Aker Scholarship

What Aker Scholarship does

Aker Scholarship is a Norwegian non-profit foundation (stiftelse) — formally Anne Grete Eidsvig og Kjell Inge Røkkes Allmennyttige Stiftelse for Utdanning — headquartered at Oksenøyveien 10, Lysaker, Norway. It funds and supports Norwegian-linked students pursuing Master's or PhD degrees at nine partner universities: Caltech, MIT, Harvard, Stanford, the University of Pennsylvania, Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial College London, and the National University of Singapore. Each year, 20-30 scholars are selected through an application-based process (portal opens June 1, deadline September 12 for the following academic year) that involves document review, interviews, and reference checks, with awards made conditional on subsequent admission to a partner university. The program supplements other support schemes so recipients normally incur no student loans, and provides application guidance and ongoing mentorship throughout the study period. There are no binding post-study obligations on recipients.

The foundation's economics are not commercial. All scholarship funding comes from TRG AS, the family company of Kjell Inge Røkke (which holds 68% of shares in Aker ASA), and Aker ASA separately covers the administrative costs of running the program. A five-person administration team (Bjørn Blindheim, Vilde Blixt, Hanne Tryggestad, Hildegunn Weum, Veronica Dahlby Tveitan) manages operations, supported by a seven-member Academic Committee that evaluates candidates. Marketing and outreach run through digital info meetings, a twice-yearly email newsletter, and social media. The technology footprint is limited to a Squarespace website and the SurveyMonkey Apply application portal — there are no software products, APIs, or proprietary technology assets.

Name

Aker Scholarship

Legal name

Anne Grete Eidsvig og Kjell Inge Røkkes Allmennyttige Stiftelse for Utdanning

Website

https://akerscholarship.no

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Aker Scholarship is a Norwegian non-profit foundation, funded by TRG AS (the Røkke family) and administered with Aker ASA support, that awards 20-30 fully-funded Master's and PhD grants per year to Norwegian students at nine elite international universities including MIT, Oxford, and Stanford.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Educational Scholarship Program

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

akta.pro primary industry

Degree-Level Scholarships (Undergrad/Masters/PhD/Postdoc) (EDAIAOAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Scholarship & Fellowship Foundations and Trusts (EDADAHAC), Foundation/NGO & Philanthropic Scholarships (EDAIAOAH)

Keywords

• Educational scholarship program
• Graduate student funding
• International university grants
• Postgraduate financial aid
• Student scholarship foundation

Headquarters

HQ city

Lysaker

HQ country

Norway

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Scholarship Funding: Aker Scholarship is funded by TRG AS, a family company owned by the Røkke family, which owns 68% of shares in Aker ASA. Aker ASA covers the administration costs of the scholarship distributions. The scholarship provides financial support to Norwegian students to pursue Master's or PhD degrees at world-leading universities, supplementing other support schemes so that students normally will not incur student loans.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Aker Scholarship provides financial grants that supplement other support schemes to Norwegian students pursuing Master's or PhD degrees at nine world-leading international universities (Caltech, MIT, Harvard, Stanford, University of Pennsylvania, Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial College London, and National University of Singapore). Beyond funding, the foundation offers application-process guidance, ongoing support throughout the degree, accommodations for scholars with disabilities or chronic illnesses, and a scholar community — with the explicit design that recipients normally will not incur student loans.

