YOUR newspaper featured the outstanding academic achievements of 31 year old Tammy Tambe from Wagina in South Choiseul who has recently received her PhD in Social Anthropology from the University of Bergan in Norway.
Tammy begun her high school at King George Sixth before moving on to get a Bachelor’s degree in Geography and Marine Studies and a Postgraduate diploma in Marine Studies from the University of the South Pacific in Fiji.
She later obtained a Master’s degree in Pacific Islands Studies from the University of Hawai’i, Manoa.
Tammy must be congratulated for all her hard work over several years to have ultimately obtained a PhD, now one of the few local women with a doctoral degree.
This success story followed an earlier article in your paper in which several concerned students had begun urging the government to introduce a loan scheme for local students wishing to undergo tertiary studies or undergraduate or post graduate degrees both at home and abroad.
It was claimed these concerned students were not able to make it into the government scholarship for this year, though they had satisfied the Grade Point Average (GPA) of 3.0 and above.
It is understood that a loan scheme is one of the concepts that the Ministry of Education and Human Resources (MEHRD) under past governments had discussed previously to try and develop policies with the aim of assisting students to further their education in Universities.
However to date, this still remains an issue to be fully considered by the national government, but I feel sure the DCCG is very much aware of the academic needs of the aspiring and dedicated students.
Tammy Tambe is quoted in your newspaper article that there is a lot of potential among Solomon Islanders to attain further education, but they need more access to these opportunities and also guidance.
She was also quoted as saying, “There are a lot of opportunities outside of Solomons which are not often easily accessed by people in our country because they are not known, and that’s one thing that we need to improve – the dissemination of information on scholarships abroad and also encouragement and guidance for those interested.”
While it must be acknowledged that the current Solomon Islands Government and previous administrations are, and have, supported the tertiary education development of students at the University of the South Pacific and elsewhere, perhaps there might be some truth in what Tammy believes to be the case for better dissemination and information on scholarship opportunities abroad and it is my hope that DCCG will examine the situation.
To further my own information on the existing range of external scholarship programmes offered in the region, and further afield, I turned to the internet and was surprised by the extent of scholarships made available on an annual basis to students of developing countries, including the Solomon Islands.
I very much hope the list I have included will add to what Tammy felt needing explained. I hope, too, the DCCG will find the information helpful.
Here are the top 25 countries offering government scholarships for international students.
As part of their commitment to international development cooperation and to promote internationalization of their education systems, governments of developed countries such as USA, UK, Australia, New Zealand Japan, and many countries in Europe award government-funded scholarships to outstanding international students from around the world.
Australia and NZ Government Scholarships
Australia Awards Scholarships, formerly known as Australia Development Scholarships (ADS) are scholarships for international students from selected countries in Asia, Pacific, Africa, and the Middle East who wants to study at Australian Universities.
The scholarships are towards vocational education and training courses, undergraduate degrees, postgraduate degrees, and PhD degrees at participating Australian universities and Technical and Further Education (TAFE) institutions.
The scholarship benefits generally include full tuition fees, return air travel, establishment allowance, contribution to living expenses (CLE), Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC), etc.
See also Australia Awards Fellowships.
The Endeavour Postgraduate Awards provide full financial support for international students from around the world to undertake a postgraduate qualification at a Masters or PhD level either by coursework or research in any field of study in Australia.
The scholarships include tuition fees, travel allowance, establishment allowance, monthly stipend, health and travel insurance.
See also Endeavour Executive Fellowships.
The IPRS program enables international students to undertake a postgraduate research qualification in Australia and gain experience with leading Australian researchers.
The scholarships are available for a period of two years for a Masters by research degree or three years for a Doctorate by research degree.
The scholarship covers tuition fees and health cover costs. Around 330 scholarships are awarded annually.
New Zealand
The New Zealand Development Scholarships (NZDS) offers the opportunity for international students from selected developing countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean to study in New Zealand to gain knowledge and skills through post-graduate study in specific subject areas that will assist in the development of their home country.
The scholarships include tuition fees, travel costs, living allowance, and insurance.
See also New Zealand International Doctoral Scholarships.
United States Government Scholarships
The Fulbright Program are full scholarships for international students from 155 countries around the world who wants to pursue a Master’s or PhD degree in the US.
The scholarships can also be awarded for non-degree postgraduate studies. The grant covers tuition fee, textbooks, airfare, a living stipend, and health insurance.
Approximately 1,800 scholarships are awarded annually.
The Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program provides a year of professional enrichment in the United States for experienced professionals from designated countries throughout the world.
The fellowship provides tuition fees, allowance, accident and health insurance, travel expenses, etc. Approximately 200 Fellowships are awarded annually.
UK & British Commonwealth Government Scholarships
Chevening Scholarships, the UK government’s global scholarship programme, are awarded to outstanding scholars from Chevening-eligible countries around the world. Awards are typically for a one-year Master’s degree.
Most Chevening Scholarships cover tuition fees, a living allowance at a set rate (for one individual), an economy class return airfare to the UK, and additional grants to cover essential expenditure. Around 1500 scholarships globally are being offered.
The Commonwealth Scholarships are intended for students from developing Commonwealth countries who wants to pursue Master’s and PhD study in the UK.
Each scholarship provides airfare to and from United Kingdom, tuition and examination fees, personal maintaining allowance, thesis grant (if applicable), initial arrival allowance, among others. Approximately 300 of these scholarships are awarded each year.
See also the Commonwealth Shared Scholarship Scheme.
European Government Scholarships
The Netherlands
The Netherlands Fellowship Programmes (NFP) promote capacity building within organisations in 51 countries by providing fellowships for training and education for professionals.
The NFP offers fellowships for Master studies, PhD studies, or short courses at Dutch Universities or academic institutions.
