The sixth StudyPortals Scholarship beneficiary

Reinaldo Wiener is the sixth beneficiary of the 1,000 € Scholarship, which is awarded by StudyPortals every quarter. He is originally from Venezuela and has been selected from over 900 applicants to receive the Scholarship, awarded in the fourth quarter of 2014. He impressed us with his genuine interest in elements design, simulation engineering and computational mechanics and the hard work he has put into developing himself as a well rounded Mechanical Engineer.

Reinaldo has recently started the M.Sc. in Numerical Methods in Engineering, offered by the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya · BarcelonaTech (UPC).

Reinaldo shared with us the difficulties he encountered in pursuing his dream to study abroad and how the StudyPortals Scholarship comes as recognition of his efforts:

“Since I was studying my undergraduate studies, I have developed a great interest in knowing other countries, other cultures and, especially, to continue studying. After graduating, I planned to start a master abroad, because I considered that it would help me to improve my knowledge beyond what my country had to offer. So I started to work because I didn’t have the money to afford the study, yet I always imagined myself sharing with foreign partners, learning things in a good university.

Unfortunately, in the last 10 years the economic situation in Venezuela has been going down, scholarships are too competitive and the offer is reduced. My savings were consumed by the high inflation rate and my salary was not raised. Venezuela has a millionaire debt with international airlines, hence airlines reduced flight frequencies and, consequently, finding plane tickets is quite a challenge. In Venezuela, people cannot change currency freely and a submission must be send to government to obtain special exchange rates; my submission was denied without any logical reason. I can’t tell which was the most difficult obstacle, but I can say that I never considered giving up.

I have been studying for four months in Barcelona/Spain, while simultaneously looking for grants and working part-time. But not having a European citizenship in one more obstacle. Thanks to the SP scholarship I can see now the light at the end of the tunnel. This money not only represents their value, but also represents hope. It represents that no matter how difficult the things could seem, sometimes when you least expect, good things happens. Thanks to StudyPortals Scholarship I will be able to continue my studies and build my future as a professional.”

Congratulations, Reinlado! We wish you all the best in your Master studies and we hope your story will inspire others to also choose (for) education. It is a real example that perseverance pays off and that one should never give up their dreams, no matter how high the obstacles!