Business School Netherlands OKP Scholarship for the International Action Learning MBA

The International Action Learning MBA at Business School Netherlands is built for working managers and frequent business travellers who want to study part-time and at a distance. Projects are tied to your real work, so part of your working time goes into applying what you study to actual problems in your organisation.

The Orange Knowledge Programme (OKP) funds this route. Its purpose is to strengthen the capacity, knowledge and quality of individuals and institutions in higher and vocational education. Because the International Action Learning MBA is an OKP approved course, applicants from the 52 OKP countries can apply for this MBA opportunity through Business School Netherlands.

• Host: Business School Netherlands, a registered Dutch University of Applied Sciences
• Level: MBA (Masters in Business Administration)
• Study destination: Netherlands
• Course starts: Feb 2020
• Deadline: 1 July 2019
• Awards: number not specified
• Covered: full tuition, prescribed textbooks, accommodation at the two conferences in the Netherlands, subsistence and internet costs

Business School Netherlands is a registered Dutch University of Applied Sciences.

Masters in Business Administration (MBA)

Not specified

Highly motivated international managers and (trainee) managers who live and work in one of the 52 OKP countries.

If you are admitted to both BSN and the OKP, you receive a full MBA scholarship. It covers the total cost of tuition fees, prescribed textbooks, accommodation at the two conferences held in the Netherlands, subsistence and internet costs.

You must first meet the entry criteria for the International Action Learning MBA programme:

The applicant:

• holds a Bachelor’s degree or equivalent qualification,
• is a manager or management trainee,
• has a minimum of 2 years appropriate and relevant post graduate work experience,
• has approval from his or her organisation to do research and execute practical assignments within their work environment,
• has internet and e-mail access,
• should the applicants mother-tongue not be English, a TOEFL or IELTS language test will be required. The minimum pass mark for the TOEFL is 550 (paper); 213 (computer) or 79/80 (internet based) and IELTS 6.0

Applicants must then meet the following eligibility criteria for the OKP scholarship:

• must be a professional and national of, and working and living in one of the 52 countries on the OKP country list,
• must have an employer’s statement that complies with the format Nuffic has provided. All information must be provided and all commitments that are included in the format must be endorsed in the statement,
• must not be employed by an organisation that has its own means of staff development. Organisations that are considered to have their own means for staff development are for example: multinational organisations (e.g. Shell, Unilever, Microsoft), large national and/or a large commercial organisation, bilateral donor organisations (e.g. USAID, DFID, Danida, Sida, Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, FinAid, AusAid, ADC, SwissAid), multilateral donor organisations (e.g. UN organisation, the World Bank, the IMP, Asian Development Bank, African Development Bank, IADB), international NGO’s (e.g. Oxfam, Plan, Care)
• must have an official and valid passport,
• must not receive more than one fellowship for courses that take place at the same time,
• must have a government statement that meets the requirements of the country in which the employer is established (if applicable).

To apply, send an email to [email protected]. The closing date for the February 2020 intake is 1 July 2019.

Check the official website (link below) for the application form and full details on how to apply, and to reach the online application form.

This award suits a manager or management trainee who already works in one of the 52 OKP countries and wants an MBA without leaving the job. Your employer has to back you: you need approval to run research and practical assignments at work, and an employer’s statement in the Nuffic format.

It also fits people whose organisation does not fund staff development on its own. Employees of multinationals, large commercial organisations, donor organisations and international NGOs with their own staff development means are excluded.

• Who can apply for this MBA scholarship? Managers and trainee managers who are nationals of, and live and work in, one of the 52 OKP countries, and who also meet the MBA entry criteria.

• What does the scholarship cover? A full MBA scholarship covering tuition fees, prescribed textbooks, accommodation at the two conferences in the Netherlands, subsistence and internet costs.

• What is the deadline? The closing date for the February 2020 intake is 1 July 2019.

• How do I apply? Send an email to [email protected], and use the official website for the application form and detailed instructions.

• Do I need an English test? If your mother tongue is not English, you need TOEFL or IELTS: TOEFL 550 (paper), 213 (computer) or 79/80 (internet based), or IELTS 6.0.

• Read the official guidelines and the Nuffic employer’s statement format before you start, so you know what your employer must confirm.
• Ask your organisation early for written approval to do research and practical assignments at work.
• Book your English test in good time if your mother tongue is not English, and keep the score report ready.
• Check that your passport is official and valid before the deadline.
• Confirm you are not already holding another fellowship for a course running at the same time.