The applications for the College of Europe and the "José Medeiros Ferreira" Scholarship, awarded by the Regional Government for attendance in postgraduate courses in Belgium or Poland in 2020/2021, run until January 15.
 
Applicants for this scholarship should have been previously admitted for attendance in a postgraduate course at the College of Europe and must be aged up to 30 (at the beginning of the course). They are also required to have completed their secondary education in the Region and to have resided in the archipelago for at least three years.
 
Furthermore, eligible applicants must hold a university degree as well as fluency in English and French, both in written and oral forms
 
The Regional Government annually awards this scholarship for attendance in a postgraduate course at the College of Europe, which intends to support tuition fees (including accommodation and meals) and a round trip from the student's residence to the country where the course is taking place.
 
With this programme, the Government aims to qualify young Azoreans for European matters through a high level of training, providing them with an opportunity in terms of acquiring skills and employability at a time when a growing number of professionals with effective and in-depth knowledge of European affairs are being sought after. Hence, this initiative fosters the training of specialised regional staff with expertise in European Union matters.
 
In addition, the programme also honours historian and politician José Medeiros Ferreira, who passed away in 2014. As Minister of Foreign Affairs, he was responsible for the preparation and formalisation of Portugal's application for accession to the then European Economic Community.  
 
The awarding of the "José Medeiros Ferreira" Scholarship is decided upon the admission of Azorean applicants to the College of Europe for attendance in postgraduate courses in Law, Economics, Politics and Administration, International and Diplomatic Relations and European Interdisciplinary Studies.
 
In the 2019/2020 academic year, the scholarship was awarded to André Mendes, a Political Science graduate with a specialisation in Public Policy from ISCTE - University Institute of Lisbon. Currently, he is attending a postgraduate course in International and Diplomatic Relations on the Bruges campus in Belgium.
 
This was the seventh scholarship holder of the Regional Government to attend the College of Europe and the fifth to benefit from this scholarship programme.
 
Founded in 1949, the College of Europe is a private education institution of recognised international prestige and tradition in the study, analysis and discussion of European affairs. Its campuses located in Bruges (Belgium) and Natolin (Poland) annually receive more than 400 postgraduate students.
 
All information about the College of Europe and the application forms are available on the European College website at www.coleurope.eu and on the José Medeiros Ferreira Scholarship on the Government Portal at http://www.azores.gov.pt/Portal/pt/entidades/srapre/textoImagem/Programa+de+bolsas+de+estudo.htm.
 
For further clarification, those who are should contact the Office of the Regional Assistant Secretary of the Presidency for External Relations at the email [email protected] or by telephone 296 204 700.