NFP/MSP (MENA) Scholarship Programme 2020 for Study in the Netherlands (Fully Funded)

Application Deadline: November 2019

The MENA Scholarship Programme (MSP) offers scholarships to professionals for short courses in the Netherlands.

Aim

The overall aim of the MSP is to contribute to the democratic transition in the participating countries. It also aims at building capacity within organisations by enabling employees to take part in short courses in the Netherlands. 

While the scholarship is awarded to individuals, all candidates must be nominated by their employer to be able to participate. The need for training has to be demonstrated in the context of the organisation the applicant is employed by. 

Target group

The MSP is open to professionals who are nationals of – and living and working in – one of the countries listed below: 

• Algeria
• Egypt
• Iran
• Iraq
• Jordan   
• Lebanon
• Libya
• Morocco
• Syria *
• Tunisia

Requirements

To be eligible for an MSP scholarship:
▪ one must be a professional and national of, and living and working in one of the countries on the MSP country list valid at the time of application;
▪ one must have a current employer’s statement that complies with the format Nuffic has provided. All information must be provided and all commitments that are included in the format must be endorsed in the statement;
▪ one must not be employed by an organisation that has its own means of staff development.
Organisations that are considered to have their own means of staff
development are for example:
multinational corporations (e.g. Shell, Unilever, Microsoft);

• large national and/or a large commercial organisation;
• bilateral donor organisations (e.g. USAID, DFID, Danida, Sida, Dutch ministry of Foreign
  affairs, FinAid, AusAid, ADC, SwissAid);
• multilateral donor organisations, (e.g. a UN organisation, the World Bank, the IMF, Asian
  Development Bank, African Development Bank, IADB);
• international NGO’s (e.g. Oxfam, Plan, Care).
  ▪ one must have an official and valid passport (valid at least 3 months after the candidate
  submission date);
  ▪ one must have a government statement that meets the requirements of the country in which the employer is established (if applicable)
• the age of the MSP candidate must not exceed 45 years of age at the time of the grant submission.
• ▪ the candidate must not receive more than one MSP scholarship for courses that take place at the same time.

How to apply

Application for the MSP takes place via Dutch institutions. Each deadline, these institutions provide a list of courses available for that deadline. The short courses on offer fall within several fields of study, and have a duration of 2 to 12 weeks.

Before you decide to apply, make sure to do these 2 things:

• Review the eligibility criteria carefully.
• Check whether your employer is willing to nominate you for the scholarship. 

When you are certain you are eligible for an MSP scholarship, you can start making the necessary preparations for your application. 

Follow these steps to apply:

1. Select a course on the MSP course list

The application round is closed. Please visit this page regularly for updates on future application rounds.

2. Contact the Dutch institution that is offering the course for information on:

• course content
• the application deadline (deadlines can differ per Dutch institution)
• the application and selection procedures
• the online application form and the supporting documents 

3. Prepare your application and the supporting documents 

4. Submit your online application via the Dutch institution offering the course

With your online application, you will be asked to upload a valid passport copy, a current statement from your employer, and depending on your country of employment; a government statement. 

Selection procedure

If your application meets all the course admission requirements and the MSP eligibility criteria, you can be nominated by the Dutch institution for a scholarship. The Dutch institution will inform you about the outcome of your selection. 

The scholarships are awarded in a competitive selection to highly motivated professionals who are in a position to introduce the newly-acquired skills and knowledge into their employing organisation. 

For any further questions concerning the MSP application and selection procedures, please contact the Dutch institution offering the course directly. You can find contact information for all institutions on studyfinder.nl.

For More Information

Visit the Official Webpage of the NFP/MSP (MENA) Scholarship Programme 2020