Yale Young Global Scholars and Qooco offer scholarships for underprivileged Asian students

05 Sep 2016

Often, talented students from low-income backgrounds are unable to grab the opportunities that would help them achieve their fullest potential due to lack of financial means.

In an effort to address this issue, Qooco, a mobile education technology company specializing in language learning solutions, has launched an annual scholarship fund to help Asian high schoolers participate in the prestigious Yale Young Global Scholars (YYGS) Program.

The Yale Young Global Scholars-Qooco Scholarship, worth a total of US$150,000, aims to help give teens from cash-strapped families the opportunity to take part in the program, covering tuition fees and transportation costs.

Yale University’s Young Global Scholars Program and Qooco Leverage Mobile Technology to… https://t.co/T3Fag04ao3 pic.twitter.com/F3AGIkHdeb

— University Herald (@UniHerald) August 30, 2016

Starting from next year, the scholarship will be awarded to 28 of the best and brightest from China, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Myanmar.

Additionally, Qooco said it will provide mobile spoken English language pre-test preparation for applicants – all they need is access to a mobile phone.

Expanding educational opportunities through mobile technology

The YYGS Program is an academic enrichment and leadership training program for talented high school students from around the world.

The highly selective, annual summer program is offered in partnership with three world-class institutions: Yale Center Beijing, China; Yale-NUS College, Singapore; and Yale University, United States.

The program features intensive undergraduate-level coursework and interaction with renowned Yale faculty and practitioners in the fields of history, political science, law, international affairs, environmental science, entrepreneurship, and popular STEM subjects, such as engineering and biological sciences.

Yale–NUS College, Singapore. Pic: Yale-NUS College

Speaking to Study International, Qooco’s CEO, David Topolewski, said that it chose to collaborate with the YYGS Program as “it is quite simply one of the top courses of its kind in the world”.

He added that Qooco’s mobile education technology was perfectly suited to the Asia region, where far-flung rural areas may lack basic educational facilities, but are often well-served by mobile networks.

“By creating a scholarship that would allow students without the financial means to attend the YYGS, and leveraging mobile to identify the most talented, we can reach more students in Asia and expand educational opportunities,” said Topolewski.

Through its mobile language learning platform, Qooco is able to measure spoken English ability in real time at hundreds of schools and businesses across the region, helping both students admitted to the YYGS Program, as well as thousands of other students in Asia.

Ted Wittenstein, Executive Director of the YYGS Program, said the main reason for setting up the scholarship was to reach more students in Asia, regardless of their ability to pay.

“This both helps to expose students from more diverse backgrounds to top class education, as well as allowing us to identify students based on merit and merit alone,” he said.

Wittenstein said the overall aim of the program was to introduce students to stellar Yale professors and to further improve their analytical thinking, intellectual creativity, and written and oral communication in preparation for applying to college.

How to apply

Applicants for the program must be high school sophomores (U.S. Grade 10) or juniors (U.S. Grade 11), or the international equivalent, and demonstrate a need for financial assistance.

Qualified students are urged to apply online at http://yygsbeijing.yale.edu, http://globalscholars.yale.edu/apply, or http://yygssingapore.yale.edu/, where more information about the program is also available.

What are the qualities of a Yale Young Global Scholar? Watch this video: http://t.co/DD7Qt2CGI7

— YYGS (@yale_ygs) January 22, 2014

Admissions and selection processes will be conducted and administered independently by the Yale Young Global Scholars Program, while Qooco will provide English language proficiency preparation and assessment.

Applicants should note that a high level of English language proficiency is vital in order to make the most of the program. Students are expected to conduct sustained, difficult academic work and must therefore be able to articulate their thoughts coherently and accurately.

To that end, Qooco will provide its mobile language learning solutions to enhance the applicants’ opportunity to develop and demonstrate their English language proficiency.

Image via Ellerton & Co.