An NFP fellowship is intended to supplement the salary that the fellow should continue to receive during the study period. The allowance is a contribution towards the costs of living, the costs of tuition fees, visas, travel, insurance and thesis research.
See also Holland Scholarships for Non-EU/EEA Students.
Belgium
VLIR-UOS awards scholarships to students from 54 developing countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America to pursue an English Taught Training or Master’s Programme related to development at Universities in Belgium. The scholarships cover tuition fee, accommodation, allowance, travel costs, and other program related costs.
See also CUD ARES Scholarships.
Norway
The Norwegian government provides scholarships for students from developing countries in the South and countries of Central- and East-Europe and Central-Asia under the Quota Scheme.
The scheme normally includes courses at the Master and PhD level, in addition to certain professional degrees offered by state universities and colleges in Norway.
Each student receives the same amount of money as a Norwegian student would do in an equivalent educational programme.
About 40 per cent of the amount is given as a grant and 60 per cent as a loan. However, the loan portion is waived when the student returns to his/her home country after completing the course of study.
Germany
The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) provides scholarships for a range of postgraduate courses with special relevance to developing countries at German Universities.
The scholarships are specifically targeted to international students and young professionals from developing countries in Africa, Asia, Pacific Islands, Central and South America and Central and Eastern Europe.
DAAD scholarship supports selected programmes with a variety of full or partial scholarships.
Switzerland
The Swiss Government Excellence Scholarships provide graduates from around 180 countries with the opportunity to pursue doctoral or postdoctoral research in any academic field at one of the public funded university or recognized institution in Switzerland.
The scholarship covers a monthly allowance, tuition fees, health insurance, lodging allowance, etc.
Sweden
The Swedish Institute provides scholarships in Sweden to highly-qualified international students from developing countries who want to pursue full-time Masters Studies at Swedish Universities.
The scholarship covers tuition fee, living expenses, some travel grant, and insurance. About 550 scholarships are offered.
Denmark
A number of scholarships are being offered each year by the Danish Ministry of Education to fund highly qualified and motivated international students from outside the EU/EEA who wish to pursue full degree higher education programme at participating Danish Universities.
The scholarship can be given as full or partial tuition fee waivers and/or grants towards covering your living costs.
Italy
The Italian Government awards scholarships for studying in Italy both to foreign citizens and Italian citizen’s resident abroad.
The scholarships are towards University degree courses, advanced vocational training, art and music courses, Masters Degree courses, PhD Courses, etc.
It is only possible to apply for three, six, or nine month scholarships.
France
The Eiffel scholarship program was developed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a tool to allow French higher education institutions to attract the best foreign students for master’s and PhD degree programs.
Eiffel scholarship-holders receive a monthly allowance and other expenses such as return trip, health insurance and cultural activities. It does not cover tuition fees.
Greece
The Greek State Scholarships Foundation offers up to 55 scholarships to foreign citizens who wish to pursue undergraduate or postgraduate studies at Greek Superior Educational Institutes or a research project at Superior Educational Institutes or Research Centers in Greece.
The scholarships include monthly allowance, tuition (for undergraduate only), travel allowance, settlement allowance, and some medical coverage.
Asia Government Scholarships
Japan
The Japanese Government offers scholarships in Japan to international students who wish to study at Japanese universities as undergraduate and research students under the Japanese Government Scholarship Program. The scholarships cover allowance, travelling costs, and school fees.
China
accordance with educational exchange agreements or MOUs between Chinese government and governments of other countries, institutions, universities and international organizations.
It supports undergraduate programs, master’s programs, doctoral programs, general scholar programs and senior scholar programs.
Full scholarship includes school fees, monthly allowance, one-off subsidies, insurance, etc while partial scholarship includes one or some items of the full scholarship items.
Taiwan
The Taiwan Government through the Ministry of Education (MOE) offers Bachelors, Masters, and PhD scholarships for international students who wants to study in Taiwan Colleges and Universities through the Taiwan Scholarship Program. The scholarships cover tuition and payment of academic fees and subsistence allowance.
See also Taiwan Higher Education Scholarship Program.
Turkey
Turkey Scholarships Postgraduate Programmes are full government funded programmes for successful international students from all over the world who wish to pursue postgraduate studies in Turkey.
The scholarship includes monthly stipend, full tuition fee, free 1-year Turkish language course, free state-run dormitory accommodation, round-trip air ticket and health insurance.
Singapore
Singapore International Graduate Award are given to international students with excellent academic undergraduate and/or master’s results, and strong interest in doing research leading to a doctorate (PhD) in Science and Engineering at a Singapore University.
The award provides financial support for up to 4 years of PhD studies including full tuition fees, monthly stipend, settlement allowance, and airfare grant.
Hong Kong
Established in 2009 by the Hong Kong Research Grants Council (RGC), the Hong Kong PhD Fellowship Scheme aims to attract outstanding students in the world to pursue their PhD degree programmes in Hong Kong’s institutions.
The Fellowship provides a monthly stipend and a conference and research-related travel allowance per year for a maximum period of three years.
Malaysia
The Malaysia International Scholarship (MIS) is an initiative by the Malaysian Government to attract the best brains from around the world to pursue advanced academic studies in Malaysia.
Each scholarship consists of air tickets from recipient’s capital city to Malaysia, approved tuition fees, monthly maintenance allowance, annual grant for books and internal travel, medical/health Insurance, installation and termination grant, thesis allowance, and visa costs.
Korea
The Korean Government Scholarship Program is designed to provide international students with an opportunity to conduct advanced studies at higher educational institutions in Korea and to develop global leaders and strengthen Korea-friendly networks worldwide. The scholarships cover tuition, allowance, travel, airfare, medical insurance, etc.
By FRANK SHORT
Former police commissioner
Bangkok, Thailand