Product overview

Aker Scholarship is a scholarship program, not a technology product. It provides financial support and application assistance to Norwegian students pursuing Master's or PhD degrees at leading international universities (Caltech, MIT, Harvard, Stanford, University of Pennsylvania, Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial College London, and NUS). The organization offers funding that supplements other support schemes, assistance throughout the application process, and ongoing support during studies. There are no distinct tech products, modules, or software offerings to enumerate.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Aker Scholarship Grant

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Caltech (California Institute of Technology)coreOthersOne of nine partner universities where Aker Scholarship supports students for Master's or PhD studies. Caltech is a small, research-focused university known for world-class science and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
• MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)coreOthersOne of nine partner universities. MIT is world-leading in applied engineering and science, and also offers highly recognized programs in humanities, social sciences, and business.
• Harvard UniversitycoreOthersOne of nine partner universities. Established in 1636, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the USA, with over 20,000 students covering most academic fields.
• Stanford UniversitycoreOthersOne of nine partner universities. Located in Palo Alto in Silicon Valley, Stanford has approximately 16,000 students and offers degrees across most fields.
• University of PennsylvaniacoreOthersOne of nine partner universities. Established in 1751 with over 20,000 students, including the renowned Wharton Business School.
• University of OxfordcoreOthersOne of nine partner universities. The oldest university in the English-speaking world with teaching since 1096. Over 23,000 students across 44 colleges.
• University of CambridgecoreOthersOne of nine partner universities. Established in 1209, the second oldest English-speaking university with over 18,000 students across 31 colleges.
• Imperial College LondoncoreOthersOne of nine partner universities. Science-focused university in London with approximately 15,000 students, historically known for engineering and medicine.
• National University of Singapore (NUS)coreOthersOne of nine partner universities. Founded in 1905, NUS is Singapore's largest and oldest university with approximately 28,000 undergraduate and 10,000 graduate students. Often Asia's highest-ranked university.
• Anne Grete Eidsvig and Kjell Inge Røkke Foundation for EducationcoreOthersThe foundation that distributes Aker Scholarship. Founded by Anne Grete Eidsvig with funding from the Røkke family through TRG AS. The foundation board decides scholarship allocations.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Schwarzman Scholars: Privately endowed master's scholarship at Tsinghua University in Beijing. Closely mirrors Aker's model: family/industrial wealth funding a competitive master's cohort at a single elite partner institution with full financial support.
• Fulbright Program: Flagship US international exchange scholarship program supporting graduate study, research, and teaching abroad. Comparable in operating model — competitive selection, country-specific partnerships, and ongoing scholar support.
• Marshall Scholarship: Government-funded scholarship sending American graduates to study at universities in the UK. Closely comparable structure to Aker: national-to-international graduate funding, multi-stage selection, and partner-university model.
• Gates Cambridge Trust (Gates Cambridge Scholarship): Funds outstanding international applicants for postgraduate study at the University of Cambridge, fully covering costs and building a scholar community — directly analogous to Aker's full-funding-plus-support model.
• Rhodes Trust (Rhodes Scholarship): Funds international postgraduate students to study at the University of Oxford. Same model as Aker Scholarship: privately endowed foundation covering tuition and living expenses at a top-tier partner university, with multi-stage selection and an active alumni network.
• Chevening Scholarship: UK government-funded scholarship for emerging leaders to pursue one-year master's degrees at UK universities. Comparable to Aker in scale (large annual cohort), full funding, and application-guidance model.

Broad incumbents

• Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degrees: EU-funded international master's scholarships across multiple European partner universities. Comparable in targeting international graduate study with full funding, though with a multi-country partnership model rather than Aker's curated list.
• DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service): Germany's national agency funding international academic exchange and scholarships. Similar in mission — supporting international graduate study — but at vastly greater scale, multiple funding streams, and broader institutional scope.

Emerging players

• Blavatnik School of Government (Oxford) Fellowships: Privately funded graduate fellowships at Oxford from the Blavatnik family foundation. Comparable in being an endowed, family-backed scholarship program at an Aker partner university, though narrower in academic focus (public policy).

Regional players

• Lånekassen (Norwegian State Educational Loan Fund): Norway's national student financing agency providing loans and grants for higher education, including study abroad. Most relevant Norwegian peer — same beneficiary population (Norwegian students abroad), but offers loans rather than competitive scholarships.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/p/CK1K6FIp5C1
• Facebookfacebook.com/akerscholarship
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/10168233

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Aker Scholarship