Scholarships for young african talents at Alma Graduate School

For the academic year 2012-2013, the University of Bologna, in collaboration with the Foundation for World Wide Cooperation, will activate, for the second consecutive year, the Africa Scholarship Program. The program targets 10 young talents from the African continent, so to allow them to attend an MBA at Alma Graduate School to acquire excellence in their training, thus contributing to the social and economic development of their countries of origin. The ten scholarships are worth 37,000 Euro each and cover the whole tuition fees to attend the MBA and travel and living costs in Bologna.

The candidates needs to be citizens of an African Country, hold an undergraduate university degree, be proficient in English and have two years of qualified professional experience. The beneficiaries will have to declare they understand the importance of returning to their countries, so to contribute to the social and economic development of Africa. The program is also financed thanks to a fundraising activity, which is involving students, alumni, companies and professors.

“Addressing Africa when, for the very first time in the African continent, a period of development is dawning, is the best possible investment in the future and the new generations” declared Romano Prodi, President of the Foundation for World Wide Cooperation.
“Investing in young talents and rewording merit in our Country and, as in this case, at an international level, is nowadays a duty – was the comment by Ivano Dionigi, the President of the University of Bologna -. Doing so, addressing students from a continent that is more and more strategic for our Country as well, thus contributing to the exchange and cooperation with an economic and socio-cultural area that is undergoing great transformations, is a unique occasion for Alma Mater. Thanks to the participation of these ten beneficiaries, we hope we will actively contribute to the development of a new African establishment and to create professional bonds and networks of people that might operate for a sustainable development of the world, a world we are all citizens of. Our aim is to attract talents from all continents, able to operate in the new globalized world and to facilitate international economic integration”.

“Thanks to our MBA, Italian companies have the opportunity to involve young people from all over the world, people who are particularly interested in Italy and who will be able to promote the development of the markets they come from– explained Massimo Bergami, Dean of Alma Graduate School, University of Bologna Business School- The 2011-2 MBA class is composed of 73 young managers, 90% of whom come from abroad (38 countries) and have on average 6 years of professional experience before the master’s”.

The deadline to apply is July 2nd 2012. For further information and to download the application form: www.almaweb.unibo.it/africa – internationalmba@almaweb.unibo.it.

The University of Bologna Alma Graduate School MBA is a full time I Level Master’s course, taught in English, lasting one year. The first part is devoted to theory and is shared with the six areas the second part of the studies features: a) Brazil-Europe Business Relations, b) China/Far East and Europe Business Relations, c) Design, Fashion and Luxury Goods, d) Food and Wine, e) Green Energy and Sustainable Businesses, f) Retail in the Banking and Financial Industry.

In addition to the theory lectures, internships and research operating projects will take place, in Italy and abroad.