MasterCard, U21Global bare recipients of scholarship program

MasterCard Worldwide and U21Global recently announced the recipients of the MasterCard-U21Global scholarship program for women in travel and tourism. Twenty women from Asia/Pacific, Middle East & Africa have been offered full scholarships to pursue the postgraduate diploma of business administration from U21Global, the world’s premier online graduate school. This is the third consecutive year that MasterCard and U21Global are collaborating to offer this scholarship program.

The MasterCard worldwide-U21Global scholarship program for women in travel and tourism aims to empower working women professionals in the travel and tourism industry to stay ahead of industry trends and realize their full potential.

This year, the scholarship program received strong interest particularly from women in New Zealand, India and China, with the highest number of applications coming from these markets. New Zealand saw the biggest year-on-year increase in the number of applicants compared to all other markets - over 90% more.

The 20 selected scholarship recipients come from a diverse range of markets, including Australia, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, New Zealand, Philippines, South Africa, UAE, Zambia and Zimbabwe. New Zealand and India topped the recipient list, with four scholarship recipients each, followed by three recipients from Australia and two from China. Winning a scholarship from the Philippines is Marie Therese Samala of Sofitel Philippine Plaza.

This year’s cohort of scholars has an average of 12 years work experience in the travel and tourism industry. They work in organizations ranging from national tourism councils, airlines, hotels, travel agencies and travel publications. The majority are in mid-to-senior level managerial positions.