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mena scholarship programme 2012 eligibility study programmes deadlines application

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oman mueid al raee process engineer at oman refineries and petrochemicals company studied `project management at maastricht school of management my experience in maastricht was highly enriching both professionally and personally it will always shine as a bright spot in my memory disclaimer the information contained in this publication was compiled with the greatest of care nevertheless we are unable to guarantee its accuracy or completeness at the time of reading because information is constantly subject to change nuffic is unable to accept any liability whatsoever for your use of the information any procedures described in this document are also subject to change please note that it is your responsibility to check the accuracy of any information before acting on it inclusion in this guide does not constitute an approval or guarantee by nuffic of the quality or accreditation status of the courses and institutions listed nor does it constitute confirmation of the validity or status of the degrees or other qualifications awarded copyright © 2011 nuffic all rights reserved this work may not be reproduced or published without the prior written permission of the author however sections of up to five pages of this work may be reproduced or published as long as nuffic is properly acknowledged as the source of the work.

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contents 1 introduction 1.1 general 1.2 aim 1.3 target group 2 the scholarship 2.1 what does a mena scholarship consist of 2.2 duration 2.3 rules regulations the parties involved eligibility criteria applying for a mena scholarship 5.1 what does a mena application consist of 5.2 deadlines the selection procedure after the selection 7.1 stay in touch more information contact details mena scholarship programme course list 2012 4 4 4 4 5 5 5 5 6 7 8 8 9 9 10 10 10 11 14 23 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 annex 1 allowances and reimbursements

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1 1.1 introduction general 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 4

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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 2.3 rules regulations syria bassima kallaji head of section at the planning and international cooperation commission studied `project management at maastricht school of management the mena scholarship programme is governed by the rules regulations of the netherlands fellowship programmes nfp although there are some exceptions for certain procedures securing placement selection of candidates a copy of the nfp rules regulations will be made available to selected candidates before their final acceptance of the scholarship you can also download the booklet at www.nuffic.nl/mena the programme was conducted by professional professors and provided me with practical information and guidance related to project cycle management we were encouraged to overcome challenges we learned how to be team members and to accomplish our own projects 5

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3 the parties involved netherlands embassies the netherlands embassies assess all mena scholarship applications they use standard criteria but are also free to define additional criteria depending on the local context embassies can reject applications or make specific recommendations regarding their future processing the embassies prioritise the applications nuffic the mena scholarship programme is managed by nuffic nuffic prepares the documentation manages the selection procedure and allocates the scholarships nuffic awards a grant to the dutch institution that will provide the short course dutch institutions the short courses on the mena scholarship course list are all offered by officially recognised dutch institutions that have been assessed for their capacity to receive and teach students or professionals from a variety of backgrounds and are specialised in transferring knowledge and skills at a post-secondary level the five selected dutch higher education institutions selected · international centre for development oriented research in agriculture icra · itc faculty of geo-information science and earth observation of the university of twente · maastricht school of management msm morocco · unesco-ihe institute for water mohammed aber civil engineer studied `modelling education underground water flow at unesco ihe · wageningen ur centre for development innovation the dutch institutions assess whether applicants are academically qualified to take part in the course they decide which candidates are admitted the institutions manage the mena scholarship make logistical arrangements and assist scholarship holders a list of contact addresses is available in chapter 9 the diversity of participants allowed us to discuss and study cases and experiences from all continents i had the opportunity to discover the country and visited a lot of places and cities i also enjoyed discovering a new culture and meeting local people it was the most important experience i ever had also from a professional point of view 6

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4 eligibility criteria a candidate applying for a mena scholarship must · · · · · · apply for a course on the mena course list 2012 not have received a mena scholarship in the three years prior to the start of the proposed mena course complete a mena scholarship application form and submit all the required documentation to the netherlands embassy be a national of and working in one of the seven selected countries be a mid-career professional with at least three years work experience not be employed by a multinational corporation e.g shell unilever a large national and/or commercial organisation a bilateral donor organisation e.g usaid dfid danida sida buza 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 meet the admission requirements of the selected course as such he or she must have at least a diploma or a bachelor s degree in one of the selected fields of study and meet other educational or professional requirements which may vary per course these requirements can be found on the mena course list available in chapter 10 of this brochure please also contact the institution directly for more information offer evidence of proficiency in speaking and writing the language of instruction english in most cases preferably a candidate can provide evidence in the form of an official and verifiable score in an internationally recognised test such as ielts a score of at least 6.0 or toefl a score of at least 550 points on the paper-based test or 213 points on the computer-based test or 79 points on the internet-based test in case the candidate cannot provide sufficient evidence the embassy will evaluate the candidate s knowledge of the language however the final decision about a candidate s language proficiency lies with the dutch institution be nominated by his or her employer who pledges to continue to pay a substantial part of the candidate s salary during the study period and guarantees that at the end of the scholarship period the candidate will be offered a position at least equivalent to the current position demonstrate a solid link between his or her work and the selected course the course must have added value for the sustainable capacity development of the employing organisation and the development of the country be available for the entire period of the course and be physically and mentally able to take part in the entire course declare that he or she will return to their home country immediately upon completion of the course · · · · · · 7

