Saturday, December 17, 2011

The International Summer School (ISS) Scholarship 2012


The International Summer School (ISS) offers intensive Master’s and Bachelor’s courses over six weeks. We welcome more than 550 students from nearly 100 countries from late June to early August.

Scholarship applicants

Many applicants will find that they are academically qualified to attend ISS, but they will not meet the requirements set by the scholarship donors. Many scholarship applicants are academically qualified to attend the ISS, but they do not meet the requirements for a scholarship. As a result, the application will be rejected.

To be a successful scholarship candidate you will need to demonstrate:
  • that your academic background is related to the course you wish to take;
  • that your professional background/goals are related to the course you wish to take;
  • financial need;
  • personal qualities that make you a good representative of your country.
Competition for scholarships is high. Many scholarship applicants are rejected in the Pre-Application phase. At this point, the applicant can switch the status to “self-paying” or “sponsored” and try to find the funding from a source outside the ISS.


Thursday, December 15, 2011

The Toyota Earth Day Scholarship Program 2012


The Toyota Earth Day Scholarship Program grants 20 awards of $5 000 each annually, to be applied directly towards tuition, books, room and board (where applicable) or other educational expenses for the first year of post-secondary full-time studies in Canada.

Cultivating Tomorrow’s Environmental Leaders
Every day, in communities across Canada, young people are actively demonstrating their passion for the environment through the important work they accomplish. These dedicated young Canadians are emerging as tomorrow’s environmental leaders and advocates.
Toyota Canada and the Toyota Canada Foundation in partnership with Earth Day Canada established the Toyota Earth Day Scholarship Program to help cultivate and nurture this environmental leadership.

The Toyota Earth Day Scholarship Program encourages and rewards graduating Canadian high school students who have distinguished themselves through environmental community service, extracurricular and volunteer activities, and academic excellence. To date, Toyota Canada, the Toyota Canada Foundation and Earth Day Canada (EDC) have awarded 140 students with $700 000 in scholarships. The Toyota Earth Day Scholarship is Canada’s best recognized environmental entrance scholarship.
Environmental issues are increasingly being tackled through multidisciplinary approaches. Future environmental leaders will therefore come from a broad range of academic backgrounds which is why the Toyota Earth Day Scholarship is offered to students entering their first year of post-secondary studies in the discipline of their choice, to prepare themselves for the career of their choice.
Regional panels of community, business and environmental leaders will select the winners who best meet the selection criteria. Awards will be granted in five geographic areas:
-Atlantic Canada
-Quebec
-Ontario
-Western Canada / Northwest Territories / Nunavut
-British Columbia / Yukon
A national winner – selected from the 20 regional winners – will also be awarded the Toyota Earth Day Scholarship National Award and a Panasonic notebook computer at the National Award Ceremony.

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Ten Cheapest Cities

Ten Cheapest Cities (New York = 100)
  • Karachi, Pakistan (46)
  • Tunis, Tunisia (51)
  • Mumbai, India (53)
  • Tehran, Iran (55)
  • New Delhi, India (56)
  • Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (59)
  • Algiers, Algeria (60)
  • Panama City, Panama (60)
  • Manila, Philippines (62)
  • Dhaka, Bangladesh (62)
"Karachi in Pakistan is the cheapest location surveyed, with a cost of living level at less than one-half of that of New York and one-third of that of Tokyo," the survey says. Way to go Pakistan. Personally I think Pakistan is a far better country with respect to Tourism, and Investment compared to 99 other countries only if there is observance of good governance.

Weak currency and low levels of economic development are partly to blame. In some cases price controls and state subsidies also contribute to the generally lower costs found in South Asia, the Middle East and North Africa, according to the analysis.

10 Most Expensive Cities in the World

(MoneyWatch)  Tokyo is the world's most expensive city, a dubious distinction the capital of Japan has held for most of the last 20 years, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit's annual survey.

In what may be something of a relief to Americans, no U.S. city ranked among the world's 10 most expensive places to live. On the other hand, it's probably not a surprise that no U.S. city made the list of the globe's cheapest places, either.

Despite the human and economic cost of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, the yen has strengthened significantly over the last two years, pushing Tokyo back to the top of the rankings, the survey says.

After Tokyo, half of the world's 10 most expensive cities are some of the usual culprits located in Europe, such as Oslo and Paris. However, in what must pain plenty of Australians, red-hot economic growth and a strong currency are rapidly pushing up costs in the land down under. Sydney and Melbourne jumped into the top 10 most expensive cities -- from 32 and 38, respectively -- in just two years.

For comparison, the Economist uses an index where the cost of living in New York equals 100. So Tokyo, with a top index ranking of 161, may be thought of as 61 percent more expensive than New York. Cost indexes are shown in parentheses.

