Calgary, AB (September 22, 2020) – Sixty (60) first-year college / university students had a little more hop in their step and $1,500 in their pockets as they headed back to school.

Oksana Iwanchysko from Dauphin, Manitoba, was one recipient of the 2020 Bayer Fund Opportunity Scholarship, who was selected based on her demonstrated academic achievement and leadership within her school and community. Like her fellow winners, she’s pursuing post-secondary education in agriculture and food-related disciplines.

“Being awarded the 2020 scholarship from Bayer truly means a lot to me and will help with my success during my undergraduate degree,” said Iwanchysko, who is studying agricultural sciences at the University of Manitoba. “I was thrilled to be chosen as a recipient of the Bayer Fund Opportunity Scholarship.”

Scholarship winners required a nomination from a farmer or food professional and wrote a short essay outlining the role they envision themselves playing in advancing Canadian agriculture in a sustainable way.

“Bayer has a strong commitment to agricultural communities, youth and developing future leaders in Canadian agriculture,” said Trish Jordan, senior business partner, government & industry affairs with Bayer Crop Science Canada. “For Canadian agriculture to continue to prosper and contribute positively to the Canadian economy, we need highly-educated and skilled young people to join our industry.”

This year’s scholarship winners—who come from both rural and urban regions across the country—have a wide variety of interests as they look to a future in Canadian agriculture and food. Some plan to return to the family farm after earning their degrees, while others are interested in careers as agronomists, plant breeders, veterinarians, marketers, salespeople, finance professionals, dietitians and chefs.

The 2020 Bayer Opportunity Scholarship Program was administered by Universities Canada’s Scholarship Partners Canada—the leading Canadian service provider in the field of scholarship management.

Thousands of deserving students have received over $2 million in scholarship funding since the Bayer Fund Opportunity Scholarship program was first introduced in Canada in 1991.

About the Bayer Fund

Bayer Fund is a nonprofit organization dedicated to strengthening the communities where Bayer customers and employees live and work by providing funding for food and nutrition, education and community development projects.

About Bayer

Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the life science fields of health care and nutrition. Its products and services are designed to benefit people by supporting efforts to overcome the major challenges presented by a growing and aging global population. At the same time, the Group aims to increase its earning power and create value through innovation and growth. Bayer is committed to the principles of sustainable development, and the Bayer brand stands for trust, reliability and quality throughout the world. In fiscal 2019, the Group employed around 104,000 people and had sales of 43.5 billion euros. Capital expenditures amounted to 2.9 billion euros, R&D expenses to 5.3 billion euros. For more information, go to www.bayer.ca.

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For further information, contact:

Trish Jordan
Government & Industry Affairs

204-799-7696

trish.jordan@bayer.com

mediacanada@bayer.com

NOTE: The complete list of 2020 Opportunity Scholarship winners, by province, is included below.