Bridges, the online publication of the Office of Science and Technology at the Austrian Embassy in Washington, D.C. spoke with Wolfgang Stoiber and Eugen Stark from the Austrian Marshall Plan Foundation about the new scholarship and its goals:

bridges: What is the intention behind the establishment of this new US-Austrian scholarship program?

Our goal is to see more Austrians and Americans participate in exchange programs, thereby increasing mutual understanding and knowledge between the two countries.

bridges: What is the current status of the program, and when do you expect the first students to come to Austria / go to the United States?

The program is currently accepting applications for study abroad in fall 2008 and spring 2009. The deadline for this opening round will be early May 2008. Another call for applications will start in September 2008.

We are glad to announce that 30 students have already been nominated by Austrian Universities or their partner institutions in America, especially considering the recent establishment of our program.

bridges: Who is eligible to apply for the new scholarships?

Basically, students who are interested in doing academic research focused on technical sciences. We would like to offer those scholarships to undergrads as well as grads in Austria and in the United States; citizenship is not a concern, but candidates need to be enrolled at a university and studying there.

bridges: How does the application process work?

The motto of developing this program was: keep it easy-to-handle! People contact the Office for International Studies at their home institution; they log on to the scholarship Web site and are guided through the entry port to the end of the process. An underlying contract between the Foundation and the institution allows applicants to enter the site. In general, we require applicants to submit a research proposal and, after receiving the award and having completed their stay, hand in a research paper or documentary report of the research work.

bridges: How long can exchange students stay in the US / Austria?

How much funding can they expect, and how will their work be evaluated? The Foundation offers grants of € 3,000 – € 10,000 for stays as long as five months, with a minimum stay of three months required. The research result will be evaluated on the basis of the proposal submitted in the application and the research agreement each recipient is required to sign.

bridges: Whom should interested potential partner institutions in the US and potential American exchange students contact for updates or further questions on the Marshall Scholarship Program?

The first contact for interested Americans is an Austrian partner institution, if one has already been identified. Several Austrian universities of applied sciences and technology are informed about the program and have agreed to provide a helping hand and support in administrative matters. If no Austrian partner yet exists, either students or other people from US institutions are welcome to contact the Foundation directly for further information.