On the 25th of November, nearly 30 members of the Dong Hanh Association and our dear donors participated in the Scholarship Selection Committee for the first semester of the 2013 – 2014 school year. The Dong Hanh family was happily reunited at the head office of UGVF on Rue du Petit Musc.
The scholarship selection procedure takes place twice a year. Its objective is to find students with academic merit who need aid from Dong Hanh. This year, 230 candidate applications from 11 universities in Vietnam were sent to us. This is the result of a pre-selection from 800 candidates in total by our representatives in Vietnam. Motivation interviews took place in an effort to better understand the situation and problems faced by the candidates.
The Scholarship Selection
A rational and logical approach
During the selection session, our members maintained a position of fairness and objectivity when selecting scholarship recipients. Each application is examined according to three criteria: economic difficulties, academic results and a professional proposal with a grade on a scale of 1 to 10. Each case is evaluated by at least 3-4 jury members to ensure neutrality. The scores are then automatically “normalized” through pre-existing computer formulas, which then give us an average final score for each application. “Some juries are strict, others are very generous, giving grades of only 9 and 10. The principle of distribution is based on mathematics so that the scoring of each jury member is of equal importance, and that each application is fairly assessed”, said Kieu Hieu, the main organized of the Selection Committee.
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Many students have family members who were victims of typhoons 10 and 11
The Selection Committee serves as a precious moment to strengthen solidarity between young Vietnamese at home and abroad. Young people in France were able to better understand the plight of their less-fortunate peers in reading the etters of motivation from scholarship candidates. At this time, Dong Hanh realized that many students from Central Vietnam suffered serious consequences from typhoons 10 and 11. Thus, after the examination of 20 applications from the University of Technology of Da Nang, Nguyen Nhut – president of the association, noticed that more than half of the candidates were from the regions most affected by the storm, which are the regions of Ha Tinh, Quang Binh and Quang Nam. Thus, giving aid to these students was a priority.
Mr. Van-Trung Duong in the selection on November 30
A Special Gift
Members of Dong Hanh partner organizations and our dear donors also took part in the selection of scholarship recipients. For Mr. Van-Trung Duong, it was the last time that he will participate in the selection process. Affected by the difficulties that recipients have experienced in Vietnam, he decided to offer a special gift to H.V. (studying at the University of Technology in Ho Chi Minh City). H.V has a serious disease that requires much care, including weekly trips to the hospital. Despite this setback, he has maintained an impressive academic record. Mr. Duong has therefore given him a scholarship of 1,200 Euros per year to support him in his studies. The Dong Hanh Association is extremely proud and thankful to Mr. Duong and to the students in Paris for contributing to our beloved Vietnam.
The Dong Hanh Scholarship – a Tet gift of solidarity without borders
The Dong Hanh Scholarship creates a bridge of friendship between students in Vietnam and abroad. Starting with the first 17 scholarships in 2001, after 12 years of development this figure now stands at 250 scholarships per school year with a value of 110 Euros each. At the end of the Selection Committee, Dong Hanh quickly processed the results, which will be announced in December. The scholarship ceremony will take place before the Tet holiday. For the first half of 2013-2014, the estimated number of scholarships stands at 120. The Dong Hanh Scholarship remains a gift filled with affection and tenderness, coming from distant France and warming the hearts of those in Vietnam with love to share.
Paris, 1/12/2013
The Communication Team
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