This week in Scholarships | What to watch for

This week, there has been several scholarship announcements from many countries including Sweden, the Netherlands and Japan.

In Sweden, the scholarships include; Swedish Institute Scholarships for Global Professionals, Uppsala University Global Scholarships, Mälardalen University Scholarship Program, University of Skövde Master’s Scholarships and Linnaeus University Scholarships.

In the Netherlands, the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science in partnership with many universities have announced several grants while the University of Wageningen announced scholarships.

In Japan, the Ashinaga Foundation announced its scholarship intake this week too.

What to watch for:

Despite the specificities of each scholarship, certain things cut through that you have to pay attention to; eligibility requirements, documents required to be submitted, deadlines, manner of applying (online or posting documents), application order (university before scholarship or scholarship before university).

Another important thing is how the funding is structured; partial or full funding. For this week’s scholarships, I made a table to explain them clearly;

Country factor:

Scholarships from three main countries feature this week; Sweden, the Netherlands and Japan. While grantees in the Netherlands and Sweden will study in the respective countries, grantees of the Ashinaga Scholarship can study in any part of the world, not just Japan.

Scholarship Spotlight:

Swedish Institute Scholarships for Global Professionals

This is a scholarship that targets professionals from about 34 countries so it is very competitive. Discussing their experience with the application process, of the grantees stated that:

“You must be serious and resilient. It’s a very engaging process. You first apply and gain admissions into a Swedish University, and then you apply for the scholarship. I realise people just want to jump to applying for the scholarship. Major challenge but for the fact that you need to be following instructions. Any least error u are eliminated... You need to always check your mails... Prepare documents... English proficiency, Transcripts, Passports, Other certificates.....For scholarship you need work experience not necessarily about 3.8 GPA.... GPA does not count much. You need to demonstrate you are a leader...know about SDGs....Build a good CV...”

Hope you are keeping safe and in good spirits as the pandemic ravages the world. Due to the financial losses governments, companies and foundations have experienced because of the covid19 crisis, the future of scholarships very uncertain so be very focused as you apply and give it your best shot.

Goodluck