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5 5.1 a applying for a mena scholarship what does a mena application consist of candidates should complete and sign the mena scholarship application form 2012 this application form can be obtained from the netherlands embassy in the applicant s country or from the nuffic website www.nuffic.nl/mena the application form should be accompanied by the following necessary documentation evidence of proficiency in speaking and writing the language of instruction an employer s statement a complete copy of the candidate s passport or other official identity document certified copies of educational records in english or french a detailed curriculum vitae one current photo a copy of the candidate s birth certificate if requested by the embassy b applications for the mena scholarship programme should be submitted to the netherlands embassy in the applicant s own country well before the scholarship application deadline 5.1.1 employer s statement given the aim of the mena scholarship programme to support the institutional development of organisations it is essential that scholarship applications are supported by the organisation employing the candidate the employer s statement must · be written on the employing organisation s official letterhead and bearing an official stamp and signature of the candidate s superior · answer the following questions why is the employing organisation nominating the candidate how will the candidate s participation in the short course benefit the organisation what plans have been made for putting the candidate s newly acquired knowledge and skills to use within the organisation the statement should also include the following pledges that the candidate s salary will continue to be paid during the period for which the scholarship is awarded that at the end of the scholarship period the candidate will be offered a position at least equivalent to the current position that if the candidate is awarded a mena scholarship the employing organisation will comply with all the formal obligations this entails detailed instructions on the requirements for the employer s statement can be found at www.nuffic.nl/mena the instructions are also available in french 8

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5.2 deadlines there are two scholarship application deadlines for the mena scholarship programme depending on the course applications must be submitted at the embassy either before 1 march 2012 or before 2 july 2012 the applicable deadlines can be found on the mena course list 2012 see chapter 10 6 the selection procedure each deadline the number of applications for a mena scholarship exceeds the number of available scholarships to select candidates for a mena scholarship the following selection procedure applies 1 2 3 4 the embassies assess each application against the criteria listed above give specific recommendations and prioritise the applications the embassies forward all applications to nuffic nuffic forwards the applications to the dutch institutions providing the courses to request academic admission for the candidates the dutch institutions assess the applications and decide if the applicants educational background and professional experience meet the specific requirements of the course they decide who is admitted to a course if an applicant is not admitted he or she is not eligible for a mena scholarship these assessments will lead to a selection the final selection becomes available about two months after the scholarship application deadline nuffic informs the dutch institutions and the embassies about the outcome of the selection 5 6 please note that you cannot make any changes or additions to the scholarship application after the embassy has send your application to nuffic applications that are not complete when submitted will be cancelled and will not be assessed further for a scholarship iraq sardar rasool khudhur head of gis department a the surrounding water directorate in sulaimaniya studied `water transport and distribution at unesco-ihe our life in holland was like living in a small global world many different people from different countries met there for an ideal target in increasing their knowledge i think that holland has become my second home 9

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7 1 after the selection the dutch institutions inform the selected candidates about the outcome of their application by and email nuffic informs candidates who are not eligible or who have not been selected for a scholarship by post you can also contact your embassy about two months after the application deadline in cooperation with the netherlands embassy the institutions make all further arrangements directly with the selected candidates 2 after his or her arrival in the netherlands the dutch institutions pay the scholarship holder a monthly allowance for the duration of the short course they also administrate the scholarships make logistical arrangements and give guidance to the scholarship holders some netherlands embassies or dutch institutes of the countries participating in the morocco mohamed farhaoui head of production division at mena programme organise meknes national office of drinking water studied `project pre-departure meetings for identification development and management towards candidates if so you will receive an effective project cycle at maastricht school of an invitation from the embassy management 7.1 stay in touch after you stay in the netherlands you are invited to register yourself as an alumnus on www.hollandalumni.nl to stay in touch with fellow alumni we also hope that you will stay in contact with the netherlands embassy or dutch institute in your home country the course was well organised and well conducted by the staff the experience and the background of the trainers were very impressive the techniques methods and equipment were extremely good i also enjoyed spending three weeks in maastricht one of the oldest cities in the netherlands 8 more information up-to-date information can be found on www.nuffic.nl/mena always check the website before you apply 10

