LHP GUIDELINES - Roma Education Fund

BANNER

Dear applicants to REF Scholarship Program (REF SP),

BANNER

Dear applicants to REF Scholarship Program (REF SP),

The scholarship program has been implemented as one of REF’s programs since 2007 in which period the overall context of higher education in Europe has known a constant dynamic change. A particular change, quite substantial one, is represented by the transition to the Bologna process, where we noticed in all program countries a wide range of differences in terms of status and extent of progress towards full transition. Besides this, a number of countries made significant steps in reforming their higher education policies and systems, bringing about improvements for students and an overall better harmonization of national policies with the international ones pertaining to tertiary education.

We have also seen a diversification of donors interested in providing support to students pursuing higher education, a development which we very much praise and encourage. Various states’ institutions and universities are becoming more aware of and capable of absorbing European funding, of which an increasing number, Roma students among them, are benefiting. We welcome very much this positive development of others contributing significantly to Roma education.

In light of these past years’ developments, REF Scholarship Program has operated a number of adjustments and tailoring, in order to reflect properly on this changing context and the realities at national levels.

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The Roma Education Fund – Scholarship Program (REF SP) announces its yearly scholarship cycle of Law and Humanities Program (LHP). LHP offers merit-based open competition academic scholarships for Roma students who are citizens or permanent residents of Moldova, Ukraine, or Russia. Eligible applicants must be pursuing Bachelor, Master, undivided studies, or Doctorate degrees at state-accredited universities in their home country or country of residence. However, up to 10 percent of scholarships may be also offered to vocational-level students studying in academic specializations that can lead to university studies.

The funds for Law and Humanities Program come from the Foundation “Remembrance, Responsibility and Future” and the Roma Education Fund.

GENERAL INFORMATION REGARDING THE SCHOLARSHIP
ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA
SELECTION CRITERIA
DECISION MAKING MECHANISM
SELECTION PROCESS
COMMUNICATION OF SELECTION DECISIONS
STAGES OF APPLICATION AND DEADLINES
ADDITIONAL PROGRAM COMPONENTS

1. GENERAL INFORMATION REGARDING THE LHP SCHOLARSHIP

LHP LEVEL OF SUPPORT

REF can support an applicant under LHP Scholarship scheme, throughout his/her studies, for a maximum of 8 years as follows:

One Vocational degree, for a maximum 3 years;
One Bachelor degree, for maximum 4 years in integrated study model, or maximum 3 years within the Bologna system, with one transfer to another university /faculty /field of studies being allowed only once;
One Master degree, for maximum 1 year in integrated non-Bologna study system, and for maximum 2 years within Bologna system;

One Doctorate degree, for maximum 3 years and only the first 3 years of the PHD studies;
The amount of the LHP basic scholarship grant is calculated on the basis of 130 EUR per academic month;
The LHP scholarship is meant to cover school-related expenses such as textbooks, exam fees, and living expenses, partially;
Depending on the funds availability, the Program may, at its sole discretion, also cover partial or full tuition fee expenses for a maximum of 1,000 EUR per academic year as part of the scholarship; however, the Program does not guarantee that the scholarship amount will cover partial or full tuition to a successful applicant;
The scholarships are not automatically awarded for the subsequent academic year; students can renew their application and enter the competition of each scholarship cycle (academic year) for which they pursue support from REF SP;

CUMULATIVE BENEFITS POLICY

Applicants who will receive an academic, study, social, or any other type of scholarship/stipend, or benefits (i.e. dormitory, or meals) from state institutions (Ministry of Education, Universities, etc.), or from an international and/or private entity during the 2015-2016 academic have the obligation to notify in written form the REF SP Coordinator in their country about this from the moment they receive confirmation from the respective third party. The notification should include details such as the full title of the granting entity, the amount /nature of support, the period covered, and the purpose.

Important: the situation of failure of applicants to promptly notify their Country Coordinator of the fact that they benefit of such alternative scholarship(s) or support will lead to respective applicants’ disqualification from the REF Scholarship Program and its future scholarship cycles, and obligation to return the REF SP support received in the respective academic year.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

Applicants who are full-time beneficiaries in a non-degree academic programs or professional development programs in 2015-2016, through which they receive financial support, are not eligible for REF scholarship for the respective academic year 2015-2016.

