GE Foundation Scholar-Leaders Program

GE Foundation Announces Czech Winners

April 24, 2008

Four Years of GE Foundation Commitment to the Development of Human Capital in the Czech Republic

The GE Foundation and the Institute of International Education (IIE) announced today the 15 Czech winners of its regional Scholar-Leaders university scholarship program for the fourth year in a row.

The 15 Czech Scholar-Leaders are awarded a €3000 scholarship (€1000 annually for three years). In addition, they will also participate in supplemental activities including an international Leadership Development Program and a “Shadowing-day” spent with a GE manager. Students are also expected to engage in community volunteerism as part of their award. An independent commission evaluated and selected winners based on a combination of excellent academic accomplishments, remarkable extracurricular activities and other skills, such as involvement in student activities, volunteering, community activities and leadership skills.

“GE considers education one of the most important areas of interest, since its quality ushers in a lifetime of opportunity which helps to build a strong and diverse workforce and citizenry and in this way influences greatly the future of a country or a region. We, in GE, are confident that by sharing some of the key elements of the GE culture, values and management during the summer seminars and other interactions with the students will help to lay the basis of their future careers. The program’s aim is to build self-confidence and new competencies in order to enable them to make the most of the opportunities East-Central Europe can offer while becoming citizens contributing to the development of the region as well.” said Leslaw Kuzaj at the openning,” explained Leslaw Kuzaj Regional Executive, GE Central Europe, handing over the awards at a public ceremony held at the American Center in Prague.

“In addition to individual support to students in the Czech Republic and other countries, the GE Foundation Scholar-Leaders Program also fosters the formation of a Central European network of young intellectuals, a phenomenon vitally important for the continued development and integration of the region” – said Daniel M. Roberts, Director of the European Office of IIE in his opening speech.

“Needless to say, the Ministry of Education not only celebrates these initiatives but fully supports them. We view these pioneering actions by GE as a vigorous manifestation of the growing interest of the business community toward Czech education, especially tertiary education. We hope that other companies will follow GE’s example, and lend support to
young Czech students and through these actions shall contribute to the renewal of the universities’ relations with business and industry,” said Vice Minister Ruzicka.

“Education is a strategic area of interest, since for every country, the quality of education helps build a strong and diverse workforce for the future. I am very pleased to see that GE not only provides the funding for its innovative programs but with the help of its local leaders, it shares some of the global company’s unique knowledge with Central European young talents. These programs, which can be adapted by other companies and countries, provide much more than traditional scholarships and play a vital role in the development of the region”, said Weston Stacey, Executive Director of American Chamber of Commerce in the Czech Republic.

Mary Thompson-Jones, Charge d’Affairs of the Embassy of the United States remarked: “General Electric has set a high standard of excellence for corporate citizenship in the Czech Republic. The name of this scholarship program – Scholar-Leaders – reflects the importance of supporting future leaders who in turn will give back to their communities, following GE’s corporate model on an individual level.”

With the success of the program in Hungary in 2002, the university scholarship program has developed regionally over the past six years. The program is in its fourth year in the Czech Republic, fifth year in Poland, sixth year in Hungary, and in its second year in Romania. Funded by a generous grant from the GE Foundation, to date 57 students from the Czech Republic, and 251 students from the region (including this year’s winners) have benefited from the Scholar-Leaders Program, the first university scholarship of its kind in Central Europe. The best university students from the region were recruited and selected through a rigorous and competitive selection process by the Institute of International Education (IIE).

“The GE Scholarship brought great opportunities for me. It’s a great chance to meet people from other countries of Europe, to improve your English knowledge, and to become a leader with social responsibility,” – said GE Foundation Scholar-Leader alumna, Marketa Tejklova, from the first program year in the Czech Republic.

The 2008 Czech scholarship winners of the GE Foundation Scholar Leaders Program

After the welcoming remarks of Charge d’Affairs Mary Thompson-Jones, the students and guests were addressed by distinguished speakers, including Leslaw Kuzaj, GE Regional Executive for Central Europe, Daniel M. Roberts Director of the European Office of the Institute of International Education, Prof. Ing. Vlastimil Ruzicka, Vice Minister, of the Ministry of Education, Weston Stacey, Executive Director of in the Czech Republic. A program alumnus, Vladimir Urbanek, also spoke about his experience with the program.