India Tops List of Recipients of MasterCard-U21Global Scholarship Program for Women in Travel and Tourism

Australia, the Philippines and Singapore Come Next with Three Recipients Each

Singapore, 07 October 2009 - MasterCard Worldwide and U21Global today jointly announced the recipients of the MasterCard-U21Global scholarship program for women in travel and tourism. Twenty women from Asia/Pacific, Middle East & Africa have been offered full scholarships to pursue the Postgraduate Diploma of Business Administration from U21Global, the world's premier online Graduate School.

India topped the list of recipients, with four women being awarded the scholarship, followed by Australia, the Philippines and Singapore, which had three recipients each.

The MasterCard Worldwide-U21Global Scholarship Program for Women in Travel and Tourism aims to empower working women professionals in the travel and tourism industry to stay ahead of industry trends and realize their full potential.

In its fourth year, the program continued to attract strong interest from women across the region, especially from India and the Philippines, which had the highest number of applications.

The twenty recipients of the scholarship this year come from a diverse range of markets, including India, the Philippines, Korea, Australia, Singapore, the UAE, Hong Kong, China and Nepal. The recipients are from a variety of organizations, ranging from national tourism councils to hotels, airlines and travel agencies. Majority of them are in senior- to mid-level positions.

"The course will provide me with a foundation for continued personal growth and career advancement whilst being able to maintain a work life balance since it is an e-learning on line programme. I believe that it will provide me with a leading edge to work effectively in diverse teams and situations and further energize me to look for opportunities of improvements in the organization I work for. I am eagerly looking forward to this self development which in turn will be instrumental in achieving the objectives and goals of my company at large," said Swaty John, Learning & Development Manager at Taj Group of Hotels, India.

"I am incredibly excited about being offered the MasterCard-U21Global scholarship. I intend to use this experience to ensure that not only my own goals, but also the objectives of the company are realized. I look forward to broadening my knowledge of the travel and tourism industry," said Monique Curry, Revenue Manager at Crowne Plaza Parramatta (IHG), Australia.

The course was developed by U21Global in conjunction with the Christel DeHaan Tourism and Travel Research Institute, a part of Nottingham University Business School. Students completing the Diploma can qualify for the University of Nottingham Master of Science in Tourism and Travel Management. The first batch of scholars of the program, from the Philippines, Singapore and India, completed the program in the first half of 2009.

Nick Hutton, CEO of U21Global said, "We are very encouraged to see the impressive array of applicants who displayed great enthusiasm to further their education this year. The collaboration with MasterCard Worldwide for four years now has been truly fulfilling - bringing our unique brand of online higher education to the regions, enabling these individuals to prepare themselves for the future. The ongoing interests in the programme are in line with the growing demand of human capital for the growing industry - US$1.5 trillion business with a 4% annual growth, as projected by World Tourism Organisation (WTO)."

"The MasterCard-U21 Global Scholarship is part of MasterCard's broader commitment to women's advancement and we are delighted to see that the scholarship continues to be well received among female professionals in the travel and tourism industry. We believe that the interaction among the professionals from different regions during the course of the program will pave the way for a network of female professionals in the travel and tourism industry who can learn from each other and grow. With economies around the world just beginning to come out of difficult times, we hope that the program enables these professionals to better cater to the changed demands of the industry," said Georgette Tan, vice president, Communications, Asia/Pacific, Middle East and Africa, MasterCard Worldwide.

This year's scholarship recipients will begin their first class in October. Those interested in more information on U21Global and its program offerings can log on to www.u21global.edu.sg

About U21Global
Established in 2001, U21Global is the world's premier online Graduate School that offers globally recognised graduate programmes. The graduate school is backed by an international network of leading research-intensive universities in 11 countries. U21Global combines the traditional quality of its founders with innovative modes of delivery on the Internet, providing students with substantial learning advantages, while balancing work, travel and family life.

U21Global has successfully enrolled students from 60 countries around the world including those from Asia, Australia, Africa, Europe and the Americas. The graduate programmes draw upon the best practices in online learning and pedagogy and have been approved by U21pedagogica, an independent quality assurance body which ensures that the curriculum meets the rigorous academic standards of all the affiliated universities. For more information on U21Global, please visit our campus at www.u21global.edu.sg

U21Global's affiliated universities include: North America: Tecnológico de Monterrey, University of Virginia; Europe: Lund University; University College Dublin, University of Birmingham, University of Edinburgh, University of Glasgow, University of Nottingham; Asia: Fudan University, Korea University, National University of Singapore, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, University of Delhi, University of Hong Kong, Waseda University; Australia: University of Melbourne, University of Queensland.

About MasterCard Worldwide
MasterCard Worldwide advances global commerce by providing a critical economic link among financial institutions, businesses, cardholders and merchants worldwide. As a franchisor, processor and advisor, MasterCard develops and markets payment solutions, processes approximately 21 billion transactions each year, and provides industry-leading analysis and consulting services to financial-institution customers and merchants. Powered by the MasterCard Worldwide Network and through its family of brands, including MasterCard®, Maestro® and Cirrus®, MasterCard serves consumers and businesses in more than 210 countries and territories. For more information go to http://www.mastercard.com.

Contacts:
Georgette Tan, MasterCard Worldwide, georgette_tan@mastercard.com, (65) 6390-5971
Vani Viswanathan, Weber Shandwick, vviswanathan@webershandwick.com, (65) 6825-8053