Applicants who during the 2015-2016 academic year will be employees of REF, or of the Open Society Foundations (OSF), or of national foundations of the Soros Foundations Network (SFN), as well as those individuals who will work during the 2015-2016 academic year on projects funded by the REF, or who will receive honoraria (consultancy, fellowships, etc.) from REF or above-mentioned entities, are only eligible for REF SP scholarship for the respective academic year (2015-2016), in case the overall amount for that academic year does not exceed 400 EUR.

2. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

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Eligibility criteria of the REF SP set standards according to which applicants’ academic standing and other relevant aspects are assessed. Successfully submitted applications are checked against the eligibility criteria. The applications which do not meet the eligibility criteria are not considered further in the academic competition of the Program.

In order to be eligible to apply for LHP scholarship, applicants need to:

Declare themselves openly as Roma;
Have been (or will be) accepted at a state accredited education institution (university or vocational college) in their home country or country of residence in the 2015 – 2016 academic year;

Persons planning to get enrolled in a relevant education institution (university or vocational college) in the upcoming year, but are not enrolled in one at the moment of application, are also eligible to apply; please note that the home country or country of residence must be one of the Program countries, as follows: Moldova, Russia, and Ukraine;
Pursue studies for obtaining a Vocational (academic), Bachelor, Master, or Doctorate degree; please note that only up to 10% of available scholarships will be granted for vocational-level studies;
Submit a complete and compliant Online Application Form (OAF) by the Program’s set deadline;
Complete the OAF section of Academic Goals – Statement of Purpose that builds on academic accomplishments and expresses applicant’s academic goals, showing commitment and motivation to study for the pursued or intended degree;
Complete the OAF section of Essay on Roma Issues complying with the instruction specified in the OAF;
Attach in the OAF an official transcript of academic grades (as specified here); PhD students need to submit a progress report issued by their supervisors;
Attach in the OAF at least one detailed, informative and relevant Reference Letter (RL), written specifically to serve the application to REF SP (as specified here); the RL should describe the recent/current academic performance of the applicant and/or his /her extra-curricular activities, both Roma and /or non-Roma related ones. The RL should be up-to-date and reflecting on recent /current mentioned aspects; The Reference Letter shall be completed based on the REF SP Reference Letter template available here.

It is mandatory that at least one of the RL is issued by a legally registered Roma organization/foundation from the respective country;

REF SP understands the fact that a number of applicants, in particular those who are in the first years of Bachelor studies, may not be yet familiar with working with organizations and /or within Roma communities. In such cases, and in absence of previous experience, a Reference Letter issued by a Roma organization can focus on jointly agreed activities that will happen during the academic year for which the applicant may be a REF SP beneficiary.

Provide evidence, by the Program’s second deadline, of enrollment in university or eligible vocational studies within a state-accredited university in the applicants’ own country or country of permanent residence (part of the Program’s countries) by submission in the Online Application System (OAS) of an original university enrolment certificate for the 2015 – 2016 academic year (as specified here);
Applicants who are full-time beneficiaries in a non-degree academic programs or professional development programs in 2015-2016, through which they receive financial support, are not eligible for REF scholarship for the respective academic year 2015-2016.

Note 1: Part-time students are eligible to apply for LHP only if they are studying for a Master or a Doctorate (or equivalent) degree.

Note 2: Freshmen-to-be applicants (i.e. first year students at any academic level) may be required to participate in a personal interview. See below details on interviews.

Note 3: Distance learning students are not eligible for Scholarship under all REF SP schemes.

Note 4: REF SP accepts as eligible only those applications that pursue forward going studies. Example: if an applicant graduated MA, the proposed level of study in REF SP competition should be for the subsequent study level, in this case, for PHD /Doctorate studies. Another illustration of ineligibility would be: graduates of PHD studies applying for MA, or BA studies, or MA graduates applying for a second MA, or for BA studies.

3. SELECTION CRITERIA

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Selection criteria for REF scholarship schemes take into account the validity and quality of the information and of the submitted documents. The applicants must strive to comply with the selection criteria and present a competitive application and adequate and relevant materials.

