leiden University
Tilburg University
University of Amsterdam
University of Groningen
Utrecht University

USA
Rochester Institute of Technology
University of California, LA
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
University of New Hampshire
University of Pennsylvania
Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Czech Republic
Charles University, Faculty of Education
University of New York in Prague
University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Brno
University of Chemistry and Technology

Ireland
National University of Ireland, Galway
Trinity College Dublin
University College Dublin

China
Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
New York University Shanghai

Austria
Sigmund Freud University Vienna
Mozarteum University Salzburg

Spain
Reina Sofía School of Music, Madrid
University of Malaga

Switzerland
ETH Zurich
EPFL, Lausanne

France
SciencesPo, Paris

Canada
John Molson School of Business, Concordia University

Germany
Technical University of Munich

Grants under the Universities project are mainly to assist undergraduates in a field of study. “Although we prefer modern STEM disciplines, i.e. science, technology, engineering and mathematics, our grantees have also traditionally included students of economics, law, arts and humanities,” says Petra Dobešová.

Overview of subjects studied by Universities project grantees in the 2022/23 academic year

The level of support awarded for the 2022/23 academic year varies between student and is generally in the range of less than a hundred thousand crowns up to a million crowns. Over the last 13 years, the Universities project has assisted 239 students with financing their studies and associated expenses at colleges and universities around the world. Profiles of all students who have received grants are published on The Kellner Family Foundation’s website.

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