The NFP short courses is one of the sub-programmes of the NFP.
Mid-career professionals who are already in employment and who are nationals of and working in one of the selected countries can apply a fellowship. The duration of the programmes varies between 9 and 24 months.
THE FELLOWSHIP
An NFP fellowship, which is granted for the duration of the programme, is intended to provide a contribution towards the costs of living, to cover the costs of tuition fees, and the cost of visas, travel, insurance, thesis research, etc. as specified in the NFP booklet ‘Rules and regulations for fellowship holders 2008’.
Download the NFP booklet Rules and regulations for fellowship holders 2008 (560 kB)
ELIGIBILITY
A candidate applying for an NFP fellowship for a short course must:
- be a national of and working in one of the selected developing countries on the list;
- have been unconditionally admitted by a Dutch institution to one of the short courses on the course list. This means that the applicant must have met all the requirements set by the Dutch institution;
- have completed an NFP short course application form and have submitted all the required documentation to the Netherlands embassy or consulate;
- be nominated by his or her employer, who pledges to continue paying the candidate’s salary and guarantees the candidate will be able to return to an equivalent position at the end of the fellowship period. Partial payment of salary can sometimes be allowed as an exception to the rule. It is up to the Dutch embassy to decide if an agreement between the employer and the candidate about partial continuation of payment of salary is acceptable. It should be noted, however, that NFP allowances are not sufficient to support family members, either in the home country or in the Netherlands;
- not be employed by a large industrial, commercial, international or multinational organization, which can be assumed to have sufficient resources of its own to finance staff training;
- offer evidence of proficiency in speaking and writing the language of instruction. If this is English, candidates who have received their tertiary education in any language other than English must provide evidence in the form of a score in an internationally recognized 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 on the internet-based test). An exception to this rule is made for candidates who have received their tertiary education in the English language, and for candidates who have previously attended a course or programme with a Dutch educational institution, but no longer than four years ago;
- be available for the entire period of the course and be physically and mentally able to take part in the entire course;
- declare that they will return to their home country immediately after the short course has ended.
Joint Courses
A number of short courses takes place, partly or as a whole, in one of the NFP countries. NFP fellowships will be available only for participants originating from the NFP country where (part of) the course takes place and for participants from a neighbouring country.
A number of short courses takes place, partly or as a whole, in non-NFP countries. For these courses there are no restrictions on the nationality of participants. These courses also lead to a Dutch certificate or diploma.
APPLICATION AND SELECTION PROCEDURE
The application and selection procedure consist of the following steps:
Application for admission at a Dutch educational institution
1) Applicants first apply for admission to the short course of their choice. Applications should always be directed to the Dutch provider of the course. The short courses overview provides the academic application deadlines for each short course.
Download the overview of short courses starting in 2009 (189 kB)
2) The provider assesses the application and decides whether or not the applicant’s educational background and other experience meet the specific requirements for the course in question. The provider then informs all applicants of its decisions. Successful candidates will receive a letter indicating that they have been (provisionally) admitted. Admission must be unconditional in terms of the candidate’s education and language proficiency. Admission may be granted provisionally, subject to the candidate finding suitable funding for the course.
Candidates are eligible for a fellowship only if they have been admitted to the course of their choice and meet all the criteria. Candidates can only apply for a fellowship for one course per fellowship application deadline. Being admitted to more than one course with the same fellowship application deadline means that candidates will have to select one course before applying for a fellowship.
Application for a fellowship
3) After receiving their letter of admission, candidates can apply for an NFP fellowship by presenting a completed NFP short course application form to the Netherlands embassy or consulate in their own country, accompanied by the necessary documentation. The application should be submitted well before the deadline for applications set by the embassy or consulate.
Download the application deadlines 2009 (24 kB)
Download the application form 2009 (126 kB).
The form can also be obtained from the Netherlands embassy or consulate. Some embassies require applications to be submitted in duplicate. In some countries applications have to be submitted to the embassies through local governmental organizations. Candidates are therefore advised to check any local regulations with the Netherlands embassy in their country.
Candidates should NOT send their fellowship application forms directly to Nuffic or to the Dutch provider, but should forward them to the Netherlands embassy or consulate in their own country.
4) The embassy or consulate assesses each application against the criteria listed above. Special attention is given to:
- whether the application was submitted before the deadline;
- whether the application stems from multi-year agreements made with selected organizations;
- whether the candidate has presented al etter of admission to the short course in question;
- whether the information accompanying the application is complete and correct, and whether the required documentation (such as passport, diplomas and language test) is in order;
- whether the course is on the list of short courses starting in 2007;
- whether the course has added value for the sustainable capacity development of the employing organization and the development of the NFP country;
- whether the candidate fulfils any other specific requirements set by the embassy, consulate or country in question.
5) The embassies and consulates forward all fellowship applications that meet all the criteria to Nuffic.
6) Nuffic decides how many fellowships will be available for each course. The allocation of fellowships over the various courses is based on the number of eligible fellowship applicants for each course.
7) The Dutch providers select the candidates who will receive fellowships. The provider informs all candidates directly of their decisions, and applies to Nuffic for a grant.
8) Nuffic awards the grant for the provider to cover the fellowship holders’ costs, including the tuition fees.
9) The Dutch providers pay each fellowship holder a monthly allowance for the duration of the short course; they also administer the fellowships, make logistical arrangements, and give guidance to the fellowship holders.
DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS
Download the application deadlines 2009 (24 kB)
FURTHER INFORMATION
http://www.nuffic.nl/nederlandse-organisaties/services/capacity-building/nfp/nfp-short-courses