Announcement

OKTA AD – Skopje, member of HELLENiQ ENERGY SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAMME FOR THE 2026-2027 ACADEMIC YEAR FOR POSTGRADUATE STUDIES

 

As part of its Corporate Responsibility programme, OKTA AD – Skopje, member of HELLENiQ ENERGY announces, for the 8th consecutive year, the awarding of scholarships for postgraduate studies at the universities in the Republic of North Macedonia and abroad for the academic year 2026-2027.

Through its Postgraduate Scholarship Programme, OKTA AD – Skopje, member of HELLENiQ ENERGY consistently and continuously supports university graduates or final-year students who have excelled in their undergraduate studies and wish to further their education and acquire additional expertise and specialization in fields related to the Company's activities.  

For the academic year 2026-2027, up to 2 scholarships will be awarded for full-time studies with a maximum duration of two years, for the acquisition of a postgraduate degree, at universities located in Republic of North Macedonia, in countries across Europe, North America and Australia, in the following scientific fields:    

Engineering and Energy Sector:

  • Energy Transformation
  • Renewable Energy Sources
  • Alternative Technologies - Vehicles - Fuels - Sustainable Transport
  • Advanced Energy Materials for Energy Production and Storage
  • Petroleum Engineering, etc.

 

Digital Transformation Sector:

  • Programming
  • Networks and Communications
  • Data Analysis and Artificial Intelligence
  • Cybersecurity
  • Intelligent Automation-Robotics, etc.

 

Environmental Sciences Sector:

  • Environmental Management
  • Ecosystems
  • Climate Change
  • Sustainable Development
  • Smart Cities
  • Local Development, etc.

 

Economics and Management Sector:

  • Energy Economics - Bioeconomy - Circular Economy
  • Energy Networks and Energy Geopolitics
  • Energy Project Management
  • Marketing - Communication - Public Relations - Political Communication
  • Legal Studies (Energy Law, Law and Information Technology)
  • Human Resource Management, etc. 

1. GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

Candidates must meet the following requirements:

  1. Be citizens of the Republic of North Macedonia by nationality or descent, or hold a valid residence permit in the Republic of North Macedonia for the duration of their postgraduate studies.
  2. Be under 30 years of age (born after 31/12/1995). Candidates with proven professional experience in fields related to the intended subjects of study may apply for a scholarship provided that they are not older than 32 years of age (born after 31/12/1993).
  3. Be graduates of the universities in the Republic of North Macedonia or holders of equivalent degrees from educational institutions abroad.
  4. Hold a degree from Higher Education Institution in the Republic of North Macedonia with a minimum grade of 8/10, or a degree from a foreign university with a grade equivalent to 8/10.  
  5. Those who do not have the above grades may also apply, but their degree grade must correspond to the highest percentage (10%) of the year of graduation of the relevant school.
  6. They must have a written offer from the faculty for the postgraduate programme they wish to attend or already be enrolled. Applications may also be submitted by those who are already attending/have completed the first year of a two-year postgraduate programme and have excelled in the first-year course examinations to date.
  7. Applications from employees of the Company, as well as their first-degree relatives, will not be accepted.
  8. Scholarships are awarded only for full-time studies. Applications for part-time or distance learning studies will not be accepted.
  9. The start date of the scholarship is determined by the official start date of the respective study programme. Scholarships are not retroactive.
  10. The deadline for submitting applications is 18 May 2026, with no possibility of extension. Applications must be submitted online at https://scholarships.helleniqenergy.gr/rnm  

2. REQUIRED DOCUMENTS

Candidates are requested to submit their application and the following supporting documents electronically only at the link https://scholarships.helleniqenergy.gr/rnm

  1. A recent photograph of the candidate (face).
  2. Photocopy of police ID or passport.
  3. Copy of degree/diploma with final grade and transcript of all years or transcript with average grade up to the date of application, which must be at least 8/10. In addition, graduates of foreign universities are required to send an extract from the study regulations, which states the grading scale of the university from which they graduated.
    For those who do not meet the grade criteria mentioned in the GENERAL REQUIREMENTS, a certificate from the school's secretariat is required, stating that their degree grade corresponds to the highest percentage of grades (10%) for the year of graduation from the relevant school.
    For those applying for a scholarship for the 2nd year of their postgraduate studies, a detailed transcript of all exams taken during the 1st year of their studies must be submitted.
  4. Certificate of enrolment or a letter of acceptance to the postgraduate programme, or a copy of correspondence between the scholarship candidate and the university proving that their application has been completed.
  5. Official document (e.g. excerpt from the study regulations) stating the programme, duration (start and, if possible, end date) and tuition fees for the intended studies.
  6. Letters of recommendation from professors at the university where the candidate completed their studies. The letters must be signed. Certificate of previous employment of the candidate, provided that previous work experience is a prerequisite for admission to the university where the candidate intends to study, or the candidate is over 30 years of age and their previous work experience is relevant to the postgraduate programme for which they are applying for a scholarship.
  7. Detailed and up-to-date curriculum vitae in English. Scholarships, awards and knowledge of foreign languages mentioned in the curriculum vitae must be proven by official documents.
  8. Income tax assessment certificate for the parents and the candidate for the financial year 2025 (or 2024 if the 2025 certificate has not yet been issued). If the candidate is not required to submit an income tax return, they must submit a relevant statutory declaration under the Notary Law of the Republic of North Macedonia.
  9. F1/J1 visa for the United States, or any other equivalent document of legal residence and enrollment for candidates who are already studying or intend to pursue their studies abroad.
  10. Certificate of family status. Additionally, you may optionally mention personal information about your personal situation (e.g. unemployment, disability, member of a large family, etc.) and submit the relevant certificate to prove it.

