Deadline : July 28, 2024.
Applications are open for Irish Aid Fellowship Training Programme Africa 2025. Fellowships are awarded for full-time study at Masters level at an Irish higher level institution, with a focus on courses that are relevant to Irish Aid’s development objectives in a fellow’s home country. On completion, fellowship recipients are committed to resume work and put their acquired skills into good use for the benefit of their home countries.
Irish Aid Fellowships are funded as part of Ireland’s wider development cooperation budget. The Ireland Fellows Programme is fully funded by the Irish Government and is offered under the auspices of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA). The Fellowship Training Programme was Irish Aid’s first scholarship programme, begun in 1974. Since that time, it has brought suitably qualified candidates from developing countries to undertake Masters degrees at universities and colleges in Ireland.
Awards are made for study in Ireland in fields such as agriculture, health, education, human rights, computer science, engineering, business and more with the aim of supporting and enhancing the contribution recipients can make to Irish Aid’s partner organisations. Fellowship eligibility requirements aim to ensure close alignment with Irish Aid’s programmatic approach. Applicants can choose from almost 200 postgraduate programmes specially selected to enhance capacity in line with stated country development goals and the strategy of the Irish Embassy
Benefits
- The scholarship award covers full Tuition and course fees for your selected degree programme.
- Selected scholarship recipients will receive coverage for flights from and back to their home countries.
- The programme also offers accommodation for the entire duration of your studies in Ireland.
- You will receive monthly allowances to cover you daily expenditures as well as insurance and other incidental expenses.
Eligibility
- You must be a citizen of one of the following eligible countries if you are to be selected. (Please see full list here)
- Applicants must be residents in their countries of origin.
- You must have achieved the necessary academic standard to be accepted onto a Master’s degree course in a higher education institution in Ireland . This could be evident with a minimum grade point average of 3.0 (4.0 scale)
- Applicants are required to have a minimum of two or three years of work experience that is directly relevant to your selected Master’s degree programme.
- An applicants must be be able to demonstrate a strong commitment to the development of their home country.
- you must have identified and selected two relevant courses from the Irish Aid Directory of Eligible Postgraduate Courses.
- Candidates must be able to attend the fellowship, if selected, in the academic year 2024/2025.
- Applicants must be able to demonstrate their skills in academic English with an appropriate score on a recognized test (IELTS 6.5 or higher).
Application
An applicant will not be considered further in either of the following circumstances:
- They already hold a master’s qualification.
- Those that have applied for the Fellowship Training Programme on two or more previous occasions without being awarded a fellowship.
- They are currently working, or it is anticipated that they will work in the future, at our embassies or at headquarters. Those personnel who have worked with any of the Irish embassies/missions in the past must allow a full year before becoming eligible to apply for a fellowship.
Applications for are submitted either directly or by Invitation depending on your country of origin.
- For countries where applications are by invitation only, Scholarships are restricted to the staff of government departments and NGOs which already work in partnership with Irish Aid
- These also include personnel of organizations that are aligned with Irish Aid’s development strategy in their country which have already been identified by the Embassy of Ireland.
- Applicants under this category must therefore contact the Embassy of Ireland in their home countries for Extra information
The application for the scholarships is completed in three (3) stages as described below
- Applicants will complete a short application form which will allow the selection panel to assess the candidate’s eligibility under the various criteria of the Programme
- Candidates that make it through stage 1 will be invited to move on to Stage 2 of the process and complete a more detailed application form including the submission of all required documents.
- Applicants will be required to submit their IELTS certificates which must be less than 12 months old at the time of application. Those who do not yet have the English language certification will be provided with a coupon in order to take the Duolingo English language test.
To apply, Click here
For more information, visit the official website here
