PEXIM Foundation signs MOU with Cambridge Overseas Trust, stipulating terms and conditions of cooperation in Serbia. Agreements signed with this year’s recipients of PEXIM Cambridge Scholarship, Borjan Lazarević and Marko Jevremović.

On Wednesday, September 1, in PEXIM Foundation’s premises in Belgrade, Mihail Petreski, President of PEXIM Foundation, and Michael O’Sullivan, Director of Cambridge Overseas Trust, signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) which stipulates the establishment of PEXIM Cambridge Scholarships. The goal of the PEXIM Cambridge Scholarship programme is to support students from Serbia to study at Cambridge. On this occasion, Mihail Petreski, on behalf of PEXIM Foundation, also signed the scholarship agreements with this year’s recipients of PEXIM Cambridge scholarships from Serbia, Borjan Lazarević and Marko Jevremović. Snežana Klašnja, Assistant Minister of Youth and Sports, Slobodan Jauković, Assistant Minister of Education, and Stephen Wordsworth, UK Ambassador to Serbia, attended the signing ceremony.

In his speech, Mihail Petreski thanked the Government of Serbia, and especially emphasized the support that the Foundation received from the Ministry of Youth and Sports, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of Education. „This year, PEXIM Foundation will, in partnership with Cambridge Overseas Trust, invest 145,000 EUR in scholarships. Through lobbying and increased visibility of candidates from Serbia, we have secured financing for other students who have been offered a place in Cambridge. By doing this, we have fulfilled our goal for this year to make sure that all Serbian students who enrolled to Cambridge, start their studies on October 1st”, said Petreski.

Michael O’Sullivan, Director of Cambridge Overseas Trust, pointed out to the fact that the number of Cambridge students from Serbia has been increasing significantly in the past couple of years and that, according to the latest data, 17 Serbian students enrolled in 2010. Of those 17, some received full scholarships from their colleges, one student received Gates scholarship, two students received PEXIM scholarships and some will pay for their studies themselves.

Assistant Minister Snežana Klašnja commended PEXIM Foundation’s initiative and emphasized that the recipients of PEXIM Cambridge Scholarship are also supported by the Government of Serbia Fund for Young Talents. The cooperation between PEXIM Foundation and Fund for Young Talents will continue in the future in order to support as many Serbian students as possible.

PEXIM Cambridge Scholarship programme also received great support from Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Serbia, Stephen Wordsworth, himself a Cambridge scholar.