THE GANGLION SCHOLARSHIP

What makes the Ganglion scholarship different?

This scholarship takes advantage of the fact that the public secondary education system in Nigeria is relatively affordable compared to other countries. This affordability makes it easy for students to be sponsored by individuals in the diaspora without taking on any additional financial stress.

This scholarship will be the first structured crowd funded scholarship in the country with a focus on students that are indigenous and have the potential to be future leaders. We hope to nurture and groom them to accomplish otherwise impossible goals. Success depends a lot on hard work, information and opportunities with this scholarship, we intend to provide the information/access and opportunities and watch recipients thrive.

If you are interested in sponsoring or supporting this course here 

Selection process

Scholars will be selected in three stages. The selection process will be done by volunteers who are students of the University of Oxford.

  1. Stage 1: The application material is screened for completeness. All incomplete application will not advance to the next stage.
  2. Stage 2: The second stage assesses the passion of the applicant for his or her course of study and what he or she hopes to achieve in the next ten years. This stage also evaluates the leadership and volunteering roles of the applicant.
  3. Stage 3: The last stage evaluates the academic strength of the applicant.
  4.  Stage 4: There may be an interview at the end of the process to act as a tie-breaker.

What is the responsibility of scholars?

The scholar is expected to maintain high academic performance and also be involved in at least 10 hours of volunteering with the Ganglion initiative per year, where they will learn to pay forward the opportunities given to them.

How long will the scholarship last?

One year but may be renewable based on satisfactory performance. 

How will payment be made?

(optional) After letting us know if you have specific requirements that is the number of students, gender, course of study and other specifications, payment can be made as a one-off or in instalments via PayPal or direct transfer and can be made as an individual or as a group of people.

 When paying, please add The Ganglion scholarship or TGI scholarship and your name as the reference.

Note to Sponsors

Except otherwise stated, recipients will have access to their funders as mentees indirectly through the organisation Every penny donated would be accounted for. A newsletter of the scholarship and the organisation will be sent to each funder quarterly. Financial and scholar reports will be sent to each donor at the end of every academic year.

How will Scholars be chosen?

We have identified four areas we believe are substantial for the growth of a potential leader, and this has influenced our choice of selection criteria.

  1. Academic excellence: A minimum academic criteria of 60%. Academic excellence is critical, and our requirement is lower than most because we have come to learn that financial hardship stunts academic excellence and is an explanation for the inferior grades of some students.
  2. Financial difficulties
  3. Volunteer work: A person that has learnt to offer services and skills for free to those in need as learnt the act of service. This has been linked to excellence in leadership; hence we expect our scholars to demonstrate evidence of volunteerism in any capacity.
  4. Leadership: evidence of involvement in direction either in a religious or non-religious setting:
  5. Passion and character: A commonly overlooked force is GRIT roughly equitable to passion and character for a chosen part. The scholar will show evidence of love for his or her chosen subject (art/science/commercial) and must be of good character.

Potential applicants must be a student of a state or federally funded secondary school studying in Nigeria.

What will be covered by the scholarship?

The member will receive:

  1. Tuition support where applicable
  2. Transportation and feeding stipend
  3. Money for extra-academic lessons colloquial known as extra lesson if needed
  4. Money from Uniforms, textbooks and notebooks
  5. Leadership and civic responsibility training
  6. Access to a network of donors, mentors and Nigerians in the diaspora.

How much does it cost to sponsor a scholar?

The school fees for federally/state-funded schools range from 30,000 Naira more or less depending on the school and student related factors. We intend to start with Anglican Commercial Grammar School, Total garden, Ibadan, Oyo state.

We recommend a scholarship a minimum price of 60 pounds/scholarship:

  1. Forty-five pounds go strictly to the student for Scholar support.
  2. Five pounds is the cost of the Global leadership summit for each scholar. The GLS is a life-changing energising event where young leaders are educated and mentored in practical leadership skills 
  3. Five pounds is the administrative cost for each scholar 
  4. Five pounds is the donation taken by TGI to help to promote her career outreach services.

Frequently asked questions

Who are you and why should I trust you with my Money?

You are right to think that way especially if you have never met me and you have not heard about the Ganglion Initiative prior to this mini proposal. I am Toluwalase Awoyemi, a Nigerian at heart based in the U.K and studying to be a molecular biologist. Prior to this I have worked as a medical doctor. The Ganglion Initiative is my brainchild which I co-started with two of my friends. The organisation has done incredible things in three years (read more at http://theganglioninitiative.org/) Here is a link to my University profile (https://www.wrh.ox.ac.uk/team/toluwalase-awoyemi) and my Linked in profile (https://www.linkedin.com/in/toluwalaseawoyemi/)

What do you stand to gain from all these, no one does anything for free?

I absolutely have nothing to gain from this apart from to help as many people as possible realise their childhood dreams just as I have realised mine.

Can I pay monthly or periodically?

Yes, you can set up a direct debit of at least five pounds per month or 15 pounds quaterly

Can I pay more than 60 pounds?

Yes, and we would love that you can go as high as you can a dream come through will be in thousands of pounds.

I want to help more, what else can I do?

The best way to help aside from your financial contribution is to tell a friend or and family and encourage them to be a part of this. You can also volunteer to be a mentor to our excellent group of mentees. Feel free to send this mini-proposal to as many people as possible

What class of student is the scholarship for?

The Scholarship in its initial phase will select senior secondary school 2 (SS2) students. This will allow us to critically evaluate what impact the scholarship will have on their performance vis a vis senior school certificate exam (SSCE) and the percentage of people who successfully get admitted into a post-secondary institution. We will work to support them in one form or the other during their SS3 year