The Diplomat
The Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) has launched a scholarship program aimed at contributing to the formation and training of human capital in Africa and the Middle East.
The Africa-MED Scholarship Program will be aimed at African and Middle Eastern countries included in the bilateral strategies of the V Master Plan for Spanish Cooperation and Sub-Saharan African countries receiving Official Development Assistance (ODA).
The call for Africa-MED Scholarships, whose application period began last February 8 and will be open until February 26, offers “the opportunity to train in Spain to men and women from countries in these priority regions for Spanish Cooperation”, according to the AECID in a press release. The call will be open to people with knowledge of Spanish or the language in which the training programs are taught. “This ambitious program comes to complete the solid work that the Spanish Cooperation carries out in the fields of cultural and academic cooperation in Africa”, according to the Agency.
The program has several components. On the one hand, Africa-MED will offer scholarships to officials from countries included in the V Master Plan and officials from the African Union, UADA-NEPAD and ECOWAS to take the Inter-University Master’s Degree in Diplomacy and International Relations. These courses will be taught at the Diplomatic School between October 1, 2021 and June 30, 2022 and nationals from Cape Verde, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Jordan, Mali, Morocco, Mauritania, Mozambique, Niger, Palestine, Senegal, Tunisia or any of the countries that make up the African and Arab regional organizations, such as AU, AUDA-NEPAD, ECOWAS, G5 Sahel and Arab League, will be eligible for these scholarships.
The program also includes postgraduate scholarships for official university master’s degree programs, research scholarships at a university, CSIC center or public or private institution dedicated to R&D; scholarships for graduates for training courses of up to nine months and internships in companies, within the framework of an agreement signed between Spanish public or private institutions and public or private institutions in Africa.
The scholarships include monthly payments of up to 1,400 euros, depending on the program; travel grants of up to 1,200 euros, depending on the program and country of origin; tuition grants of up to 5,000 euros; and travel and accident insurance during their stay in Spain. The program will have an estimated total cost of 696,070 euros, 376,880 in 2021 and 319,190 in 2022.
The Africa-MED Scholarship Program, according to the AECID, “contributes to recovering Spanish Cooperation as a lever policy at the service of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as contemplated in the Action Plan for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda in Spain”. “It also affects regions, Africa and the Middle East, where Spanish Cooperation has a consolidated and growing track record in cultural and scientific projects”, it continued. The initiative is part of the call (published in mid-December) of the MAEC-AECID Spanish Cooperation Scholarships for citizens of Latin American, African and Asian countries, which this year celebrates its 73rd edition.
