19 kazakhstanis won the Yessenov scholarship

Tell us about those who took part in the competition for the Yessenov scholarship this year?

503 applications came to the competition. There were more of them from girls this year than from boys – this time almost 2 times: 339 against 163. Apparently, not all participants carefully read the program regulations, so we received applications from interns and undergraduates. Although,

according to the rules, only bachelors are allowed to apply this year. The students of the Asfendiyarov KazNMU showed great interest in the scholarship – 54 applications, we can imply the same of the students of KarSTU in Karaganda), Astana Medical University, Nazarbayev University in Astana and Yessenov University in Aktau.

And what about geography? Residents of which cities have submitted more applications?
In addition to the permanent leader of Almaty – 67 applications, residents of Shymkent (54), Karaganda (40), Taraz (26), Aktau (25) and Kyzylorda (24) distinguished themselves.

How do the applicants for the Yessenov scholarship 2023 differ from the participants of the competition of previous years?
In general, in 2023, the quality of applications received is slightly lower compared to previous years. But there is a reasonable explanation for this: we allowed only undergraduate students to participate in the competition, excluding undergraduates. Indeed, it is unjustified, as practice has demonstrated, to bring two categories of students so different in level into one competition. We received more winners among undergraduates, whereas they, being more financially secure people than bachelors, did not need scholarships so desperately. I note that for some guys, the following moments turned out to be decisive, and they dropped out of the fight. What mistakes were they?

The first is that the winners of the foundation’s programs of previous years who participated in the competition this year believed that they would get the scholarship automatically. Alas, this is not the case. You can’t win based on the position “I’m cool, because I’ve been chosen once.” We place even higher demands on our former winners than on the “newcomers”. The second point is that we really appreciate sincerity and honesty. The absence of these important points is very noticeable in a written essay or in an interview. When applicants pass off someone’s opinion as their own, it’s obvious to us. And therefore such a candidate is immediately rejected. We value the candidate’s personal opinion more than the supposedly “correct”, but someone else’s. There is always a personality behind the expression of one’s opinion – that is what we are looking for among other qualities in future scholarship recipients.

What can you say about this year’s winners?
Among them are three students of one of the strongest universities in Kazakhstan – Nazarbayev University, two guys each are from the North Kazakhstan Kozybayev University, Serikbayev East Kazakhstan Technical University, KazNMU and Karaganda Medical University. Among the winners are also those who study at Satbayev University and seven other higher educational institutions from different regions of the country. The overwhelming number of winners – 16 – is the 2nd and 3rd year students. They are from Almaty, Karaganda, Kyzylorda, Aktobe, Petropavlovsk and Ust-Kamenogorsk.

Please, list the specialties of this year holders of the Shakhmardan Yessenov scholarship.
They are diverse, and some are included in the list of winners for the first time. I’ll name a few. Design of buildings and structures, public health, physics, mechanical and aerospace engineering, robotics, intelligent systems and instrumentation, pharmaceutical production technology, Information Technology (Data Science), robotics and mechatronics.

What amount and for how long will the holders of the Yessenov scholarship receive?
The winners of the competition will receive a scholarship in the amount of 40 thousand tenge per month from May to December 2023, and if they wrap up the first session of the new academic year in accordance with the terms of the contract, they will continue to receive a scholarship until April 2024 inclusive. The Yessenov scholarship is granted for one year.