ACADEMIC DISHONESTY

Plagiarism is the wrongful appropriation of another author’s language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions, and the representation of them as one’s own original work. REF SP considers plagiarism as academic dishonesty and a violation of Program’s values and principles. Therefore, applications in which plagiarism and /or self-plagiarism will be detected will be disqualified from the competition.

While completing the application, in particular the Academic Goals’ Statement of Purpose and the Essay on Roma Issues, the applicant is allowed to make a limited use of quoting, ensuring that the original source is properly mentioned and that the quote is not counted as part of the minimum requirement of words.

Self-plagiarism is the reuse of significant, identical, or nearly identical portions of past applications for REF SP schemes. Similarly with the situation of plagiarism, the self-plagiarism will lead to disqualification from the competition.

Please note that besides the checking conducted by REF SP staff and by NSBs, the Program may make use of anti-plagiarism software to detect instances of plagiarism in applications.

Furthermore, according to the REF SP’s Policies and Procedures, applicants found responsible for sending forged documents will not be considered further for REF SP and for any REF funded Programs. Any other instances of academic dishonesty related to REF SP application process and during the Grant Contract period (such as providing false /forged data and information, attempts to bribery, etc.) will also lead to disqualification from the Program.

In the past two academic years (2013-2014 and 2014-2015) from ca. 2000 applicants per each year, the number of applicants disqualified for academic dishonesty is 88, while 57 applicants had their overall evaluation score substantially diminished because of this reason, which has significantly reduced their chances in competition. While being glad to notice that only a minority of students were identified in this situation, we kindly draw attention of all applicants to this important aspect of their online application form.

In case of applications of comparable quality, preference will be given to applicants who did not obtain a higher education degree with REF SP financial support.

Example: if student A graduated already a Bachelor degree for which s/he received REF SP scholarship support and applies for financial support for the first time (not supported by REF SP previously), to study Master degree, while student B applies for REF SP support to study in MA for the first time, preference will be given to student B.

The list of criteria and weight of each criterion for the calculation of the final score of the application is specified in the Evaluation Grid below:

Criteria	Considerations for the evaluation	Value in relation to the total points
		(1). for renewal applicants within the same academic level	(2). For new applicants
			(2a). freshmen-to-be	(2b). NOT freshmen-to-be
1. Grade point average (GPA)	GPA value calculated in accordance with requested documents. Details on the way in which the Program will calculate the GPA for the competition is available here.	35%	40%	42.5%
2. Academic Goals – Statement of Purpose	Style and fluency of writing; Comprehensibility, and coherence of expressed ideas and information; Ability to articulate sound academic goals ; Commitment and motivation to study; Academic progress and accomplishments from previous year/s, if renewal applicant.	15%	15%	20%
3. Essay on Roma issues	Evidence of ideas and opinions stemming from personal experiences and involvement in Roma-related activities. Comprehensibility and coherence of expressed ideas and information; Ability to articulate sound thoughts and arguments; Awareness and knowledge of the Roma issues; Style and fluency of writing.	15%	15%	20%
4. Extra-curricular activities	Participation in academic seminars, conferences, workshops, summer schools, and/or competitions; and /or Participation in voluntary-based Roma-related activities, initiatives, projects, and events. Participation in employment-based Roma-related activities, initiatives, projects, and events.	7.5%	7.5%	10%
5. Reference letter	Level of personal skills and qualities of the referred person, illustrated through practical experience(s); Relevant details regarding applicants’ academic achievements; Involvement in Roma-related activities.	7.5%	7.5%	7.5%
6. Interview / renewal bonus points	Performance at the interview against the set criteria (for those applicants invited to the interview).	20% (Bonus points)	15% (interview)	0%

Categories of Applicants:

The Program classifies the applicants in two groups for further selection: renewal applicants and new applicants.

(1). Renewal applicants – students who received a REF scholarship in the previous academic year(s) and are applying to renew their scholarship for the same academic level (Vocational, Bachelor, Master, Doctorate).

(2). New applicants, divided in the following two sub-categories:

(2a). Freshmen-to-be applicants – those who are going to study in the first year of a certain academic level (i.e. 1^st year vocational, 1^st year BA, 1^st year MA, 1^st year PhD).

