Applications are open for fully-funded scholarship in the Netherlands called NFP/MSP (MENA). The MENA Scholarship Programme (MSP) offers scholarships to professionals for short courses in the Netherlands. The overall aim of the MSP is to contribute to the democratic transition in the participating countries. It also aims at building capacity within organizations by enabling employees to take part in short courses in the Netherlands.

While the scholarship in the Netherlands 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 organization the applicant is employed by.

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

* MSP is not currently open to professionals applying from Syria. Applicants with the Syrian nationality may apply if they are residing and working in one of the other MSP countries listed.

Eligibility

To be eligible for an MSP scholarship in the Netherlands :

1. 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;
2. 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;
3. one must not be employed by an organization that has its own means of staff development. Organizations that are considered to have their own means of staff development are for example multinational corporations (e.g. Shell, Unilever, Microsoft);
4. large national and/or a large commercial organization;
5. bilateral donor organizations (e.g. USAID, DFID, Danida, Sida, Dutch ministry of Foreign
   affairs, FinAid, AusAid, ADC, SwissAid);
6. multilateral donor organizations, (e.g. a UN organization, the World Bank, the IMF, Asian
   Development Bank, African Development Bank, IADB);
7. international NGO’s (e.g. Oxfam, Plan, Care).
8. 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)
9. the age of the MSP candidate must not exceed 45 years of age at the time of the grant submission.
10. 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 organization.