Nuffic: Mena Scholarship Programme 2012

The Middle East and North Africa Scholarship Programme (MENA Scholarship Programme) is initiated
and fully funded by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The MENA Scholarship Programme was set up in 2007 as a result of the growing interest in both the Arab world and the Netherlands to strengthen mutual ties in the areas of education, culture and trade. The programme enables mid career professionals from Algeria, Iraq, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Syria and Tunisia to do a short course in the Netherlands. Each year there are around 120 scholarships available, which are proportionally distributed among the participating countries. Ideally, half of the scholarships are allocated to female applicants.

1.2 Aim
The MENA Scholarship Programme aims to contribute to capacity building within a wide range of governmental, non-governmental and private organisations and institutions in seven selected countries:
• Algeria
• Iraq
• Lebanon
• Morocco
• Oman
• Syria
• Tunisia
Moreover, the growing MENA alumni network will make a positive contribution to the relations between the Netherlands and the alumni’s home countries.

1.3 Target group
The MENA Scholarship Programme’s target group are mid-career professionals who are employed by organisations or institutions operating in one of the following fields of study:
• Water management
• Business administration and management
• Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
• Geographical Information Science.
The candidates must be nationals of and working in one of the selected countries. While scholarships are awarded to individuals, the need for training must be demonstrated in the context of the organisation for which the applicant works. The training must help the organisation develop its capacity. This means that employers must nominate an applicant and motivate his or her application
in a support letter.

2. The scholarship
MENA scholarships can be used for a number of selected short courses offered by educational institutions in the Netherlands. The institutions provide professional training at post-secondary level in several fields of study. The list of selected short courses can be found in chapter 10 of this brochure.

2.1 What does a MENA scholarship consist of?
A MENA scholarship is a contribution to the costs of the selected short course and is intended to supplement the salary that the scholarship holder must continue to receive during the study period.
The following items are covered:
• subsistence allowance
• international travel costs
• visa costs
• course fee
• medical insurance
• allowance for study materials.
The allowances are considered to be sufficient to cover one person’s living expenses during the study period. The scholarship holders must cover any other costs from their own resources (see also Annex 1).

2.2 Duration
The programme will run between January and December 2012. All courses will be conducted in 2012
and have a duration of between two and twelve weeks.

To read more please check the attached documents or check the nuffic website: http://www.nuffic.nl/