Madrid (EFE).- King Felipe VI has assured the 100 new postgraduate scholarship holders of the La Caixa Foundation that the advancement of science and knowledge, “hand in hand with young people with potential like yours”, is the best way to contribute to the construction of a better society.
The king and queen presided over the award ceremony for these scholarships this Wednesday at the Caixa Forum cultural center in Madrid in an act that was also attended by the First Vice President of the Government and Minister of Economy, Nadia Calviño and the Minister of Universities, Joan Subirats, among others.
“There is no better way to commit to young people than by offering them greater opportunities by reinforcing their skills and knowledge, as well as encouraging their own efforts”, Felipe VI underlined, while congratulating the scholarship recipients for their tenacity, effort and concerns.
In addition, he reminded them that they have an extraordinary opportunity, promising careers and “hope for the future”, while stressing that Spain needs them.
Advancing knowledge for a fairer society
Regarding the work of the La Caixa Foundation, its vice president, Juan José López Burniol, has stressed that one of its objectives is to advance knowledge to build a fairer and more prosperous society, especially for those who need it most.
Biomedical Sciences professor and researcher at the Sarriá Chemical Institute (Barcelona), Nuria Oliva, recalled that twelve years ago she was sitting with the new scholarship recipients, before leaving for the United States to enjoy an opportunity that allowed her to foster her passion for research on breast cancer, among other works.
Between 1982 and 2022, La Caixa has allocated almost 200 million euros to this programme, one of the most relevant in Europe, which has enabled 3,784 university students to further their training abroad.
One hundred university students awarded scholarships
The 100 scholarship-winning university students have been selected for their excellence in the 2022 call and have obtained admission to some of the best universities in the world on four continents. 58 will study in Europe, 40 in North America, one in Oceania and one in Asia.
The countries that attract the most scholarship holders are the United States (35) and the United Kingdom (35).
In the class of 2022, the selected scholars -with an average age of 26 years- come from 37 Spanish provinces, 4 Portuguese districts and five other countries. 26 of them are from Barcelona, 12 from Madrid, 4 from A Coruña, 4 from Vizcaya and 4 from Valencia.
The British universities of Oxford (7) and Cambridge (6) are the ones that receive the most scholarship holders from La Caixa and the disciplines most represented are engineering and technology (17), mathematics (10), law (7), economic and business sciences (7) and medical and health sciences (6).
The average cost of postgraduate scholarships is 90,000 euros, so the La Caixa Foundation has invested 10.7 million euros in this edition.