19 Aug 2006 |
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Not long ago, I wrote an article which was published in Nigerian newspapers and Nigerian-related internet sites. In that article, I elaborated some circumstances surrounding scholarship opportunities. I harped on the power of the internet and many of the information contained therein, and how I am a living testimony to that power. I also hinted on the need for young Nigerians to use the opportunity provided by the internet to better their lives in a positive manner, instead of the present spate of misuse for 419 and other internet-based crimes. I emphasised that it is no magic; that scholarship opportunities abound and can be easily sourced on the internet. In fact, they are so abundant that I and my other African classmates back then in Belgium used to crack jokes (true, only jokes) that the scholarships are meant as back-door reparation for the economic and social despoliation of Africa by colonial powers. And that from then onwards, we will study freely in Europe to our heart’s content. Many of us went ahead to do so. Briefly, I am in Germany now, all due to the internet. I spent extra; I mean extra long hours after work, on the internet, back then in Ibadan. I surfed the web as though my very life depended on it. Ask me, what was I seemingly desperately searching for? Honestly, I am quality academic-minded, and with the way the Nigerian educational system became bastardised, I had long realised that I may not get the strong intellectual grooming I desire in my chosen academic discipline in Nigeria. That realisation informed my strong desire to study abroad. But then, how do I obtain the funds to achieve this objective, given that my bearers are not presidents, governors, legislators, ministers, local government chairpersons, commissioners, board members and other privileged public service pen robbers who prowl the various levels of governance in Nigeria. Nevertheless, thanks to several hundreds of internet hours (and, God ohhhh); I was able to secure a scholarship for an MSc program in Belgium. That done, I went ahead to secure another scholarship in Germany for my current PhD research. Imagine having to get one of the best educations possible on earth, for uninterrupted five years, without paying a Kobo. Scholarship offers by European governments/institutions to developing country nationals have offered opportunities for many Africans who ordinarily cannot afford to study in these ‘developed’ countries. In addition and importantly too, it is the cheapest, most convenient and most respectful means of coming to Europe, instead of recourse to the shameful, illegal migration that is taking hundreds of lives of young Africans. Thanks to documentations from the scholarship awarding organisations, your VISA application process is expedited, no VISA fees are paid by you, and you are treated with respect by those usually haughty embassy staff. You are even picked up at the European airport on arrival. BTW, I watched the recent CNN documentary on illegal migration and I was pained that many of those immigrants could be graduates of higher institutions, who due to lack of adequate information take the wrong approach to immigration to Europe. With this background information, which was elaborated in more details in the said article, I received hundreds of emails from Nigerian graduate and undergraduates resident in the country. The emails all had more or less the same content: Dear Sir, please help us with some of your links. We thank God for you and would like to succeed just like you, blah blah, and blah. Some even offered me money to assist them. Hmm! We and this penchant for bribery sef. Since then, I have become something of an unpaid scholarship consultant, writing many individual and small-group responses that provided amap useful information, per the requests. But importantly, I told my correspondents expressly that I did not have any special links: no god-fathers or god-mothers; no briberies and no short-cuts; just browse the internet, and every other thing shall be added unto you. The purpose of the present article is to provide more detailed tips that can assist as many Nigerian students as qualified to come to Europe to study on Scholarship. By sending this article to the NVS, I am aware that not every eligible Nigerian knows this square. But I implore all villagers and guests to forward this article to as many people as they know. On my part, I will also try to publish it elsewhere. I must however, warn that the tips contained in this article are strictly for our poor resource-base, education-hungry brothers and sisters back home. If you are already in Europe, you are very less likely to be considered for MSc scholarships (PhD fellowships can be more easily obtained, not minding where you apply from). They see you as somebody already better off (which of course in not always true). In any case, you will most certainly be required to go back home and get the relevant VISA type. In addition to this, some countries have removed Nigeria from the beneficiary list of some scholarships that the country was hitherto listed on. I do not know the reasons for this. Anyways, broad-based scholarships (and fellowships) are offered by European countries such as Germany, The Netherlands, Belgium, Norway, and Sweden, among others. Some specific fellowships are also available from Italy, Austria, etc. In all cases, many scholarship organisations have sets of requirements which are quite straightforward, though strict. A very important consideration is the quality (by this I mean the grade) of the first degree or Diploma. Nobody gives free money to a poorly-graded student. Therefore, grades are usually very much emphasised. All other things being equal, BSc grades of ‘‘First Class’’ and ‘‘Second Class Upper’’, or their HND equivalents of ‘‘Distinction’’ and ‘‘Upper Credit’’ will secure a good scholarship any day. For Nigeria, English language certificates are not usually required, since all studies are conducted in that Language. However, a good WASC result is necessary. The next vital requirement in many of these scholarships is work experience. Dependent on field of specialisation, work experience of at least two years is often a necessary prerequisite. This is not important for some German scholarships, but it could be in Belgium and Norway. This work experience must be documented in your resume, but you should also enclose official evidence from the workplace. Government employees from ministries, universities, research institutes, as well as those from NGOs, CBOs, etc, are given priority. Except in specific cases involving established bilateral agreements, big multi-nationals or oil company workers will hardly be considered, as it is assumed that these companies are rich enough to sponsor over-sea training for their staff. Remember that it is all about competing with other applicants. Therefore, your resume must contain the salient information that will enhance your chances, but please do not ‘over-doctor’ the facts. Whereas Many MSc scholarships will be granted by specialised committees evaluating your application package and selecting the best candidates from the lot, many other MSc and almost all PhD fellowships require all-expense-paid interview sessions where you