Brief description:
The
Netherlands Fellowship Programmes (NFP) are demand-driven fellowship
programmes designed to promote capacity building within organizations in
61 developing countries by providing training and education to their
mid-career staff members. The NFP is funded by the Netherlands Ministry
of Foreign Affairs under the development cooperation budget.
The
scholarships allow candidates to pursue Master studies, PhD studies,
or short courses at Dutch Universities or academic institutions.
Host Institution(s):
Dutch Universities and academic institutions.
Field(s) of study:
The
scholarship covers many fields of study including: Agriculture,
Forestry & Fisheries; Architecture and Town Planning, Arts and
Humanities; Business Administration and Management; Education;
Engineering; Environmental Science; Fine and Applied Arts; Law; Mass
Communication and Information Science; Mathematics and Computer Science;
Medical and Health Science; Natural Science; Tourism and Leisure;
Social and Behavioral Science; and Transport and Communications.
For 2013/2014, see the: NFP course list for Master’s degree programmes, NFP course for Short courses, and list of Dutch institutions eligible for PhD studies.
Target group:
Students from NFP country list in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe:
Afghanistan,
Albania, Armenia, Autonomous Palestinian Territories, Bangladesh,
Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Brazil, Burkina Faso,
Burundi, Cambodia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, DR Congo, Eritrea,
Ethiopia, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Georgia, Ghana, Guatemala,
Guinea-Bissau, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Iran, Ivory Coast, Jordan,
Kenya, Kosovo, Macedonia, Mali, Moldova, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal,
Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Philippine, Rwanda, Senegal, South
Africa, Sri Lanka, Sudan, South Sudan, Suriname, Tanzania, Thailand,
Uganda, Vietnam, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Half of
the available fellowships should be awarded to female candidates and
the other half should be spent on candidates from sub-Saharan Africa.
Apart from this, priority is given to candidates from priority groups
and/or from marginalized regions to be defined by the embassies.
Scholarship value/inclusions:
An
NFP fellowship is intended to supplement the salary that the fellowship
holder should continue to receive (at least partially) during the study
period. The allowance is considered to be a contribution towards the
cost of living for one person, whether in the Netherlands or in another
country. The fellowship also covers the costs of tuition fees, visas,
travel costs, insurance and thesis research.
Eligibility:
You must meet a number of criteria that support the aim of the NFP to be eligible for a fellowship. You must:
- • be a professional with at least three years’ relevant work experience;
- • be a national of, and working and living in one of the countries on the NFP country list valid at the time of application;
- • be nominated by your employer, who pledges to continue paying your salary and guarantees that you will be able to return to the same or an equivalent position at the end of your fellowship period;
- • have been unconditionally admitted by a Dutch institution to one of the Master’s degree programmes or Short courses on the course list, or have agreed upon a PhD research proposal with the Dutch institution. This means that you must have met all the academic requirements set by the Dutch institution;
- • not be employed by:
- - a multinational corporation (e.g. Shell, Unilever, Microsoft);
- - a large national and/or a large commercial organisation;
- - a bilateral donor organisation (e.g. USAID, DFID, Danida, Sida, Dutch ministry of Foreign affairs, FinAid, AusAid, ADC, SwissAid);
- - a multilateral donor organisation, (e.g. a UN organisation, the World Bank, the IMF, Asian Development Bank, African Development Bank, IADB);
- - an international NGO (e.g. Oxfam, Plan, Care).
- • have completed and submitted an NFP PhD study, master’s degree programme or short course fellowship application, including all the required documentation, before the applicable fellowship application deadline;
- • be employed in a subject area to which the study will make a relevant contribution;
- • have a clear-cut, work relationship with a relevant organisation and be in a position to introduce the newly acquired skills and knowledge into that organisation;
- • be available full-time for the entire period of the programme or course and be physically and mentally able to take part in the entire programme;
- • endorse the objective and the aim of the NFP and use your new knowledge and skills to support your employing organisation and your country. Nuffic urges you to return to your home country upon finishing the course or programme to meet the NFP aim in the most effective way.
If you apply for an NFP PhD fellowship, you must:
- • not have accepted an NFP PhD fellowship in the past;
- • pursue the PhD study following a ‘sandwich’ or ‘picnic’ model, which means that at least a quarter of the PhD study must take place in the candidate’s home country and/or region. A quarter of the PhD study is calculated from the start date of the PhD-study (research) until the end of the NFP-PhD fellowship.
If you apply for an NFP short courses fellowship, you must:
- • not have accepted more than one NFP short course fellowship in the past;
- • not have accepted an NFP short course fellowship in the year prior to the fellowship application.
If you apply for an NFP master’s degree programme (NFP-MA) fellowship, you must not have accepted an NFP master’s degree programme fellowship in the past.
Application instructions:
As
stated above, to be eligible for an NFP fellowship, candidates need to
be admitted to the master’s degree programme for which they would like
an NFP fellowship. Thus to be eligible for an NFP fellowship,
you must be admitted to the master’s degree programme, short course or
PhD study, for which you would like to use the fellowship.
For 2013-2014, the first deadline for fellowship applications is 5 February 2013 depending
on the course. The deadline for academic applications is earlier,
about 1-2 months earlier than the fellowship applications deadline.
Therefore, candidates are strongly advised to start the application
procedure for admission as early as possible. The next deadlines are 7 May and 1 October 2013.
Fellowship
applications then have to be submitted through Scholarships Online
(SOL). Through SOL, candidates can apply for fellowships online and they
can check the status of an application. Other parties such as the
Dutch institutions, the embassies and consulates will use SOL to assess
NFP fellowship applications.
It is important to read the NFP Rules and Regulations 2013-2014 and visit the official website (link found below) for detailed information on how to apply for this scholarship.