Ten Most Expensive Cities (New York = 100)
  • Tokyo, Japan (161)
  • Oslo, Norway (156)
  • Osaka Kobe, Japan (153)
  • Paris, France (150)
  • Zurich, Switzerland (148)
  • Sydney, Australia (143)
  • Melbourne, Australia (141)
  • Frankfurt, Germany (140)
  • Geneva, Switzerland (138)
  • Singapore (137)

See More:

Top 10-25 Insurance Companies in Australia


Whether its health, car, life or any insurance at all. Choosing the right company to look after you and your family or business is very important. So is how you optimise your website.
BRW recently published the Top 25 Insurance Companies. Then Sticky put them to the online performance test with NLYZR.
NLYZR assess a website using criteria such as On-page SEO, Off-page SEO, Keyword search results, Competitor scores, Social media and traffic conversion. These are crucial aspects of Inbound Marketing.
How do Australia’s top Insurance Consultancies score…..
Ranked 1st
96.48/100 for Medibank Private
Ranked 2nd 
91.4/100 for QBE
Ranked 3rd
89/100 for GIO
Ranked 4th
87.48/100 for RACV
Ranked 5th
86.4/100 for AAMI
Ranked 6th
86.3/100 for RACQ
Ranked 7th
83.2/100 for Suncorp
Ranked 8th
81.2/100 for Insurance Group Australia
Note: ING is now called OnePath – They scored 28/100 when we tested the new site in December 2010. Admittedly it is a brand new site with no PageRank  yet so it will improve over time.
Ranked 9th
80.8/100 for NRMA
Ranked 10th
75/100 for CGU Insurance
Ranked 11th
74.98/100 for NIB Health Funds
Ranked 12th
74.4/100 for AXA Australia
Ranked 13th
73.6/100 for Super Cheap Auto Group
Ranked 14th
72/100 for Lifebroker
Ranked 15th
68/100 for AMP
Ranked 16th
63.6/100 for Australian Unity
Ranked 17th
63.4/100 for Insurance Australia Group
Ranked 18th
60.8/100 for Calliden Insurance
Ranked 19th
56.8/100 for TIO
Ranked 20th
54.4/100 for Genworth Financial
Ranked 21st
52.8/100 for TOWER Australia Group
Ranked 22nd
51.2/100 for BUPA Australia
Ranked 23rd
43.2/100 for Manchester Unity Australia
Ranked 24th
36.8/100 for Atradius
Ranked 25th
28.8/100 for Auto & General Insurance
Added since at webmaster’s request:

10 Most Expensive Motorbikes in the World


If you have money, there is nothing in this world that is beyond your reach, let alone outrageously priced motorbikes. Many people take care of their motorbikes and treat them like their own children. Imagine zooming around in a bike that is probably more expensive than the house you live in. Well, here are the world's 10 most expensive motorbikes. Take a look.
Vintage Black
Vintage Black
Gold plated chopper
Gold plated chopper
This $500,000 gold plated chopper was on display at the International Motorcycle show in Seattle. This bike is more like an ornament with two wheels than an actual motorbike. This unique bike is perfect for anyone who has a lot of money to dump it. The red velvet seat sure is an addition to this most expensive bike.
2. Ultra-rare Porcupine
Porcupine
Porcupine
This porcupine was built during World War II by British manufacturer AJS and is one of the only four such bikes ever created. For the last 20 years, this motorbike was on display at the National Motorcycle Museum in Coventry but, is now being sold and is expected to bring in a whooping $750,000.
3. Ecosse Titanium Series FE Ti XX
Ecosse Titanium Series FE Ti XX
Ecosse Titanium Series FE Ti XX
This $300,000 motorbike has been made by Ecosse Motor works, a company already famous for making some of the world's most expensive creations. The bike can create an amazing 225 HP using its 2.4l billet aluminum power plant. The first set of these bikes is going to China, and several orders for customizing these bikes have already come in.
4. Legendary British Vintage Black
Vintage Black
Vintage Black
This exclusive vintage bike is worth anywhere between $400,000 to $600,000. This bike may not have broken the fastest bike record but, it sure has been one of the most expensive bikes in the world.
5. Jack Armstrong’s million dollar Harley
Jack Armstrong’s million dollar Harley
Jack Armstrong’s million dollar Harley
At $1 million, this bike is the world's first million dollar Harley and has been designed by artist Jack Armstrong. This artist is famous for his painting style called Cosmic Extensionalism, a style that gives an effect of being able to see different readings from different angles.
1928 Coventry Eagle Flying-8
1928 Coventry Eagle Flying-8
This bike carries along with it great history and is an example of continuity. Created in 1928 by the Royal Eagle, this iconic figure has witnessed the test of time. The bike has been owned by John Ellis, Ken Hodgson, Bruce Smith and Stephen Broadbridge.
7. Limited Edition $110K Fighter Motorcycle
Limited Edition $110K Fighter Motorcycle
Limited Edition $110K Fighter Motorcycle
The high end fashion brand Neiman Marcus has included this limited edition Fighter Motorcycle in its sale list. The bike was made by the Confederate Motor Company and is priced at $110,000. Only 41 of these bikes have been produced till date.
8. Howards Killer Customs design $150,000 Hubless Harley
Howard killer
Howard killer
This bike is worth $150,000 and took 2 years to complete. The bike is like a custom Harley as it uses their engine and engine cases. New Jersey-based Howards Killer Customs has really spent a great sum of money on creating this masterpiece but at the end it has been worth the while.
9. Harley-Davidson Rocker
Harley-Davidson Rocker
Harley-Davidson Rocker
This chopper is worth $22 million and includes a yacht. The bike was created by House of Thunder, a German based firm that specializes in customization. The bike is contained inside the yacht and the paint job even matched the boat. This is quite a good deal if boats and bikes are your thing.
10. 115-year-old Hildebrand & Wolfmuller
115-year-old Hildebrand & Wolfmuller
115-year-old Hildebrand & Wolfmuller
This 115 years old bike is worth anywhere between $130,000 and $150,000. This bike is the first ever bike to receive the name motorcycle and is hence truly special. Due to its history and rarity, this bike has been priced so high. It currently belongs to a private collection in America.

Higher Education Reduces Corruption