Springer Science+Business Media will be providing 15,000 euros each to three Japanese students from the district of Tohoku, which was devastated by the tsunami. The grants will enable them to go to university. The three high-school girls are nearing graduation and won the grants in an official application process. The jury was made up of members of Springer's management in Japan, members of the company's charity Springer Hilfsfonds e.V and the long-time Springer author Professor Jin Akiyama. The money donated by the charity will be presented at an official award ceremony on 25 December 2012, in the Springer Japan offices.
From August to October 2012, students could apply for a grant by submitting a three-page essay on their area of scientific interest, written in English. Springer's office in Tokyo organized the competition and invited schools in the area affected by the tsunami to take part. Applicants were asked to explain why they wished to take up studies in their chosen field and to provide evidence that they came from one of the regions hit by the disaster, that their home had been destroyed and that family members were suffering unemployment. The grants are designed to enable them to study the subjects they have chosen at a university or other higher education institution.
The three students come from Soma City near Fukushima and from Ofunato and Kamaishi in the northern coastal area of Sanriku, where entire towns were wiped out by the tsunami. Two of the girls are still living in emergency housing. The girls hope to go on to work in the fields of cell research, gynecology/obstetrics, and cancer research/pharmacology and have therefore chosen corresponding fields of study.
"We are delighted to be awarding these grants," explained Ilse Wittig, deputy chair of the charity. 'Our goal is to help out not only in Germany, but also in the countries where our colleagues live and work."
Springer Science+Business Media – Hilfsfonds e.V. provides financial assistance to people in need, including, but not restricted to, employees of the publishing group and their dependents. The beneficiaries must be facing hardship through no fault of their own or due to exceptional circumstances; they are unable to escape the situation through their own financial means or through other third-party support and are not receiving (sufficient) social benefits.
Springer Japan is part of Springer Science+Business Media. It was founded in 2006 as a result of the merger of Springer Tokyo (founded in 1983) and the Eastern Book Service (EBS). Koji Yamashita, President and Managing Director, heads the Tokyo-based publishing house with around 100 employees.
Springer Science+Business Media (www.springer.com) is a leading global scientific publisher, providing researchers in academia, scientific institutions and corporate R&D departments with quality content via innovative information products and services. Springer is also a trusted local-language publisher in Europe – especially in Germany and the Netherlands – primarily for physi-cians and professionals working in the automotive, transport and healthcare sectors. Roughly 2,000 journals and more than 7,000 new books are published by Springer each year, and the group is home to the world's largest STM eBook collection, as well as the most comprehensive portfolio of open access journals. Springer employs more than 7,000 individuals across the globe and in 2011 generated sales of approximately EUR 875 million.