Building a future without borders: Meet Changemaker Scholar Matej Balint

Opportunity is a right, not a privilege. This shared belief between Forward College, The Social Hub, and the TSH Talent Foundation is what has led to a constructive partnership through the Changemaker Scholarship Programme for the 2025-2026 academic year.

The Changemaker Scholarship Programme is a one-year-long student support initiative which aids over 100 recipients across Europe with a holistic scholarship.

For Matej Balint, a bachelor’s student in Data Science and Business Analytics at Forward College, it includes full accommodation at The Social Hub’s Berlin, one-on-one mentorship with a seasoned professional from The Social Hub’s network, personal growth sessions facilitated by the School of Moral Ambition, and inspiring upskilling workshops (in collaboration with Mischief Makers and Routes In).

The tools, resources, and opportunities provided by the Changemaker Scholarship Programme are designed to support brilliant talents globally in overcoming the barriers keeping them from launching and growing their social impact initiatives. As Matej puts it: “The diversity of experiences and people you get to meet open up an entirely new world.”

When Matej started their changemaker journey, their initial changemaker idea was to create a platform for international talent to better enter and integrate within the European workforce, specifically through local language learning. Their vision was to promote mobility and intercultural exchange within the European Union, benefiting not only immigrants and aspiring international talents but also employers.

Fast forward to Matej’s final year, and they are set to join Amazon in September 2026 as a Shift Manager. In this role, Matej aspires to grow within their field of study of Data Science and Business Analytics. At the same time, they are not abandoning their passion for language and culture. As a polyglot who speaks Czech, Slovak, English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian, they hope to add Greek and Serbian under their belt, as well as leave the door open for future opportunities in the linguistics and cultural space.

As a person who knows seven languages and who has rolled through three European capitals, Lisbon, Paris, and Berlin, as part of the Forward College curriculum, that has significantly helped Matej in their early career and job-hunting journey. Their personal and professional growth, however, has not come without growing pains.

“This type of hard reset [moving abroad] takes a lot of energy. But you get to be around so many people, that I now have a new understanding of different experiences in different walks of life that I probably would have never gotten if I had not left Slovakia. It feels like some sort of blindfold came off,” they note.

Alongside the lifechanging opportunities that travelling has offered them, Matej lives by a “don’t knock it ’til you try it” philosophy, something that has exposed them to a wide range of unique experiences, from trying drag for the first time to moving to three new cities in three years. Alongside this mentality, Matej also takes inspiration from their late father.

“I see so many things that inspire me every day. We have so much access to information, but I think the biggest inspiration is my dad. He passed away last year. He was very humble but at the same time very wise, and very present. I will continue drawing inspiration from him even though he’s not here,” they said.