2023 Learn Africa Program

Introduction

 

Learn Africa, the academic mobility programme for African women par excellence, celebrates this year its tenth anniversary, leaving behind a trail of 293 alumnae from 34 different countries, many of whom have successfully completed their studies in Spain or Morocco and have managed to successfully  enter the labour market in their countries, with the resulting improvement in their socio-economic situation and that of their families – as shown by a study carried out by the foundation in the last quarter of 2022.

After several years of pandemic in which the online modality had an important weight in the programme, the Women for Africa Foundation and its collaborators have made great efforts to offer the maximum number of face-to-face scholarships in the upcoming call for applications, as it has been demonstrated that young African women make better use of in-person scholarships than online ones at all levels. Furthermore, since one of the objectives of Learn Africa is to break down the gender stereotypes that persist in the world of work and academia globally, this year special emphasis has been placed on postgraduate studies in STEM fields, many of them taught in English.

In total, this new edition of Learn Africa offers 77 new scholarships and 27 continuation scholarships, which would not have been possible without the unwavering commitment of the programme’s 50 collaborators, including universities, educational centres and private funders such as GMV and the ASISA Foundation. These latter have been joined this year by the pharmaceutical company Pfizer, which will be supporting the programme by financing an internship at Pfizer’s headquarters in Madrid for a PhD student in Biomedicine.

Also new this year, the call for applications includes two research scholarships funded by the ANESVAD foundation, which aim to study skin-associated  Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD) from a gender perspective.

 

Enrollment period

The registration period will remain open until April 12, 2023 at 11:59 p.m. (Madrid).

Only applications received through the website will be accepted.

General requirements

  • Be a woman, and have nationality and residence in an African country.
  • Be enrolled in an African university or have a university degree issued in an African country. For postgraduate scholarships, a Bachelor’s degree is required. The degree required may vary depending on the scholarship applied for (see detailed information on each scholarship).
  • Meet the specific requirements of the scholarship you are applying for.
  • Only one application per person will be accepted.

Technical and academic requirements

  • It is important to read carefully the information showed in the description of the studies you want to take, as well as on the university website (link attached to each scholarship), regarding the academic requirements.
  • The beneficiary agrees to provide the host university with duly legalized, certified and translated copies of her university degree, academic record or any other required documentation. If you are selected, we recommend that you start the administrative process at the time you accept the scholarship, as the procedures you will need to take at the Embassy/Consulate and/or at the Ministries of Education or Foreign Affairs of your country may take long time.
  • The beneficiary must also present a certificate issued by her university certifying that she has a degree that enables her to pursue the requested studies (master or Phd).
  • If you apply for an online scholarship, you must have a computer properly equipped to follow online courses, taking into account the following aspects: Internet connection, web browser, operating system, desktop applications, webcam, Zoom/Microsoft Teams applications etc.

Language requirements

  • Before applying, make sure you have the required language skills. A high level of the language in which the training is delivered will always be required (B2 or C1 depending on the host university). You must prove your language level through the presentation of an official language certificate or through a telephone interview with the university. 
  • If you are selected, you will receive a phone call from the Women for Africa Foundation to inform you personally. You will be requested to communicate with the foundation’s staff in the language of the scholarship you have applied for.

Required documents

IMPORTANT: The files with the required documentation must meet the following requirements:

  • Format: png, gif, jpg, jpeg, pdf, doc, docx, ppt or rtf
  • Maximum size: 4MB.

If the files do not meet these requirements, your documents will not be uploaded and your application will not be valid.

To apply for a scholarship you will need to attach the following documents:

  • Passport or National identity document
  • Photo
  • CV
  • Diploma / certificate / university degree (as required)
  • Academic record
  • Motivation letter
  • Reference letter(s)
  • Official language certificate (if required)
  • Other documents required for the scholarship

Scholarships 2023-2024

All the scholarships offered in this call will begin during the 2023-2024 academic year and may unfold over several years, depending on the scholarship applied for.

Scholarship Coverage

  • Online scholarships cover only tuition fees.
  • Face-to-face scholarships cover the following costs:
    • Tuition fees
    • Round trip
    • Accommodation and meals (either in a University Hall or through the provision of a monthly allowance)
    • Health insurance

IT IS NOT guaranteed that scholarships will cover other expenses such as:

  • Re-enrollment fees for subjects failed at the ordinary or extraordinary exams.
  • Internet connection for online scholarships.
  • Costs associated to the issuance of the visa to travel to Spain.
  • The legalization, recognition and translation of university degrees and academic records (the host University will require these documents).
  • The issuance of the certificate once the studies in Spain have been sucessfully completed.
  • Any other daily expenses including, but not limited to, local transport.
  • Each scholarship is just for a single person; in no case will support of any kind (financial, consular, accommodation, etc.) be granted for potential accompanying family members (children, parents, siblings, spouse, etc.).

Evaluation criteria

A specialised comittee will make a first evaluation of all the applications based on the following documents:

  • CV
  • Reference letter(s)
  • Motivation letter
  • Language Skills
  • Project (if required)

The final selection of candidates will be agreed upon with each of the partner universities and the outcome will be made public on our website in June (www.mujeresporafrica.es). Selected candidates will also receive a personal notification through e-mail (to the e-mail address provided in the application form).

The final outcome will not be personally communicated to unsuccessful candidates.

Scholarship acceptance

Once the outcome of the process has been made public and the selected candidates have been notified by e-mail, they will have 7 working days to accept the scholarship. Failure to express acceptance within the established period implies the loss of the scholarship and its reassignment to another applicant according to the order established on a reserve list.

