KONRAD-ADENAUER-STIFTUNG (KAS) SUR-PLACE SCHOLARSHIP 2023/2024 FOR YOUNG ETHIOPIANS

Application Deadline: September 30, 2023.

The KAS sur-place scholarship is a local scholarship offered by the KAS Office Ethiopia/African Union in the form of financial support to Ethiopians who are enrolled in and are pursuing post-graduate studies in universities in Ethiopia and who show excellence in their academic performance and in society. The phrase “sur-place” is French and means “in place” or “on the spot” and the scholarship is named as such to signify that it is a scholarship offered to students in the place or spot where they are studying, in this case Ethiopia.

Eligibility Requirements

• In general, there is no age limit and all academic disciplines are eligible to apply.
• However, the scholarships are primarily intended for young Ethiopians who have finished their Bachelor’s degree and who are entering or are already enrolled into a Master’s program in an Ethiopian university, or to those who are at the start of their professional careers in Ethiopia and wish to take a course to specialize their skills.
• It should be noted that students pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree, a PhD, or studies abroad are not supported by this scholarship.
• This scholarship only supports Ethiopian students conducting a Master’s program in Ethiopia.
• It is important to note that the scholarship program is only open to Ethiopians who are pursuing studies or projects in Ethiopia (“sur place”) and who share and champion KAS’ values of Democracy, Rule of Law, Social Market Economy, and Human Rights.

Selection Process

• The selection process including contacting shortlisted candidates, assessing them through a written test and an interview, will take place in November.
• The candidates that are selected will be notified in December.

Benefits

There are two categories of scholarships. The “monthly academic scholarship” and the “training grant”.

• The “monthly academic scholarship” supports students in Ethiopia who have finished their Bachelor’s degree and who are currently enrolled in a Master’s program or are about to enroll into a Master’s program. This scholarship consists of a monthly stipend of 70 Euro. It is not a full scholarship, but an encouragement for and a recognition of excellent performance in academic studies and society.
• The “training grant” is a one-time financial support and is intended for young Ethiopian professionals who have finished their postgraduate studies (either a Master’s or a PhD) and who want to cover the cost/tuition to take a short training course in Ethiopia to specialize and develop their professional skills, for example by taking an IT course or a project management course or a course on another more focused topic in their respective discipline. Applicants for the grant are required to apply after having identified a course they want to attend. In their application, they must provide a 2-3 page long detailed proposal that introduces the topic, length, and cost of the course they identified, the institution offering it, as well as how they intend to make use of the course for their professional development. Applications with insufficient information on these elements will not be considered.

The training grant is not meant to cover tuition for full-fledged master’s programs. The amount of the grant will be determined on a case-by-case basis.

The KAS Office Ethiopia/AU can only support scholarship recipients pursuing studies or training in Ethiopia (“sur-place”). The scholarship program does not support students pursuing master’s studies or further training abroad.

Scholarship Length

• The length of the “monthly academic scholarship” is one year. Depending on the scholarship recipient’s performance in the first year, the scholarship is renewable once if the master’s program extends into the following year.
• The “training grant” is a one-time grant and covers a training program that takes a maximum of one year.

Application Documents

a) For the “monthly academic scholarship”

• Letter of motivation
• Updated curriculum vitae
• 2 letters of recommendation (by academic advisor and/or employer)
• A copy of Bachelor’s Degree Certificate
• Copies of all transcripts of records during your Bachelor’s studies (of each year)
• And (if applicable, if you have already started a master’s program) all the transcripts in your Master’s studies so far;

Note:

All transcripts must show your GPA

If you have not received your Bachelor’s Degree Certificate yet, you can still apply. However, by the time of admission to the scholarship program, you must present your diploma copy of your Bachler’s Degree Certificate which needs to meet the grade requirements above.

b) For the “training grant”

• Letter of motivation
• In addition to the letter of motivation, a 2-3 pages long detailed proposal that introduces the topic, duration, and cost of training course the applicants intends to take; the institution offering it; as well as how the candidate intends to make use of the course for his professional development. Applications with insufficient information on these elements will not be considered.
• Updated curriculum vitae
• 2 letters of recommendation (by academic advisor and/or employer)
• Copy of Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree Certificates, and (if applicable) your PhD Certificate;
• Copies of all transcripts of records during your Bachelor’s and MA studies (of each year)
• All documents must show your GPA. If the degree certificates do not indicate GPA, then copies of transcripts indicating GPAs for each year must be submitted.

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) sur-place Scholarship