Merz Bildungswerk Scholarship

The Merz Bildungswerk awards scholarships to persons with exceptional potential or in special personal circumstances to enable them to study at the Merz Akademie. In the summer semester of 2022, Uliana Drashchenko will receive the Merz Bildungswerk Scholarship.

Uliana Drashchenko put a special focus on film and video as a field of study in her application to study at Merz Akademie:

“My interest in films and filmmaking began in early childhood. For me, films were the window to another world that touched me in a special way.”

She continued to pursue her interest while still in school, working on scripts and other film projects in the drama club. Initially, however, she followed her second passion, foreign languages, after graduating from school by studying philology in her home country Ukraine.

The decision to study a second film-oriented degree in Germany, however, was clear:

“I wanted to broaden my professional horizons and finally put into practice the many ideas I have for film projects.”

In order to be financially independent, she first worked and saved for studies. Due to her Ukrainian citizenship, access to funding and financing opportunities is very difficult. The Merz Bildungswerk scholarship now provides important help:

“For me, the scholarship means the financial support that allows me to fully focus on my studies and successfully complete them.”

Uliana has already become involved in university life in the short time and despite the extraordinary circumstances due to Corona at Merz Akademie and founded the “Kino Klub”, where students and faculty watch and discuss films together.

Markus Merz, managing partner of Merz Bildungswerk congratulates the scholarship holder at a personal meeting:

“The scholarship was created to enable particularly talented people, who have an exceptional biography or are in circumstances worthy of consideration, to study at Merz Akademie. It is intended for those who, due to their background or other criteria, are excluded from other support opportunities and for whom, without this support, studying would be financially impossible. The scholarship holder had many supporters who emphasized her very good achievements and her commitment to the university. Therefore, her application convinced the selection committee.”