Oyu Tolgoi awards 45 students with “Gobi Oyu-Student Scholarship”

Oyu Tolgoi-funded Gobi Oyu Development Support Fund held its scholarship award ceremony for the 2019-2020 academic year. Within the scope of “Gobi Oyu-Student Scholarship” programme, being implemented for the fourth year in a row, the Selection Committee awarded 45 students, who are studying at Mongolian universities, majoring in fields of study that are priorities in Umnugovi province. The applicants must meet the following requirements that they are from Umnugovi province and studying the fields of education, health, culture, agriculture, construction, and they are performing well academically.

Out of 45 scholarship recipients being awarded for this year, 16 students are receiving the scholarship for the second year, eight for the third year, and one student for the fourth year renewing their scholarship agreement and thanks to their continuous effort to meet the scholarship requirements.

“Guided by its vision to create enduring value, knowledge and skill, Oyu Tolgoi LLC makes a contribution of around MNT10 billion to the Gobi Oyu Development Support Fund on an annual basis. Five per cent of the fund’s annual budget goes to the “Future Generation Special Fund”, which sponsors the “Gobi Oyu-Student Scholarship.” Up until today, the Special Fund has granted scholarships to 180 students from each soum of Umnugovi province. We hope that this scholarship plays a critical role in preparing well-qualified specialists who will eventually contribute to Umnugovi’s development” said Tim Eckersley, Operations Director at Oyu Tolgoi and chairman of the board of the Gobi Oyu Development Support Fund.

Notes for Editors:

• As outlined in the “Oyu Tolgoi Underground Mine Development and Financing Plan”, took full effect since 2015, Oyu Tolgoi LLC signed a Cooperation Agreement with its partner communities – Umnugovi province, and the Khanbogd, Manlai, Bayan-Ovoo and Dalanzadgad soums- in April 2015. Under the agreement, Oyu Tolgoi makes a contribution of US$5 million every year to the development of Umnugovi province.
• Gobi Oyu Development Support Fund was established on September 25, 2015, as a standalone legal entity to implement the Cooperation Agreement.
• Since the fund’s inception in 2015, Gobi Oyu Development Support Fund has made available over MNT 45.3 billion worth of funding which has supported over 149 project and programmes.
• Oyu Tolgoi has granted tertiary scholarships to almost 1,000 students and extended educational opportunities to 1,500 students through its Youth Development and Internship Programmes. On a side note, Oyu Tolgoi has just announced a new intake of its Domestic Scholarship and Youth Development Programme.