The National Council for Science and Technology (Conacyt) has confirmed it will not grant a scholarship to a Oaxaca student due to a mistake he made submitting an application form.

Gisela Morales González of the council’s postgraduate and scholarship department told the newspaper El Universal that Ricardo Pablo Pedro did not fulfill all the requirements of his scholarship application.

“He didn’t really lose the scholarship, because [his application] never appeared as sent on the agency’s platform,” she said.

Morales said Conacyt cannot grant a scholarship on an application that does not fulfill all the requirements.

By standing its ground and being impartial in the case, Conacyt guarantees “equality, transparency, impartiality and legality for the people that applied for the scholarship and met all the requirements; Ricardo, along with all the other applicants that were not [successful], will be able to apply for the next round . . . .” she said.

Pablo graduated with a doctorate in chemistry at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in May, and enrolled in a post-doctorate course at the same school that would allow him to continue his studies and research in nanomaterials.

He was confident that his post-doctorate course would be covered by the Conacyt scholarship, but his clerical error —forgetting to append his electronic signature to an online form — cost him the US $42,000 grant.

The 28-year-old student has since set up a GoFundMe campaign, where he hopes to raise the necessary funds before September 11, the MIT deadline. As of today he had raised $7,215.

Source: El Universal (sp)