– Students who received REF scholarship for a lower academic degree and are applying for a REF scholarship for a higher academic degree are also in this category (example: former REF SP beneficiary in BA, applying for 1^st year MA).

(2b). Not-Freshmen-to-be applicants – those who are going to study in 2^nd year or above and did not receive REF scholarship before within the same academic level.

For each academic year, the total number of LHP scholarships is determined by the availability of funds in the REF SP. The number of scholarships allocated in each program country is decided based on the following factors:

the demand for scholarships as expressed in the past years, measured by number of applications;
the existence of alternative scholarship programs in a given country, as well as the existence of student loan schemes; and
the estimated Roma population size in each country relative to the total Roma population in the 3 countries.

4. DECISION MAKING MECHANISM

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ELIGIBILITY CHECK

REF SP is responsible in the selection process for the eligibility check only, as made by Country Coordinators. Further, REF SP responsibility is to ensure that the established mechanism and criteria are diligently observed and utilized accordingly by the relevant bodies, as explained bellow.

EVALUATION

Evaluation of applications is carried out in each Program country by a National Selection Board (NSB) whose members are selected through an open competition. The Program strives to select representatives of academia and of Roma communities for the NSB positions in all Program countries.

5. SELECTION PROCESS

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The selection process consists of steps and levels as explained below.

Step One – Eligibility Check

Verifying whether the requirements of the eligibility criteria of the Program are met by the applicant. The step consists of a technical verification (by the REF SP staff) focusing on completeness, adequacy and compliance of each application.

Step Two – Evaluation of application

The evaluation is carried out by the REF SP National Selection Board (NSB) members in respective program countries. The NSB members are independently reviewing online the submitted applications, one by one, and assign scores to each application according to the pre-established set of criteria. The system ranks all the applications based on their scores, in descending order, from highest to lowest. Based on the ranking system and the position applicants occupy on the list they are either shortlisted (on accepted conditionally list, or on the waiting list), or rejected.

Step Three – Personal Interviews

Conducting personal interviews with the freshmen-to-be applicants, those who are going to study during 2015 – 2016 in the first academic year of each study level (1^st year vocational, 1^st year Bachelor, 1^st year Master, and 1^st year Doctorate). Freshmen-to-be applicants will be invited and required to attend a mandatory interview with the NSB members in each program country. After the interviews the ranking of candidates and the classification of applicants into the “accepted conditionally list” and “waiting list” in a program country is updated.

Note: Those applicants who will be invited to attend the personal interview and will fail to do so, will not be considered further in the selection process.

The invitation for personal interviews, as well as the venue, will be sent to the concerned applicants via e-mail by the Program’s Country Coordinators. The transportation costs to attend the interview site will be covered by REF SP.

Step Four – Submission of Enrollment Certificates (2015-2016 academic year)

The applicants from both ”accepted conditionally”, and ”waiting list” categories are required to submit by a set deadline an official and valid enrolment certificate proving that they are enrolled in an eligible academic program.

In addition to the enrolment certificate, at this stage it will be mandatory for applicants to submit information on academic, study, social, or any other type of scholarship/stipend, or benefits (i.e. dormitory, or meals) from state institutions (Ministry of Education, Universities, etc.), or from an international and/or private entity that they will receive during the 2015-2016 academic year (see above section on cumulative benefits policy).

Step Five – Finalization of Selection Process

After the completion of the above mentioned steps, the Program re-analyzes the lists of ‘accepted conditionally and ‘waiting list’ candidates to determine the final lists of beneficiaries. The applicants who are ranked within the “accepted conditionally” category and who submitted a valid and adequate enrollment certificate by the set deadline, are becoming beneficiaries of the program. From the same category, those applicants who fail to submit an adequate enrolment certificate by the set deadline are rejected and replaced by the system automatically, based on the score, with applicants from the waiting list.

6. COMMUNICATION OF SELECTION

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The Program communicates the outcomes of the selection process to the applicants via the e-mail address with which they registered their OAS accounts, on two occasions:

Firstly, after Step Three mentioned above (end of July – August) when applicants will receive either an official Rejection Letter with specified reasons for rejection, or a Notification Letter containing instructions on further steps to be undertaken by the applicant in order to stay in the competition;
Secondly, after Step Five mentioned above (end of October – November) when applicants will receive either an official Rejection Letter with specified reasons for rejection, or an Acceptance Letter.

