Twenty-five scholarships for women and girls who want to study energy, by MCC

Kosovo girls and women who want to study in the US now have an opportunity to gain a full scholarship, to cover the full costs of studies in internationally accredited academic institutions, with a particular focus on STAM subjects.

This was announced at a ceremony at the Millennium Foundation Kosovo, with the opening of the programme “Women in Energy”, through which 25 scholarships for Kosovo women and girls are offered for studies in areas that connect to energy for the period 2019-2021, worth about 1m euros.
In this case, President Hashim Thaci has expressed happiness that this project is helping Kosovo girls and women have a chance to ease inequality in the energy sector, where 90 per cent of employees are male.

Thaci said he is proud to be already seen the first results of the agreement between Kosovo and the MCC.

“On one side we have huge unemployment, on the other side we have many companies complaining that they are not finding qualified workers, and second, Kosovo women in some sectors have fewer employment opportunities than men. Thus, there is discrimination that begins in the early stages of education. So in some faculty branches there's a shortage of girls students. Therefore, I am pleased that today, the Kosovo Millennium Foundation together with the MCC have taken a step to address these issues. You today have allocated 1m euros for scholarships, for Kosovo girls and women to study in America. That way you will help the economy have more energy experts, at the time when Kosovo for major investments right in the energy sector”, he said.

He also spoke of the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, where he said the impression has been created that Kosovo politics has focused only on dialogue, as he added that not a little attention is also the education of young people and job insurance, where he stressed that in the post-independence years, close to 200m euros have been invested in the renovation of school facilities and school infrastructure has improved, increasing the salaries of education workers, which are above average in the region.

Karen Sessions, president of the Millennium Challenge Corporation, in addition to the invitation for women and girls to apply to become part of this programme, said the project strengthens the economic possibilities for Kosovo women and girls.

The “Project strengthens economic opportunities and provides financing through the local scholarship programme, a programme of practice and technical assistance. Strengthening employment opportunities is of crucial importance to reducing poverty and boosting economic development. Many of our investments learn to increase women's participation in the best-paid sectors, where they have been historically under-represented. We believe that countries cannot succeed unless even women succeed. And the programme like this makes it possible for such a thing”, Sessions said.

Economic Development Minister Valdrin Luka has said that in the energy sector, Kosovo will invest 3 billion euros in the next 10 years. And according to him, investments to come into various fields require experts who are missing the country.

According to him, the program “Women in Energy” is an excellent opportunity for girls to be educated in the more promising sector for the future that is energy.
The next 10 years are expected to invest 3 billion euros, which are extremely high. So we're talking about a sector, an industry that will be the chief employer for the next 10 years. Thousands of thousands of jobs will be generated in the energy sector, whether in renewable energy, where over half a billion euros will be invested, whether in the energy of capacities that are more stable, where about 1.8 billion euros will be invested in new rehabilitation or thermal power plants. Therefore, all these areas require experts, and these experts are missing”, he said.

The message to open this programme has been sent by US Senator Joni Erst, who said that a new chapter is being opened through this program between the two countries through which women are helped to become real leaders besides studies.

Otherwise, to have access to scholarships, candidates must have at least 18 years old, high school diplomas, good English language knowledge, commitment to working in the energy sector in Kosovo, and passion for work. /Periscopi/