Fundación Occident announces the first 12 winners of the Jesús Serra Degree Scholarships

"At an event held in Barcelona, Fundación Occident announced the names of the 11 students selected to receive the first Jesús Serra Degree Scholarships."

• 10 young women and 1 young man from 7 different communities are the first winners of the Jesús Serra Degree Scholarships.
• These scholarship holders will be the first in their family to study at university or the first in their family to obtain a STEM degree. 
• In addition to providing financial support, the scholarships offer a unique mentoring programme in Spain, with the assignment of a mentor to each scholarship holder and training to develop crosscutting skills and their first network of professional contacts.

 

At an event held in Barcelona, Fundación Occident announced the names of the 11 students selected to receive the first Jesús Serra Degree Scholarships, a programme designed to support talented students in overcoming the barriers of accessing university education and qualified jobs once they complete their studies. Named in honour of the founder of Fundación Occident and GCO, the Fundación Jesús Serra Degree Scholarships support two groups that, in turn, define the two access routes: 

Five scholarships for students who will be the first in their family to study at university. This is access route 1, the first generation of university students, where the scholarship holders (1 man and 4 women) will be enrolled in Mathematics, Industrial Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Psychology and Economics & International Studies.

Six scholarships for students who will be the first in their family to receive a degree in science, technology, engineering and/or mathematics. This is access route 2, the first generation of women in STEM, where the scholarship holders will be enrolled in Architecture, a Double Degree in Mathematics and Computer Engineering or Computer Engineering and Statistics, Biotechnology, Medicine and Biomedical Engineering.

The 11 selected students come from 7 different communities in Spain; specifically, Extremadura, Galicia, Castile and Leon, Basque Country, Valencia, Catalonia and Andalusia. View at the end of this press release the list of names of the first Jesús Serra scholarship holders. 

In addition to covering the public cost of enrolment in Spanish universities, the Jesús Serra Degree Scholarships provide support for training in languages, programming or other skills related to their studies, as well as a financial supplement based on the family's income and residence, especially when the student does not live near their university centre. 

However, what makes these scholarships unique, and is a result of Fundación Occident's commitment to the future of these students, is the mentoring and continuous training programme with which the scholarship holders will be accompanied by a mentor throughout all their studies and prepare them for the leap to the labour market or to postgraduate studies. The programme also combines virtual and face-to-face training sessions to develop crosscutting skills, such as communication and leadership, and to learn first-hand about people who, like them, were the first in their family to study and are now leaders in their field. To encourage participation in this programme, the scholarship also offers a complementary contribution linked to its use, valued at €3,000 a year.

 

The aim of the scholarships is to support these students so they can be trained and accompanied to complete their university studies, which will allow them access to better-paid jobs. According to data from the Labour Structure Survey (INE, 2018), the average salary of people with university studies is double that of people with basic studies. In the case of STEM professions, gender bias is particularly marked in access to and remuneration of senior positions; therefore, the foundation wishes to contribute to improving gender equality in this area. For this reason, in this first edition of the Jesús Serra Undergraduate Scholarships, 12 scholarships will be awarded, 6 for each of the access routes, with the aim of contributing to training and equal opportunities in these areas. The eleven students who have been announced today will be joined by a twelfth person whose scholarship is pending award for administrative reasons.

 

The winners were selected from more than 80 applications

In the first edition of the Jesús Serra Degree Scholarships, 85 applications were submitted, with an average grade of 8.73. For each student, this average grade was weighted with the financial income threshold, in order to favour the access of less affluent people to the scholarship. In addition, a panel of experts evaluated the presentation videos and letters of reference written by the tutors or other people responsible for each applicant's academic environment. With this formula, the 12 selected students exceed an average grade of 9.5.

 

“It is a privilege to participate in the evaluation of applications for the Jesús Serra Degree Scholarships. It is rewarding to see the high level and talent transmitted by each of them. Something tells me that in the coming years we will hear about the 11 people selected in this call”, said Alberto Bustos, professor of Language and Literature Didactics at the University of Extremadura and member of the evaluation committee.

 

The evaluation committee is made up of renowned professionals and experts in the field of education, with consolidated careers in different institutions and reference entities. Among them are Alberto Bustos, professor of Language and Literature Didactics at the University of Extremadura (UEx); María Huertas de la Gándara, Project Director of Fundación Éxit; Beatriz Sigüenza, Director of Fundación Balia; José Antonio Crespo, Director of the Claudio Sánchez Albornoz Secondary Education Centre (Leon); Milagros Sáinz, Director of the Gender and ICT Research Group (GENTIC) at Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC); and Tatiana Soler, Head of post-compulsory education at the Education Consortium of Barcelona.

 

“We are extremely pleased with the high participation obtained in the first edition of the Scholarships. We have received excellent applications from the vast majority of Spain; specifically, we have received candidates from 88% of the regions”, concluded Laura Halpern, President of Fundación Occident.

 

The diploma award ceremony, the starting point of a unique community

At a ceremony held in Torre Bellesguard in Barcelona, these young men and women have received the diploma that certifies them as Jesús Serra scholarship recipients. During the event, these 11 young people were recognised for their academic and personal achievements.

The event was moderated by journalist Núria Ramírez, and featured Fátima Crispi, a doctor and researcher in the Fetal Cardiac Programming group at IDIBAPS. Fátima, like the scholarship recipients, was the first in her family to obtain a university degree. Fátima shared her experience and offered words of inspiration to the new university students.

List of names of the scholarship holders

Route 1

• Natalia Santos Parejo
• Adrian Sánchez
• Shakira Segura Hernández
• Laura Martínez
• Carmen Berenguer

*The sixth scholarship is pending award due to administrative issues

 

Route 2

• Laura Castaño Vigara
• Noa Santiago Falcón
• Iris Romero Bollo
• Leticia Herrero
• Olatz Suarez
• Anaís García Gélvez

In the attached dossier and on the website, you can find additional information and learn all the details about the first winners of the Fundación Occident's Jesús Serra Scholarships.