Appeal Mechanism

The applicants may contest the National Selection Board’s decision within one month time from the moment of receiving the selection result from the Program. The appeals should be sent to REF SP, only to this email address: REFSP_contestations@romaeducationfund.org

Please use this email address only for complaints regarding selection result.
For other enquiries please contact your Country Coordinator.

The REF SP categorizes the appeals and is giving them a resolution. Depending on the nature of appeals, REF SP may decide to forward appeals to the Scholarship Program Ombudsman, who reviews individual appeal cases based on the materials and evidence provided by the applicants, the Program, and the NSBs or ISBs.

7. STAGES OF APPLICATION AND DEADLINES

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In order to be considered for scholarship in the academic year 2015-2016 applicants must comply with the Program deadlines of stage one – submission of Application deadline(s) per country and per scheme (where applicable), and with the stage two – submission of Enrollment Certificate, and if the case, of Tuition Fee Certificate, as described in detail below.

Stage One – Submission of Application

Deadline for submission of applications is 15^th of May, 2015.

Important

Online Application Form (OAF) must be completed exhaustively; applicants must provide all the requested information and valid documents.

Note: before you start the application process we strongly advise you:

– to carefully read the Guidelines before you go to the online application form;

– start filling in and completing your application form as early as possible, and before the expiry of the deadline.

The Reference Letter(s):

It is mandatory that at least one of the RL is issued by a legally registered Roma organization/foundation from the respective country.

Reference Letters must be written using the REF SP Reference letter template available here, must be scanned and uploaded as attachments within the OAF, and must fulfill the below requirements:

Be written recently (i.e. within the last three months) by a person who can provide relevant comments and observations on the applicant’s academic or professional achievements and/or their involvement in Roma-related activities, i.e. the applicant’s university professor, work supervisor and/or NGO leader;

Be detailed, informative, relevant, and written specifically to serve the application to REF SP; the reference letter should also bear date, the original signature and stamp (if stamp available);
Describe the recent/current academic performance of the applicant and/or his /her extra-curricular activities, both Roma and /or non-Roma related; be up-to-date and reflecting on recent /current mentioned aspects;

Reference Letter shall NOT be written by a relative or a personal friend of the applicant, by a person who applied for REF scholarships for the 2015-2016 academic year, by a member of the National Selection Board, or by a person who is currently receiving a REF scholarship;
Students applying for any of the REF scholarship schemes are not allowed to write a reference letter for other applicants.

Please provide the above instructions to your referee(s). Reference letters that will not follow closely the requirements specified above or will be simple certifications of enrollment in academic institution, or employment, etc., will not be considered.

Transcript of grades (containing your Grade Point Average – GPA, if possible) must be scanned and uploaded as attachments within the online application form, and:

Be an official academic transcript of grades for the latest completed academic year. In addition to this, those applicants who were studying in 2014-2015 academic year should also provide the official transcript of grades from Semester 1 of the 2014-2015 academic year;

– An adequate transcript of grades shall include a complete list of mandatory exams and the results for them (grades, or their status, such as: passed /failed /postponed/ not attended, etc.). Applications with inadequate transcripts will not be eligible;

If the applicant has not been enrolled in school/university in the 2014-2015 academic year, he/she should provide valid copies of the latest received grade transcripts and diplomas. PhD applicants should submit the latest progress report from their supervisors, together with the latest GPA certificate;
Bear the original stamp of the university and signature of the university representative.

Note: in case applicants encounter difficulties –for objective reasons– in obtaining and providing a grade transcript as described above, they should contact, before the application deadline and only via email, their Country Coordinator.

The SP’s rules of GPA calculation can be accessed here.

ID/passport must be scanned and uploaded as attachments within OAF, and must:

Be legible and, if an ID, have copies of both sides.

