Equal Opportunity & Absolute Fairness: The Heart of the Jean Ip Foundation Scholarship

At the Jean Ip Foundation, we believe that education is a powerful equalizer, and our mission is to support hardworking students from all backgrounds and walks of life.

Recently, we received a thoughtful inquiry from a potential applicant, asking whether our scholarship is intended specifically for applicants of Chinese descent, noting that many past recipients appeared to be of East Asian heritage.

We love it when students reach out with questions like this because it gives us a chance to be completely transparent about who we are and how we operate. Our Chair of the Adjudication Committee shared an encouraging response that we want to publicly echo to our entire community.

The following is the Chair’s response:

Warm greetings to you!  First of all, thank you for your email and concern about the scholarship eligibility of Jean Ip Foundation. 

I am writing to sincerely affirm the principles of the Jean Ip Foundation Scholarship application, review and awarding system, with a heartfelt commitment to absolute fairness and complete ethnic inclusivity.

Our scholarship program warmly welcomes all eligible students from every ethnic group, background and walk of life to submit applications. There is no restriction, exclusion, or preference based on ethnicity, identity, or personal background. Every student stands on an equal starting line, and we firmly uphold the right of every qualified student to pursue this scholarship opportunity.  This year, we have received 108 applications among which 49 applicants have Chinese surnames.  Other applicants also include Indian, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, American, Mexican, European etc etc.

Both the Scholarship Adjudication Committee and Selection Board operate with the highest standards of professionalism, integrity and impartiality. There is no bias, no prejudice, no favouritism, and no subjective influence in the entire review process. All committee members strictly abide by official regulations, adhere to objective standards, and perform their duties in a neutral and responsible manner, free from external interference or personal preference.

The selection of scholarship recipients follows a scoring system entirely based on the criteria which are (1) financial hardship, (2) academic achievement, (3) community contribution and (4) strength of personal statement. This criteria has been clearly stated in the application link and posters/flyers.  Only the top 12 students (10 for $5,000 and 2 for $10,000 scholarships respectively) who fully meet all published eligibility requirements and attain the highest scoring marks will be selected and awarded the scholarship.  A student simply with the highest marks will win.  Nothing more, nothing less.

We deeply understand that scholarships carry the recognition of academic efforts and heartfelt encouragement for every hardworking student. Therefore, we will always uphold the principles of fairness, equality and inclusivity, maintain the credibility of the scholarship system, and protect the legitimate rights and interests of all students.

We are sorry that the deadline for submission this year is due already!  However, we sincerely invite all interested students to actively pay attention to the scholarship notice from the Jean Ip Foundation and submit their applications in 2027.

Thank you for your kind understanding and support all the way!

 

With kindest regards,

Clara Chow

Chair, Adjudication Committee