Getting one of the "la Caixa" Foundation postgraduate scholarships to study abroad is not easy. Of the almost thousand university students who have applied this year, all with a brilliant academic record, the hundred most outstanding have been selected to further their studies at one of the best universities in the world. This Wednesday, at the CaixaForum headquarters in Madrid, the King and Queen presided over the award ceremony in an act in which, with the assistance of the scholarship recipients and their families, the effort and talent was celebrated.
The King addressed the scholarship holders to remind them that "there is no better way to commit to young people than by offering them greater opportunities by reinforcing their skills and knowledge, as well as encouraging their own efforts". He also remarked that "the advancement of science and knowledge, hand in hand with young people with potential like yours, is surely the best possible path to advance and thus contribute to building a better society".
The Kings have been in charge of delivering, two by two, the diplomas accrediting the scholarships to the hundred students who have collected them from their hands, in addition to being the recipients of the King's words congratulating them and expressing his desire to a good and fruitful experience in their destination universities. Letizia has worn a pearl gray sleeveless dress with white polka dots by Laura Bernal, which she debuted last year during the NATO Summit. The King has accompanied her on her platform, in a cobalt blue suit, white shirt and pink tie
The event was also attended by the First Vice President of the Government and Minister of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation, Nadia Calviño; the Minister of Universities, Joan Subirats; and the Vice President of the ”la Caixa” Foundation, Juan José López Burniol. Since the beginning of the Postgraduate Scholarships abroad program, in 1982, until the call for applications in 2022, the ”la Caixa” Foundation has allocated an accumulated investment of almost 200 million euros to the training of 3,784 students in the foreign.
López Burniol recalled, in his words during the award ceremony, that "the commitment to excellent training for young people is one of the most emblematic and consolidated lines of action of the ”la Caixa” Foundation. We are convinced that the The advancement of knowledge constitutes one of the most effective ways to fulfill our mission: to build a fairer and more prosperous society, especially for those who need it most", he said.
The president of the entity, Isidre Fainé, for whom the King has had fond memories in his words, was unable to be present at the ceremony as he is recovering from shoulder surgery. The King has said that "if the Foundation is the soul of “la Caixa”, Isidro Fainé is the soul of the Foundation".
As in previous ceremonies and on behalf of the ”la Caixa” Foundation scholarship holders, Núria Oliva, professor of Biomedical Sciences and researcher in the Materials Engineering Group (GEMAT) of the Sarrià Chemical Institute (Barcelona), on this occasion , addressed the attendees, giving an account of her experience: «12 years ago I was sitting in the same place as you, about to go to the United States. That opportunity allowed me to enhance my passion for breast cancer research, work on the development of new treatments based on nanotechnology and biomaterials, and later form my own research group"
The 100 scholarships awarded are distributed among four continents: 58 scholarships are for studying in Europe; 40 scholarships, to study in North America; one scholarship, to study in Asia, and one, to study in Oceania. Those selected for this promotion, who have an average age of 26, come from 28 Spanish provinces, 4 Portuguese districts and 5 other countries. The provinces of origin with the most scholarship holders are Barcelona (26), Madrid (12), Coruña (4), Vizcaya (4) and Valencia (4).
Both the number of applications received and the rigor and level of demand of the selection processes guarantee that the selected candidates accredit outstanding levels of excellence. The effectiveness of this system is later reflected in the success of ”la Caixa” Foundation scholarship holders in gaining admission to the best universities in the world.
The universities that receive the most scholarship holders are: University of Oxford (7), University of Cambridge (6), ETH Zürich (6), Columbia University (5), Imperial College London (5), The London School of Economics and Political Science ( 5) and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (The most represented disciplines are engineering and technology (17), mathematics (10), law (7), economics and business (7) and medical and health sciences (6).
The investment by the ”la Caixa” Foundation in the 2022 call has been 10.7 million euros. The average cost of each of the scholarships awarded to pursue postgraduate studies abroad is 90,000 euros.
For years, the kings Juan Carlos and Sofía awarded the scholarships at the Foundation's headquarters, in Barcelona, as the kings Felipe and Letizia did since 2014. As of 2017, the scholarships are awarded in Madrid, at the CaixaForum headquarters, except for the 2020 and 2021 ceremonies, which were suspended due to the pandemic.