 

 

Beneficary commitment

Once the studies for which the scholarship was requested have been completed, beneficiaries agree to:

  • Provide the Women for Africa Foundation a brief report on their academic and personal experience lived.
  • Fill in a survey so that the Women for Africa Foundation can carry out an evaluation of the scholarship programme results and, where appropriate, introduce modifications and improvements to it.
  • Beneficiaries will become part of the Learn Africa program alumnae network and will be invited to participate in follow-up, exchange and training activities (mentoring, coaching, peer support, etc.) that will be organized through an online platform designed for this purpose.
  • The Women for Africa Foundation and the partner universities may make total or partial use of the content included in the reports delivered by beneficiaries upon completion of their scholarships, either on their website or in any of their publications. In this regard, the Women for Africa Foundation may mention the name of the report’s author.

 

 

Frequently asked questions

IMPORTANT REMINDER!

  • Only one application per person will be accepted.
  • Before applying for a scholarship, make sure you meet the general requirements as well as the specific requirements listed in the description of the scholarship you want to apply for.
  • Prepare in advance each and every document required to apply for the scholarship (Required documents). If you are interested in a face-to-face scholarship, make sure that you have a valid passport.
  • If you are interested in an online scholarship, make sure you have a good Internet connection to be able to follow the courses remotely.
  • VERY IMPORTANT: If you get selected, you must provide the host university with duly legalised, certified and translated copies of your university degree, academic transcript or other required documentation. You should start the legalisation process as soon as you accept the scholarship, as these are very time-consuming procedures that you will need to carry out at the Embassy/Consulate and/or Ministries of Education or Foreign Affairs of your country.
  • The beneficiary must also present a certificate issued by her university certifying that she has a degree that enables her to pursue the requested studies (master or Phd).
  • There are expenses associated with the scholarship that may be covered by the beneficiary (visa, translation and legalization of academic degrees, issuance of certificates, etc.). Check these in the scholarship coverage section.
  • The scholarship is for a single person; under no circumstances will the travel expenses of family members be covered.
  • Check your email daily (the one you provided in your application) to find out if you have been selected. Remember that if you are selected, you will have 7 calendar days to accept the scholarship after receiving the notification.

The outcome of the process will be published on our website in June (www.mujeresporafrica.es). In addition, selected candidates will be personally notified through email. Unsuccessful candidates will not be contacted.

No, we will not. You should regularly check your email as well as our website (www.mujeresporafrica.es), where we will publish the list of selected cantidates.

No, you cannot. Before applying for a scholarship, make sure you have all the required documents to attach (see Required documents section).

Check that all required files are attached to your application. Otherwise, your application will not be valid.

You will receive a confirmation email. Make sure that you check all the folders in your email, including the Spam folder.

No, under no circumstances should you pre-enrol for the academic programme you have applied for or contact the university until you are sure that you have been selected for that scholarship.

The Foundation will contact the selected candidate and will give her instructions on the steps to follow.

The pre-enrolment and access to the requested study programme should only be carried out by the selected candidate

You do not need to do anything, just wait until the results of the call are published on our website. If you are selected, we will contact you personally.

In general terms, scholarships cover:

  • Online scholarships only cover tuition fees.
  • Face-to-face scholarships cover the following costs:
    • Tuition fees
    • Round trip
    • Accommodation and meals (either in a University Hall or through the provision of a monthly allowance)
    • Health insurance.

Check these in the scholarship coverage section.

If you apply for an online scholarship, you must have a computer properly equipped to follow online courses, taking into account the following aspects: Internet connection, web browser, operating system, desktop applications, webcam, Zoom/Microsoft Teams applications, etc.

They depend on the academic program you have selected. In general terms, academic courses will be usually delivered between September 2023 and July 2024. In case of failure to pass in July, the extraordinary exams could take place in September 2024.

Yes, you can. Both the offer of scholarships and the requirements change from year to year. If you have applied for a scholarship in previous calls and you have not been selected, you can always try again.

Yes, you can reapply for a Learn Africa Scholarship. Your academic record from your first Learn Africa scholarship will be taken into consideration when evaluating your application.

No, you cannot. Only applications received throught the website will be accepted and evaluated.

If you finish your university studies in this academic year (May, June or July 2023) and you do not have your academic certificate yet, you must attach the transcript with all the records you have obtained in the degree/bachelor’s/master’s degree you are currently studying. Furthermore, in the motivation letter, you must indicate that you are about to finish your studies. Please note that if you are selected for a scholarship, the host university will require your degree certificate at the time of enrollment (or a proof of payment for the degree certificate).

Yes, it is advisable to bring some money with you to Spain, or to have a credit card, especially for the first few days of your stay since you may have unexpected expenses.

No. To be eligible to apply for a scholarship, you must have taken at least part of your undergraduate studies in an African country.

No, Learn Africa scholarships are intended for young African university students who have their permanent residence in a country on the African continent. If you have migrated to Spain and are currently residing here, you are not eligible for any scholarship within this program.

No, Learn Africa scholarships are associated with a specific list of postgraduate programmes that we publish in an annual call for applications (see Scholarships 2023-2024 section). Learn Africa does not fund any postgraduate programme that is not included in the annual call for applications.

Contact

If you have any questions, it is very important that you check carefully the Frequently asked questions section.

IMPORTANT: We will not answer questions that are already answered in this section.

For truly urgent questions that are not answered in the previous section, you can send an email to:

learnafrica@mujeresporafrica.es


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