Throughout February, students and prospective students in Ostwestfalen-Lippe can apply for a social scholarship from the OWSL Study Fund Foundation. This programme supports financially needy students for one year with 150 euros per month and comprehensive non-material support.
The scholarship is aimed at prospective students and students at Bielefeld University, Paderborn University, OWL University of Applied Sciences, Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences and Detmold University of Music. The aim of the programme is to support students who find themselves in a particular financial or personal situation that jeopardises the commencement or continuation of their studies. The scholarships are awarded on 1 April for one year. The prerequisite is that the beneficiaries are already studying at one of the five universities mentioned or will begin studying there in the 2025 summer semester. The funding amounts to 1,800 euros per year and is paid out in monthly instalments of 150 euros each.
Documenting details well - half the battle on the way to a scholarship
Project coordinator Fabian Klipsch encourages candidates to apply: "The highest level of confidentiality is of course guaranteed - nevertheless, it is important that applicants also provide evidence of their details, especially regarding their financial and possibly also personal difficult circumstances," he explains and adds: "Of course, the letter of motivation should also be informative and present the current life and study financing situation in such a way that the selection committee can get a comprehensive picture." The foundation provides extensive information in both German and English on its website. An English-language application form will also be available from 1 February.
Idealistic support is an important component
It is not only the financial aspect that is relevant when awarding the social scholarships. In addition to financial support, scholarship holders also benefit from an extensive non-material funding programme. This programme is implemented in cooperation with the scholarship financiers and includes workshops, lectures and other varied events. This creates an important network during their studies, which can later facilitate their career entry in the OWL region.
More sponsors wanted
The social scholarships of the OWL Study Fund Foundation are financed exclusively by donations from companies, foundations, associations and private donors from the region. Anyone wishing to contribute to the funding of the social scholarships can contact the foundation directly. Both full and partial financing is possible, 100 per cent of the donations are distributed as scholarship funds without deduction of administrative costs and can be claimed for tax purposes.
Further information on the social scholarship and the application form can be found on the general information pages of the social scholarship.
This text was translated automatically.