Scholarships: Financial Planning to Study Abroad

Studying abroad in any part of the world can be expensive and requires careful financial planning so it is extremely important to find out if there are scholarships or other forms of financial support available from your intending institution as well as for your study abroad destination /home country.

Study abroad scholarship is a reward for students to use toward the expenses of their programme which can include tuition, accommodation, and study materials. Even though scholarships may not fully cover your study abroad costs, they will help reduce some of your expenses and provide more relief and a better study abroad experience.

There are a wide array of scholarships, discounts and grants available to students studying abroad at various levels. Students are mostly encouraged to apply for any awards that they are eligible for to support their studies. Some of these scholarships are very competitive and most times require some form of test and grade to qualify while others are easy to access and not fully utilized.

In some cases, these scholarships are automatically given to the applicant as long as they qualify for it by the institution. Some of these scholarships are full while others are part. But whichever way they come, one thing is certain that they do provide some form of succour.
There are several types of scholarships available to apply for when studying abroad as highlighted below:

Merit-based
These are awarded based on certain merits accrued to the institution of study as well as the course of study. Most of these is determined by the particular scholarship offered and what it aims to cover or promote. This could be academic, athletic, artistic, or other special achievements by the student as required by the scholarship.

Student-Specific
These are scholarships targeted at and awarded to specific students who meet certain factors such as Race or Religion.

Destination-specific 
These scholarships are awarded by a particular country to students planning to pursue a study abroad program in that particular country or to a particular specified country. Most of these scholarships are awarded as incentives to keep students interested in studying a particular country for various reasons.

Programme-Specific
Programme scholarships are awarded mostly on the basis of academic and personal achievement tailored towards the programme of study. Requirements for these type of scholarships mostly vary for each programme.

Subject-Specific 
These scholarships are awarded to students based on their major by the various programmes or institutions usually to help promote the programme and entice and attract more students towards enrolling or majoring in such subjects. Qualifications and requirements usually vary also for this type of scholarship and recipient’s ma have to conduct subject-specific researches or major in such subjects.

If you are unsure about what scholarships are available and that you qualify for, speak with one of the local representatives for assistance.

Technology and Education: The Revolution

The Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) defined educational technology as "the study and ethical practice of facilitating learning and improving performance by creating, using and managing appropriate technological processes and resources”.

We have become highly dependent on technology these days that we hardly stop to wonder what kind of impact it is bearing on us or if it has just become habitual process to us, ignoring the overall impact it has on us.

In education, one often wonders if technology really has a positive impact and has caused it to improve or if we just go with the trend of these tools being used to enhance education. This has been a debatable topic for years amongst educationist, students and the society as a whole. Many researches have been carried out to answer the question on if technology affects the performance of a students in a technologically enhanced studying environment as compared to those without one.

No doubt, technology has brought about a revolution in education. It is a known fact that when technological tools are properly integrated with studies, the students tend to improve in their achievements and have new opportunities to learn. This in essence means that technology is not the problem but how it is used.

Modernised education through the aid of technology has however enhanced a strong relationship between students and teachers as it enables a more meaningful and fun teaching and learning experience. Students can have access to great resources without spending so much on hard copies of text books and collaborate more with their peers to create and execute brilliant ideas in their various fields of interests.

Our educational system has been greatly overhauled due to this growing and advancing technology which has more positives compared to the negatives. These two, technology and education when combined for the right reason are a powerful tool to intellectual growth.
Some of the main benefits of using technology for studies and the ways in which it improves education include;

• It improves engagement
Both students and teachers can engage with their colleagues from around the globe to dialogue better on certain topics and help meet their shortcomings.

• It encourages individual research and learning
Due to the immediate access to a wealth of quality information and educational materials, it creates a yearning to know more and encourages individual research and learning.

• It enhances collaboration
It encourages collaboration between students to achieving certain goals and refining the students work.

• Teachers are better able to research better and faster as they have a wealth of information at the tap of their mobiles

• Technology enhances more fun ways of learning which enhances knowledge retention
• Online learning opportunities
Due to the accreditation of online education, students can work better at their own pace.

Once education embraced technology, there have been significant improvements as seen over the past few years of technological advancements in education. Technology has a crucial role in education and right now, we have moved past the point of asking its importance to questioning how to thoughtfully craft it into education to enhance learning and create more achievements.

A Week Behind The Great Firewall of China

The Chinese are thinking.

Everyone is at the mercy of the West, except the Chinese because they refuse to democratise information. The idea of unfettered information going out to everyone and somehow seen as being good for humanity can be argued for what we have playing out in the so called Arab spring and other madness happening around the world.


Until recently, I'd have chosen the West's version of freedom of the net but it doesn't work for other growing democracies and I believe it's in the interest of China to have some control over how they manage information.

This does not imply that what China is doing by suppressing its own people through these draconian measures is good, but it's a very important tool to protect their national interest and that’s what every responsible government should put ahead of any other interest.

Cyber terrorism is the warfare of the future. Since the emergence of people like Julian Assange and Edward Snowden, information security has become a really important aspect of national security. Cyber attacks today are so serious; you can bring down planes, power grids, steal people’s identity and live savings. All these happen over the so called open Internet. How do you defend yourself as a growing superpower like China? ‎You control the source.

Chinas firewall has been able to help them hold everyone by the balls. An example is Didi Chuxing, Chinas biggest ride hailing service. Uber tried to get into China but couldn’t compete and had to sell its shares to Didi Chuxing gaining a worth value of $35 billion.

The Chinese don’t go around the world fighting or dictating to governments on how to behave. They wield their power indirectly. So, their firewall has protected their economy, security and enhanced their stature around the world.