2013 QS Community Scholarship Winners announced

By Pavel Kantorek Updated Apr 30, 2016

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Introduction
Jong Jung
Mona Gugu
Karan Rao
Anton Valkov
Kerem Yilmaz

2013 QS Community Scholarship Winners announced main image

With only five scholarships to award to a pool of 800 applicants, choosing who wins a QS Community Scholarship is a tough job. But the QS scholarship team has come to a decision, and five winners have been picked.

The awards, each worth US$2,000, are given to candidates who can demonstrate an exceptional level of socially-responsible leadership and the ability to motive others to follow suit. We’re sure you’ll agree this year’s winners fit this description. Please join us in offering them our congratulations!

Jong Jung

Business school: DeGroote School of Business, McMaster University
Nationality: Canadian
The winning factor: Frustrated by the restrictive nature of music performances at the Toronto Grace Health Center, Jung started a participatory sing-along group, performing the songs of Elvis, The Beatles and The Carpenters, among others.

“Patients were invited to participate in TGHC’s first-ever sing-along, led by my music group, the Impromp2 Crew – a fitting name. A small group of patients gathered in the foyer, and what happened after was simply magical. Music had crossed cultural, generational, and even physical gaps. Patients didn’t let their wheelchairs stop them from dancing and doing the Twist. Non-English speaking patients recognized the tunes, hummed and tapped along. As the founder and leader of Impromp2 Crew, I am looking forward to celebrating our fourth year at TGHC in August. Who knows – maybe we’ll sing a song or two...”

Mona Gugu

Business school: Edinburgh Business School, Heriot-Watt University
Nationality: South African
The winning factor: Gugu’s hands-on project raising funds and awareness of AIDS, HIV and tuberculosis

“I led the project and ensured we conducted successful campaigns, despite scarce resources. I went from one door to the next negotiating for donations and increased awareness among the community at the same time. This has increased knowledge and understanding of HIV and AIDS and also reduced the stigma on the infected. The HIV infected people were then able to disclose their status without fear of being victimized. This has made the community aware of the challenges facing them and how they can contribute to the eradication of these conditions.”

Karan Rao

Business school: NUS Business School
Nationality: Indian
The winning factor: Rao’s educational group, “Transition”, dedicated to easing the transition between school and the working world for young people in Mumbai

“Transitioning from college to the corporate world is never easy. We have helped 50 students from engineering colleges across Mumbai to do so over the last year and a half, many of whom have landed good offers. I intend to devote time to Transition during my time at b-school, and to expand the project.

Read a longer profile of Rao >

Anton Valkov

Business school: Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Nationality: Russian
The winning factor: Valkov’s considered approach helped create a generation of innovators in the world of computer science research

“I viewed my mission as to bridge the gap between research and innovation. I became an associate professor at the Moscow State University and ran the ‘Applied Forecasting Systems’ course, where I shared my experience of real-life applied projects. I acted as if students were hired to solve a real-life problem and guided them through typical situations. They said later that this course was different from others and didn’t quite believe its content until they faced real projects; it then clicked that my course did a great job in preparing them for the demands of research work.”

Kerem Yilmaz

Business School: INSEAD
Nationality: Turkish
The winning factor: Yilmaz’s GOREP project, which helped the visually impaired prepare for their university entrance exams

“GOREP, in its first year, taught 40 students from all grades and contributed to the admission of 7 out of 11 exam entrants. I established my leadership skills in a voluntary environment where motivation and team spirit are crucial and tasted the satisfaction of touching people’s lives without expecting any monetary gain. Whenever I see an opportunity to step up and take the initiative, I think of GOREP and want to help by being part of the solution.”

Read a longer profile of Yilmaz >

Written by

Pavel Kantorek

Mansoor is a contributor to and former editor of TopMBA.com. He is a higher and business education specialist, who has been published in media outlets around the world. He studied English literature at BA and MA level and has a background in consumer journalism.