The Diplomat
The Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) has awarded 147 scholarships to facilitate the training and postgraduate studies of citizens from Latin America, Africa and Asia in the 2021-2022 academic year.
The scholarship programs, according to AECID, have “a clear development focus” and are complementary to the Government’s objective of “promoting training, knowledge transfer, capacity building and the creation of opportunities within the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda.” “With this grant, AECID strengthens not only the individual capacities of the stakeholders, but also their home institutions,” it continued. “In addition, it consolidates Spain as a country of reference for postgraduate studies,” it concluded.
The Spanish Cooperation scholarships contribute to the training of citizens from partner countries, with special emphasis on those working in the public sector. Compared to previous calls, the total budget allocated to Spanish Cooperation scholarships (MAEC-AECID scholarships) has increased by 55%, with a total of 8.7 million euros for this year and the next.
For the 2021-2022 academic year, 147 scholarships have been granted under the MASTER and Africa-MED programs with the aim of “promoting the training of public employees and facilitating postgraduate studies”, according to the AECID. Within the MÁSTER program, aimed at Latin American public employees, 71 scholarships have been granted, 68 for the official Master offered by a Spanish university and another three for the Inter-University Master in Diplomacy and International Relations (Cooperation module) of the Diplomatic School of Spain.
According to the resolution published yesterday in the AECID’s Electronic Headquarters, the scholarships include a monthly payment of 1,200 euros and a tuition assistance of up to 5,000 euros. In the case of the Master of the Diplomatic School, the tuition assistance for the three beneficiaries (from Cuba, Brazil and Haiti) will be 1,250 euros. The scholarship recipients include citizens from Bolivia, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Paraguay, Peru and the Dominican Republic.
As for Africa-MED, aimed at citizens of the Mediterranean and Sub-Saharan Africa, 76 scholarships have been awarded, distributed among the five modalities of this program: 42 scholarships for official Master’s courses offered by a Spanish university related to the lines of action of the Spanish Cooperation; 16 scholarships for a research stay in Spain, related to the SDGs of the 2030 Agenda, at a university, research center or other public or private R&D institution; nine scholarships for a higher education course at an officially recognized center in Spain; seven scholarships for non-working internships in Spain, within the framework of an agreement or arrangement signed between public or private organizations or entities in Spain and Sub-Saharan African countries; and two scholarships for the Master’s Degree in Diplomacy and International Relations of the Diplomatic School.
The monthly fees will be 1,200 euros and the tuition assistance can be up to 5,000 euros. The beneficiaries come from countries such as Angola, Algeria, Cape Verde, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea (the most numerous, with twenty scholarships), Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Morocco, Mauritania, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo, Senegal and Tunisia.