3. APPLICATION PROCEDURE

  • Candidates must submit their application on the online platform at https://scholarships.helleniqenergy.gr/rnm by 18 May 2026.
  • Additional documents may be sent online to scholarships.rnm@helpe.gr with the subject line indicating the corresponding reference number, which candidates will receive online immediately after submitting their application.
  • Candidates may apply for only one of the four sectors (Engineering and Energy, Economics and Management, Digital Transformation, Environmental Sciences).
  • Only applications that meet all the requirements of this Call for Applications will be included in the evaluation process.

4. EVALUATION PROCESS

  • The Evaluation Committee, consisting of senior executives of the Company, calls, at its discretion and based on criteria set out in the call for applications, selected scholarship candidates to an online interview, selects the most suitable candidates and recommends the final list of proposed scholarship recipients to the Management.
  • The Company's Management approves, at its sole discretion, the proposed scholarship recipients and determines the number of scholarships to be awarded in each scientific field. The decisions are final and not subject to appeal or objection.
  • The results of the evaluation will be announced in August 2026.
  • The results will be posted online at https://scholarships.helleniqenergy.gr/rnm and https://www.okta-elpe.com/.
  • Each candidate will be informed of the results of their application by email. 

5. FINALISATION OF THE SCHOLARSHIP

  • The scholarship is finalized and awarded after the scholarship agreement has been signed.
  • After the scholarship results are announced, the scholarship recipient does not have the right to change the study programme they have submitted, except for reasons of force majeure, which will be assessed by the Evaluation Committee and the Management at their sole discretion.

6. DURATION OF THE SCHOLARSHIP

  • The start date of the scholarship is defined as the official start date of the study programme.
  • The total duration of the scholarship cannot exceed the minimum duration of studies specified in the study programme of the university to which the candidate has been admitted. The maximum duration of the scholarship is two years, with no possibility of extension.
  • The scholarship may be suspended at the request of the scholarship holder for a period of less than 9 months, provided there are serious reasons for doing so.
  • The Management of OKTA AD – Skopje, member of HELLENiQ ENERGY shall decide, at its discretion, to revoke or permanently terminate the scholarship in the event of non-completion or interruption of the scholarship holder's studies, or if the Company's Management considers that there are serious reasons for doing so (course of study, scholarship holder's conduct, etc.). 

7. AMOUNT AND PAYMENT OF THE SCHOLARSHIP

The scholarship consist of tuition fee coverage and, in specific cases, additional support for living expenses, in accordance with the following terms:

Studies in Republic of North Macedonia

  1. Tuition fees are covered up to the amount of €2,000
  2. For postgraduate programs with tuition fees up to €2,000, additional financial support may be granted to partially cover living expenses, amounting to €200 per month, provided that the following conditions are cumulatively met:
    • Fulfilment of the minimum income criteria, as defined in the latest Household Income and Living Conditions Survey conducted by State Statistical Office of the Republic of North Macedonia1.
    • The university of study is located more than 50 kilometers away from the applicant’s permanent residence.

Studies abroad

  1. Tuition fees are covered up to the amount of €5,000.
  2. For postgraduate programs with tuition fees up to €2,000, additional financial support may be granted to partially cover living expenses, amounting to €600 per month.
    • The duration of studies should not be less than nine months. The duration of the scholarship is calculated on the basis of the minimum duration specified in the study regulations for the specific year and programme.

1The 2024 survey is available here. In the event that updated data for 2025 are published, they will be taken into consideration during the evaluation of applications.

8. SCHOLARSHIP OBLIGATIONS

Scholarship recipients undertake the following obligations:

  • Send their detailed grades immediately after the results for each semester are published (official school document).
  • Submit a progress report for each semester of study.
  • Submit, upon completion of the postgraduate programme, a copy of their postgraduate degree, a summary report on their scientific activity and their programme for the coming years.
  • Mention their status as OKTA AD – Skopje, member of HELLENiQ ENERGY scholarship holders in their CV, in any scientific announcement or paper produced during their scholarship, as well as in their thesis.
  • Upon completion of their studies and within a reasonable period of time, submit a copy of the cover page of their dissertation/thesis and the internal pages that refer to the OKTA AD – Skopje, member of HELLENiQ ENERGY scholarship.
  • Agree, upon completion of their studies, to be employed by the Company, if requested and provided that there is no practical obstacle on their part, personal or professional, which they must document.
  • Register with the HELLENiQ ENERGY Alumni Community, a network of the Program’s scholars that aims to maintain connection between scholarship recipients and the Group, strengthen networking and knowledge exchange, and create opportunities for professional and personal development.
  • Provide written updates on their academic or professional progress on an annual basis for three years after the end of the scholarship.