Star Team has announced its first results: school graduates from Yakutia have successfully won entry into some of the world’s most prestigious universities.

Star Team is a non-profit educational project launched to help selected students from remote areas gain admission into some of the worlds’ best universities. In 2020, the first group of high school students was selected; following two years of study and an admissions campaign at the end of 2022, eleven Star Team graduates have now been accepted at universities in the US and Canada.

These include world class institutions such as the University of California, Berkeley; the University of California Los Angeles; New York University; Boston University; and the University of British Columbia in Canada, among others. These schools are among the top higher education institutions worldwide, with the University of Berkeley recognized as the best public university in the world for the 9th year in a row.

A first for Yakutia

This marks the first time in the region’s history that a group of school graduates is entering top international universities, where they will study various specialties, including mathematics, chemistry, international relations, design, film, computer and data science. Arsen Tomsky, Founder and CEO of inDrive, will cover all expenses associated with their preparation and subsequent education, as attending these institutions can be prohibitively expensive.

The success of these first Star Team students shows that talented children from remote regions can make it into leading universities, when funding is made available.

Star Team’s next round is already underway, with groups of students in Yakutia and Kazakhstan participating. These students face an even greater challenge, as they will apply for scholarships — meaning they face even fiercer competition.

Results from this next round will be revealed in a year’s time, and will provide valuable experience, which Star Team will share with schoolchildren and their families in Yakutia and Kazakhstan.

Looking forward

Our team believes that Star Team’s students will inspire schoolchildren from underrepresented communities to apply to top universities, ultimately forming a community of professionals with strong networks around the world. We hope that students will, in turn, contribute to their homeland’s development.