Stage Two – Submission of Official Enrollment Certificate

Deadline: until September 15^th 2015

Important

Official Enrolment Certificate – must be scanned and uploaded as attachment to the online application form and must:

Be an original enrolment certificate from the applicants’ university showing that the applicant is enrolled for the academic year 2015-2016;
Contain the applicant’s full name, his or her year of study, name of university, faculty, department, specialization and type of study (i.e. full time, part time, distance etc.), and indicate if the academic year consist of one or two semesters, or three semesters;
Not bear corrections unless stamped and signed by the issuing person.

Tuition fee certificate – must be scanned and uploaded as attachment to the online application form and:

Be an original tuition fee certificate indicating cost of tuition for the entire academic year 2015-2016; the tuition amount should be indicated on the enrolment certificate; an additional stamp needs to be placed next to the amount indicated.

*Note: REF SP reserves its right to accept late enrollments (for proven objective reasons) only if the studies start before the closing of the year 2015.

Important: Applicants are strongly advised to read carefully the requirements and specific guidelines of the Program, in order to be able to understand the task and ensure successful compliance and completion of their online application form (OAF). Please contact the Country Coordinator only in case you require clarifications that are not found in the guidelines.

Please note that it is mandatory to fulfill and complete the following steps in their logical sequence. → STEP 1: Personal Information; → STEP 2: Survey; and → STEP 3: Access the List of Applications, select the chosen one and complete.

Please be aware that you can submit your Online Application Form (OAF) only if it is fully completed, and STEP 1 and STEP 2 are fully completed as well.

Reiterating REF SP’s commitments to supporting young Roma in their effort to pursue higher education, we look forward to receiving your application!

Note: REF reserves the right to decline provision of support to any applicant whose conduct and /or affiliation with groups or other entities of which goals’ and activities are incompatible with the values and principles promoted by the Roma Education Fund and its pursued objectives.

Access the Online Application System

8. Additional Program Components

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Besides the scholarship, the beneficiaries of LHP program have the opportunity to benefit of further support aimed at facilitating their participation in other activities designed to enhance their academic and professional development. The list of these activities is specified below.

LHP International Internship Grant

All LHP beneficiaries of the 2014-2015 academic year, as well as the beneficiaries who graduated the program in the last 5 years, are eligible to compete for additional grants to participate in international internships. The Program will distribute up to 3 international internship grants in 2014-2015. Each Grant will provide up to 1300 EUR to contribute to the living costs of students participating in international internships, for a period up to 3 months. The Grants are distributed on a competitive basis and keeping in mind the proportional distribution of Grants per each Program country. While the internship can be done throughout the year, the applicants will be required to prove that the period of internship for which funds are required does not conflict with any academic obligations. Further details for the application and selection process are posted here. The deadline for applications in the current academic year is June 22, 2015.

LHP Small Scale Project Grant

All LHP beneficiaries for the 2014-2015 academic year, as well as the beneficiaries who graduated the program in the last 5 years, are eligible to apply for small-scale grants, to implement projects in support of Roma communities, at local or regional level. The program will distribute in 2014-2015 up to 4 small scale project grants. The maximum amount of one Grant is 2,500 EUR. Priority will be given to proposals submitted by teams composed by current and former beneficiaries. While the small-scale projects can be implemented throughout the year, the applicants will be required to prove that the period of implementation does not conflict with any academic obligations. Further details for the application and selection process are posted here. The deadlines for applications in the current academic year will be July 20th, 2015.

LHP Language Courses Grant

All LHP beneficiaries of the 2014-2015 academic year are eligible for additional funds to attend foreign language courses, in an accredited language school in their locality of residence. The program will disburse up to 30 language courses grants, in an amount of up to 300 EUR for a student. In case the demand exceeds the number of language grants available, the selection will be competitive-based. Further details for the application and selection process are posted here.

LHP Professional Development Fund

All LHP beneficiaries of the 2014-2015 academic year are eligible to apply for additional funds to participate in extra-curricular activities within or outside their home country. The eligible activities include academic conferences or symposiums, research projects, summer schools, fellowships, or in-country internships. The Program will disburse up to 5 Professional Development Fund grants in the 2014-2015 academic year, in an amount of up to 800 EUR per grant. Further details for the application and selection process are available here.

LHP Annual Conference

The LHP Program is organizing each summer a Regional Student Conference in one of the program countries. The topic of the conference, as well as other relevant details, will be posted here by middle of May, 2015.

Access the Online Application System