The Söderström Foundation

(Project Utvidga Europa 2002)

This Internet web page contains details of scholarships of education that are being offered by the Söderström Foundation for students between the age of 14 and 22 or for other individuals. Scholarships that are limited to individual schools are not included here.

Please note that since we would like to give our kind sponsor’s money to those only who are likely to benefit the most from our assistance your application is always going to be evaluated by a foundational committee. The decision of the committee is based on your intentions, your plans and your current educational records.

There are two types of scholarships that you can apply for with the Söderström Foundation:

1.       A long-term university scholarship at a university in Sweden.

2.       A shorter-term scholarship for a period of 3 or 6 weeks, usually held during the summer school holidays in Sweden. We also call these “introduction camps” where the future-to-be scholarship-holders may introduce themselves, can learn about their possibilities within the foundation and can meet a lot of interesting young people from all over Europe. It’s a relaxed event with a lot of fun and learning.

Please read the explanations at the head of each section carefully so as to understand completely the application procedures and the method of applying for a scholarship.

Application Forms and Language:

Where it is requested that you apply by application form, in most instances, you will be asked to send in your application form by post. We cannot usually accept on-line application forms because in order that applications from all sources can receive equal consideration we need all applications to receive printed-out into hard copy and signed.

For official reasons we need to have all the applications handed in Swedish language only. When your national SF office will either help applying for a scholarship you or you will have to have your application translated into Swedish.

Telephoning for application forms

Where the facility to telephone for an application form is available, please note that, in some instances, you will be answered by a telephone answering system. We usually need to know the following:

- your name

- your postal address

- the title of the scholarship that you are applying for

Please have all this information ready when you are phoning. The same applies if you email or write to request an application form. Note however that in most cases for the clarity of the applications we do not receive telephone calls of inquiries.

Applying for a short-term summer project:

(Sommaraktivitet)

Ü These projects are available for students of secondary schools aged between 14 and 22 only.

Ü They last between 3 and 6 weeks.

Ü Available in 2002 for students of the European Union, Norway, Iceland, Greenland (DK), Poland, Hungary and Estonia only

1. If you want to participate in these camps you simply have to turn to one of your national SF office in your country, ask for an application form, fill it in, return it to the office and go. (You can also download an application form from our Internet sites.)

For most participants this is a self-budget programme; you will have to pay your ticket to Sweden and back and cover your boarding costs on the location.

2. However - by the prior approval of your national SF office - a complete or a partial (50-75%) covering of your participation costs can be realized. This is possible only in a case when you can prove to your SF office that:

-          You are doing well at school

-          Your social background justifies your demand (you can’t cover the costs yourself, e.g. your parents are divorced,  or unemployed, etc.)

-          The average monthly income per person in your family is lower than 2800 SEK[1] (300€)

3. In some countries –moreover- we have special ways of providing the funds for summer camps. Students from Poland, Hungary and Estonia will have the chance of receiving a full 100 % cover for their summer camps in 2002. Our university scholarships aren’t yet available in these countries (we haven’t opened the local offices - we have only a small staff there travelling in and out) but we want them to start at the latest in 2003.

We think it would be a good idea to meet as many people from Eastern Europe as we can during the summer camps so that the people going in for the 2003 scholarships from these places (Estonia, Poland and Hungary) can get to know the things and can get themselves known as well.

Unfortunately we can’t give this scholarship to everyone, so we shall have to decide who can participate in the project. The decision will have to be made based on the educational records of the applicants.

Those who are decided to be accepted to participate in a summer camp will get everything covered by the SF, including a return plane ticket from their capital city to Stockholm and back, boarding, accommodation local transportation, recreational budget and programmes. (See also details at the info-sheets, which are coming with the application forms.

The programmes at Summer Camps are various. Generally you will stay at a student hostel in one of the bigger cities of Sweden, usually in Stockholm, Gothenburg, Uppsala or Norrköping with the other participants and participate in various

Applying for a University Scholarship as a foreigner:

F.A.Q.

Ü These projects are available for students between 17 and 25 only.

Ü The applicant must be either a senior student at a secondary school (equivavilant to that of the Swedish gymnasieskolan if possible) or must hold the final exams from a secondary school of that kind

Ü Projects Available in 2002 for students of the European Union, Norway, Iceland and Greenland (DK) only

This is a more difficult and bureaucratic procedure. Since the costs of such a scholarship is high (the SF covers all the costs of the students) we have to take a very close look at the applicants. It takes roughly about 3 or 5 months before the committee of the scholarship decides if you can receive the assistance or not. Of course many people are turned down every year but still even now lots of students are studying at universities with the help of the SF. You have to study the info-page with the application form very carefully before you start filling in the form. Basically the SF gives this scholarship to those who:

-          Can prove that they are prominent students of the chosen major(s)

-          Can prove that they could master their chosen major(s) much better at a Swedish university than in their home country, because the level of education in that major(s) is much higher in Sweden than in their home country (viz. if you want to learn English literature but you are from England anyway, you will stand a very low chance at an application procedure with SF.)

-          Can prove that financially they or their family wouldn’t be able to cover the costs of studying for the duration of the chosen course. (the average income per every member of the family in the previous taxation year has to be lower than 2800 SEK[2] (300€) / person/ month)

When applying for such a scholarship you will always have to turn to your national SF office.

The staff at the SF office will collect all the necessary information from you and your school and will prepare your documents for the committee in Stockholm.

The application is free of charge but you have to pay the costs of translations for yourself; you have to have your school documents translated into Swedish unless you are from Denmark, Norway or Finland[3].

If you are successful at the application and receive the erudition you will get everything to help you. However conditions are based on individual contracts usually a university scholarship will include:

-          travelling costs to Sweden

-          local travelling (travel card)

-          school fees

-          accommodation

-          boarding (you’ll get money for self-catering)

-          budget for learning materials (e.g. books)

-          a grant of 7000 SEK a month

If -from out of your fault- you have to quit during the course, you will have the chance to keep on afterwards (within a period of 3 years) but you will lose the grant.

If you fail to meet the standard of the chosen institution of higher education and can’t continue studying, the SF will not demand any money back from you. In such an improbable event it is the commission to answer for giving the scholarship.

SWEDISH NATIONAL UNIVERSITIES