In a bid to open up a world of opportunity for Lankan students with overseas ambitions for their studies, HSBC Sri Lanka announced a new scholarship program for USD 10,000 when they enroll to a university, anywhere in the world. Through the scholarship program one eligible student will be able to fulfil his/her dream overseas during the upcoming semester.

HSBC is the first bank in Sri Lanka to introduce a scholarship program to help local students jump start their higher education and realise their borderless ambitions for a brighter future. This is part of the HSBC’s International Student Proposition that was launched in 2019 to facilitate the education journey of local students after research revealed that over 24,000 Sri Lankan students (Source: UNESCO 2020 data) study overseas in key education corridors such as Australia, UK, Canada, US, Malaysia and India, where HSBC has a strong footprint.

The scholarship program is open to any student between the ages 17 – 25 years who wishes to pursue an overseas education. Prospective candidates will need to download an application form from https://www.hsbc.lk/international/overseas-education/ and submit an essay based on a *pre-determined criteria. Applications will be evaluated by HSBC together with senior academics from local and international education institutions in the country, whereby the winner will receive a USD 10,000 scholarship to complete his/her overseas studies for the upcoming semester at a preferred university from 64 countries where HSBC is present.

The winner will also be required to open a student file under HSBC Premier or HSBC Advance in order to facilitate the payments and other overseas banking services such as opening an overseas account and arranging a debit card from the destination country prior to departure of the student.

According to HSBC, parents and students go through four stages throughout the overseas education journey such as dreaming, planning, moving and settling and customers are reliant on their financial partner to provide them with hassle free banking services.

Nadeesha Senaratne, Country Head of Wealth & Personal Banking commented “An overseas education can be quite overwhelming for both parents and students. We also understand the pressures that parents go through in sending their children overseas and having to take care of the financial needs. That’s why we want to make the journey seamless through our international student proposition that is designed to support them with their cross-border banking needs and provide parents/students with peace of mind.”

He added, “Through our international connectivity in 64 markets, we are better positioned to help them move funds across geographies faster and cheaper, provide access to global insights and expertise on currencies, exchange rates and cross-border banking regulations. Our goal is to facilitate an enriching overseas education journey for students. We are very excited to be able to afford one eligible student the opportunity to follow his/her dreams and connect to limitless opportunities, amid the current pandemic and financial challenges.”

With HSBC’s international student proposition, getting students ready for overseas education has never been easier. HSBC supports by providing all the essential banking services such as opening student files, facilitating payments, opening an overseas account and arranging for off-shore debit, mobile and internet banking prior to departure of the student.

Visit https://www.hsbc.lk/international/overseas-education/ for more details.