07-14-2010
IBERDROLA FOUNDATION AWARDS 38 GRANTS FOR POST-GRADUATE COURSES IN ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT

Grants vary between €14,000 and €22,000 per student

 

  • The award ceremony was presided over by Màrius Rubiralta, General Secretary for Universities, accompanied by IBERDROLA chairman, Ignacio Galán, and the chairman of the IBERDROLA Foundation, Manuel Marín
  • The first programme of grants for MA and PhD courses offered by the IBERDROLA Foundation was enormously popular, with more than 600 applications made for places.

 

This morning the IBERDROLA Foundation awarded 38 grants to study post-graduate courses in Energy and the Environment, in the first programme of this nature run by the institution. The objective of this scheme is to contribute to excellence in training and research within the energy sector, with particular focus on renewable energies, safeguarding the environment and combating climate change.

The award ceremony, held in Madrid, was presided over by Màrius Rubiralta, General Secretary for Universities, and also attended by the chairman of IBERDROLA and honorary patron of the IBERDROLA Foundation, Ignacio Galán, and the Foundation chairman, Manuel Marín.

In his speech, Ignacio Galán stated that the main objective of these grants is “to promote and foster research and training at the highest level within the energy sector, to produce professionals capable of contributing to the development of a sustainable energy model that can efficiently satisfy all of society’s energy needs and advance in the protection of the environment”.

The chairman of IBERDROLA said that the company “is aware of the important role that training and innovation should play in designing the new economic model, as they are both solid pillars on which sustainable growth can be built”. “The preparation and training of human resources are a key factor for a country like Spain, which aspires to play an increasingly important role in world affairs”, he added.

More than 600 applications

More than 600 high-quality applicants sent in their CVs for this first programme of grants offered by the IBERDROLA Foundation to study MA and PhD courses in Energy and the Environment.

Candidates were selected on the basis of their academic record and the quality of the course to be studied which had to focus on the following subjects: renewable energies, sustainable energy systems, the environment and biodiversity, clean coal technologies, emissions management and capture, energy efficiency, energy storage, the electric vehicle and smart grids.

The grant holders will receive funds of between €14,000 and €22,000 which they will use to study in institutions in Spain and the UK. The grant will cover students’ registration fees and provide them with a monthly living allowance of €1,200 or £1,200 depending on the place of study.

This initiative is part of the Foundation’s 2010-2014 Master Plan which, in addition to endeavouring to improve the quality of life in the countries where the company operates, also strives for professional excellence in the energy sector.

The IBERDROLA Foundation has recently embarked on a new phase in which it will focus on three main areas of activity: the advance towards a sustainable energy model, cultural development in countries where IBERDROLA operates, and cooperation in development and advocacy programmes. The rollouts of these initiatives will be concentrated in Spain, the UK, the US and Latin America, regions where the company has a greater presence.