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DAAD Africa adds €2.5m for refugee scholarships

The German Academic Exchange Programme (DAAD) has partnered with the UN Refugees Agency to launch a master’s degree scholarship award scheme that will target refugees living in East Africa.

Photo: Unsplash

The scheme will take them through an extensive ‘supplementary’ program

The scholarship program is under Leadership for Africa initiative and is supported by Germany’s Federal Foreign Office to the tune €2.5 million annually.

The program has kicked off with an award of 51 scholarships to students who include 19 refugees living in Eastern African countries Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda and Sudan.

“The scholarship holders are awarded a scholarship to finance their master’s degree course at a German higher education institution. DAAD also supports them in finding the right degree course and during the enrolment process,” said DAAD Regional Office for Africa director Beate Schindler-Kovats.

Besides being supported in picking the right degree, the scheme will take them through an extensive ‘supplementary’ program with courses on understanding democracy, the rule of law and sustainable economic and social development, she noted.

“The Leadership for Africa aims to leverage a German master’s degree and proficiency from the supplementary program to improve scholarship holders’ career opportunities and enable them to contribute to successful and socially relevant professional development in their home country or an-other country,” the director added.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic selection interviews were held online partly involving technically difficult digital connections directly into UNHCR refugee camps in the region, she disclosed.

Following the successful launch, a second call that closes on July 2 has been launched under the program targeting citizens and refugees living in Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania and South Sudan in what will become cohort two.

A similar call has been launched targeting West African countries of Cameroon, Ivory Coast and Senegal also with a July 2 deadline.

“Germany is aware of the difficult situation facing many refugees”

Under the LAP applicants are free to choose any field of study, with the exception of human, veterinary and dental medicine, and public health, as well as law, art, music and architecture.

In including refugees in LAP the federal government of Germany was seeking sustainable ways of supporting the displaced, said Michelle Müntefering, minister of State for International Cultural and Educational Policy at the Federal Foreign Office.

“Germany is aware of the difficult situation facing many refugees and jointly with its partners is striking out in new and sustainable directions to assist these people,” Müntefering said.

UNHCR has target of seeing 15% of eligible refugees in higher education by 2030. Read more in The PIE Review.

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10 Responses to DAAD Africa adds €2.5m for refugee scholarships

  1. Hiiiii
    I am Eritrean Refuge living in Ethiopia. I studied here in postgraduate study as General surgeon graduated on Feb 2021. Now I am planing to study in Health care management . How can I involve?

  2. I am Andemariam. I am an Eritrean. I followed my degree program in biology. How can l apply for masters.

  3. I am ahmed from somali refugee in uganda i did degree business administration. I wanna to study master degree for daad scholarship in germany please contact me.

  4. Hi, I am Dorothy. I have received an admission letter to study a Masters degree in migration and refugee law at the university of Daresalam, Tanzania year 2021/2022. I am a Kenyan citizen and would like to enquire if there are any scholarships available for me.

  5. I am a refugee from tigray,Ethiopia now living in sudan refugee camps being registered by UNHCR .I have been a teacher for the last 14yrs in ethiopia teaching maths and general business for preparatory students.i am still teaching maths in private school in Khartoum.i want to get the chance of continuing my masters in business areas.so how can i get the opportunity of DAAD ?

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