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9 contact details nuffic programme management directorate scholarship programmes department po box 29777 2502 lt the hague the netherlands phone +31 70 4260 167 nfp-fellowships@nuffic.nl www.nuffic.nl/mena royal netherlands embassy rabat/dutch institute in morocco nimar 9 rue moulay abdelaziz hassan rabat morocco phone +212 537 668500 fax +212 537 768407 info@nimar.ru.nl www.ru.nl/nimar royal netherlands embassy muscat po box 3302 ruwi 112 sultanate of oman phone 968 246 03706 fax +968 246 03778 mus@minbuza.nl www.mfa.nl/mus royal netherlands embassy damascus po box 702 damascus syria phone +963 11 333 6871 fax +963 11 3339369 dmc@minbuza.nl www.mfa.nl/dmc royal netherlands embassy baghdad al-kindy area district 215 street 15 house no 7 baghdad iraq phone +964 1 77 82571 bag@minbuza.nl www.mfa.nl/bag 11

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royal netherlands embassy algiers 23-27 chemin sheikh bachir el-ibrahimi b.p 72 16030 el-biar algiers algeria phone +213 21 922828 fax +213 21 922947 alg@minbuza.nl www.mfa.nl/alg royal netherlands embassy beirut netherlands tower charles malek avenue opposite centre sofil 2073-0802 achrafieh 1100-2190 po box 167190 achrafieh lebanon phone +961-1-204663 fax +961-1-204664 or 961-1-339393 bei@minbuza.nl www.netherlandsembassy.org.lb royal netherlands embassy tunis rue meycen b.p 47 1082 cité mahrajane tunis tunisia phone 216 71 155300 fax +216 7155335 tun@minbuza.nl www.mfa.nl/tun international centre for development oriented research in agriculture icra po box 88 6700 ab wageningen netherlands phone 31 0317-422938 icra@wur.nl www.icra-edu.org wageningen ur centre for development innovation po box 88 6700 ab wageningen the netherlands phone +31 317 486 800 fax +31 317 486 801 info.wi@wur.nl www.cdic.wur.nl 12

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maastricht school of management msm endepolsdomein 150 6229 ep maastricht po box 1203 6201 be maastricht the netherlands phone +31 43 387 0808 fax +31 43 387 0800 admissions@msm.nl www.msm.nl unesco-ihe institute for water education westvest 7 2611 ax delft po box 3015 2601 da delft the netherlands phone +31 15 215 1715 fax +31 15 212 2921 info@unesco-ihe.org www.unesco-ihe.org itc faculty of geo-information science and earth observation university of twente po box 6 7500 aa enschede the netherlands phone +31 53 487 4444 fax +31 53 487 4400 education@itc.nl www.itc.nl iraq hersh sabr muhamad shkak geologist at the ministry of environment studied `managing water organisations at unesco-ihe my course and the lectures had a very good approach and i benefited greatly from my stay in the netherlands 13

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10 mena scholarship programme course list 2012 the courses on this course list are non-degree courses and lead to a dutch certificate the duration of the courses varies from two to twelve weeks for more information about the detailed criteria for admission to a particular course please contact the dutch institution that will provide the course contact details are listed in chapter 9 of this brochure this list was made with the greatest care however the information provided may be subject to change please check www.nuffic.nl/mena for up-to-date information before you apply field of study agriculture forestry and fishery developper les capacites d apprentissage interactif pour l innovation rurale dans l enseignement superieur en français institution next course begins duration application deadline educational requirements professional requirements international centre for development oriented research in agriculture icra 9/10/2012 3 weeks 3/1/2012 analytical and problem-solving capabilities equivalent to msc or mba candidates should have at least 5 years experience in higher education and preferably some experience in action research applied groundwater modelling institution next course begins duration application deadline educational requirements professional requirements unesco-ihe institute for water education 6/11/2012 3 weeks 3/1/2012 bsc degree or equivalent qualification in a relevant subject from a recognised university practical or research work experience water transport and distribution ii institution next course begins duration application deadline educational requirements professional requirements unesco-ihe institute for water education 7/2/2012 3 weeks 3/1/2012 bsc degree or equivalent qualification in a relevant subject from a recognised university practical or research work experience 14

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water treatment processes and plants institution next course begins duration application deadline educational requirements professional requirements unesco-ihe institute for water education 6/11/2012 3 weeks 3/1/2012 bsc degree or equivalent qualification in a relevant subject from a recognised university practical or research work experience decentralisation en milieu rural et gouvernance locale renforcement des processus multi-acteurs institution next course begins duration application deadline educational requirements professional requirements other requirements wageningen ur centre for development innovation 8/27/2012 3 weeks 3/1/2012 msc level professional experience with tasks related to the subject for managers of decentralisation and local governance programmes of organisations supporting local government or civil society organisations facilitating multi-stakeholder processes and social learning institution next course begins duration application deadline educational requirements professional requirements wageningen ur centre for development innovation 9/3/2012 3 weeks 3/1/2012 relevant tertiary education at least 5 years of professional experience related to the subject matter of the course international training of trainers on wetland management institution next course begins duration application deadline educational requirements professional requirements wageningen ur centre for development innovation 6/11/2012 3 weeks 3/1/2012 at least a bachelor level qualification or equivalent educational background at least 2 years of professional experience be involved in wetland management and preferably assigned to capacity development in wetland management 15

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