MERF – Mensa Education and Research Foundation

Alena Oudová, Tomáš Kubeš

Human intelligence is one of the world’s greatest resources. Its support and development gradually reaches the forefront of worldwide projects of both non-profit and for-profit organizations. The Mensa Education and Research Foundation (MERF) was established predominantly to provide support for research organizations, educational institutions, and gifted individuals to develop their intellectual and social dispositions, and thereby contribute towards the development of society.

Scholarships

MERF offers scholarships to university students from all around the world. Several programmes are open to both Mensa members and non-members. The decision about granting or not granting a scholarship is taken solely on the basis of the originality and quality of the essay submitted by the applicant. Neither the previous study results, field of study, nor student’s financial background are taken into account. Applications are accepted from 15th September to 15th January every year. The number of applicants per year ranges from approximately four to six thousand individuals. In 2009 and 2010, MERF granted scholarships to the total value of approx. USD 70,000.

Awards

Every year, MERF grants several awards to honour research programmes, innovative projects, and significant results of human creativity.

  • The first of these awards is the “Mensa Lifetime Achievement Award”, granted to people who have, through their activities, contributed towards significant development in the fields of intelligence and related areas.
  • The “Distinguished Teacher Award” is granted every year to a teacher, professor, or instructor from any level of education who significantly positively influences the education, and subsequently life, of any Mensa member. Mensans can nominate any member or non-member they consider a worthy candidate.
  • The “Mensa Press Award” focuses on outstanding results and contribution in the field of publication, dealing with the topic of human intelligence and talent. An ideal way to promote this is through regular contributions in newspapers and magazines. The aim of this award is therefore to encourage reporters and publishers to bring news from this field, and reports of the newest trends, to the public.
  • The “International Award for Benefit to Society” is granted to an individual who significantly contributes to the society by helping gifted people and supporting the development of their intellectual and social skills. In 2010, this award was granted to a Mensa CR member, Katerina Havlickova, recognizing her lifelong work with gifted children, and especially her founding the Budanka Grammar School (now Mensa Grammar School).

Gifted children

Gifted children are not forgotten in MERF, quite the contrary. MERF strives to support the education and social development of gifted children and teenagers all around the world. The Mensa for Kids website (http://www.mensaforkids.org) regularly publishes, besides games for selected age groups, other useful links for children and adults. It publishes study recommendations, tutorials for parents and teachers, and a regularly updated Fox Max blog (Fox Max is a mascot of the website).

A lot of other information about MERF awards and programmes, including particular conditions for individual scholarship applicants, can be found on http://www.mensafoundation.org.

Related topics

15.12.2010


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