The Philippine Embassy in Havana has announced that the Latin American School of Medicine (ELAM) will award one medical scholarship to a Filipino student for the school year 2010-2011.

To qualify, the applicant must be a high school graduate, with outstanding academic background, and must possess a valid passport, according to a release posted on the website of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

All qualified applicants may apply for the scholarship at the Cuban Embassy in Manila or at the Foreign Service Institute of the DFA.

Applicants need to submit a letter of application, current transcript of records (if college undergraduate), high school transcript of records (if a new high school graduate), letters of recommendation and resumé.

The successful applicant will receive free tuition, free board and lodging, free textbooks (in Spanish) and a monthly stipend of approximately 200 Cuban pesos (about P10,000) from the Cuban government.

Airfare to and from Cuba will be shouldered by the student.

The successful applicant must arrive in Cuba by August 23-30, as the school year there is set to start early September.

Established in 1999, the ELAM has been described as the largest medical school in the world by enrollment, with approximately 12,000 students from more than 30 countries.

All the students enrolled there are international students, mainly from Latin America and the Caribbean. Its main campus is located 3.5 kilometers west of Havana.—Jerrie M. Abella/JV, GMANews.TV