will be taken to task on many of the claims made on your resume. This is commonplace in Germany. Many have been found to have made bogus claims on their resume, which they could not satisfactorily defend, hence they were considered unsuitable. The next big thing is age. Depending on the level of education sought, an eligible applicant must be of a certain age bracket. An upper limit is usually 27 years, but sometimes not more than 30 for Germany. In Belgium, The Netherlands, Norway and Sweden among others, it can go up to 35 for both MSc and PhD applicants, especially for Africans. These guys are not unaware of our ‘ASUU’ strikes, and other vagaries of life faced by us, so they give some welcoming rebate on the age requirement. Other important requirements include reference letters from reputable professionals (such as your professor and/or employer) who can vouch for your academic, professional and personal integrity. In many cases, you are required to write an essay elaborating your motivations for the selected study course and a short letter why you think you deserve a scholarship. In this regards, a BSc Accounting graduate may not elaborate enough convincing motivations for choosing to study Pharmacy at the MSc level. This means that your choice of study must be in the area of your comparative advantage. This makes sense. I provide below a hypothetical motivation essay as an example. ................................................................................................................................................................................... Crop production, especially in tropical countries; have always been hamstrung by the effect of pathogens, a considerably high percentage of which are fungal. For a country like Nigeria where more than 70% of the population is agrarian with an equally teeming pathogen population, the economic consequences can only be imagined. In spite of this, often there is poor knowledge of the molecular events that take place during pathogen infection and how plants react in such cases. Several fungi are increasingly becoming an important model system used to resolve the molecular mechanisms involved in fungi-plant interactions. This can have quite direct application to other pathogen-crop relationships. Given this background, there is therefore the need for researchers from developing countries such as Nigeria to obtain more insight into the molecular reactions exhibited by plants in the presence of fungi, and what mechanisms in the fungus trigger such reactions. During infection of plants by pathogens such as fungi, certain molecular pathways within the plant can be activated, leading to resistance to the invading pathogen. Similarly, the pathogen attempts to circumvent the resistance response of the host plant using some molecular genetic manipulations; bringing about a web of complex molecular events in both organisms. Essentially, pathogen-detecting receptors in plant cells are connected to a cascade of signals that activate the expression of genes that are involved in defence mechanisms. In the same way, certain signals are also transduced within the pathogen to drive the infection process. As a growing individual, I have always been fascinated by how small organisms such as microbes can cause such harmful effects to other ‘big’, yet seemingly helpless organisms as plants. This is the basis of my interest in molecular plant pathology. Going through the research projects of the Department of Plant Pathology, I observed that the department employs a holistic and inter-connected approach to elucidate plant-pathogen interactions at the molecular level. As an aspiring plant scientist, I desire to acquire the renowned qualitative and excellent research training with which the Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University, Denmark is identified. This is exemplified in the fields of research of the department. I have been opportune to acquire certain practical skills and knowledge working in the area of plant molecular biology by virtue of my previous employment and the present MSc program. In this last part of the present study, I will be following courses in molecular aspects of plant pathology and bio-control of plant diseases. From all indications therefore, a PhD research in the area of plant - pathogen association holds for me a strong promise for career development by its potential to provide more intellectual tools for use in dealing with Nigeria's plant disease-induced food problems. I will like to study plant-pathogen interactions using compatible and incompatible hosts and to analyze gene expression patterns under both conditions. Resistance genes can be identified among the differentially expressed genes that can easily be applied in the development of crops with improved resistance to pathogens.
...................................................................................................................................................................................... This will be adapted to suit your specific motivation, but as in the closing paragraph above, it is quite important to emphasise that you intend to transfer the knowledge back in your country at the end of the program. Of course, you only will decide what to do with the knowledge when you do acquire it. Enumerate convincing reasons for applying for a scholarship, as you will be granted one only if you actually need it. I will also leave you with one hypothetical example.
..................................................................................................................................................................................... The above letter is a typical example of a Nigerian family situation, so do not feel guilty; you have not over-stated the facts or told lies. In any case, our ‘rich’ thieving leaders do not need scholarships for their wards. They have stolen enough to take care of that. Warning! The embassy may ask for your pay slip during the VISA process. The actual process of searching for scholarship opportunities can indeed be long and tortuous. Even when you rapidly identify suitable opportunities, you may not be selected, as other better qualified applicants have also applied. For instance, I was informed that of 241 Nigerian applicants to the Belgian MSc scholarship for Molecular Biology for 2003-2005, I was the only one selected. Again, only one Nigerian is currently selected for this scholarship for 2006-2008. This is very discouraging, but not enough reason to give up. Keep searching and applying. A somewhat general search can be made via google or other efficient internet search engines. For example, when you type ‘‘universities in Denmark’’ in the google spacebar, a long list of hits (universities) will be displayed. Go over each hit painstakingly, especially the link for ‘‘international students’’ or ‘‘scholarships’’. Some of these universities offer departmental scholarships which you can be eligible for. You can also be linked to other scholarship bodies from the sites. However, many scholarship agencies have specific websites containing all the necessary information. From these, you can be directed to sub-links as necessary. I provide some of the links below. http://www.nassel.com (Germany) http://www.vliruos.be/UK/02programme/01scholarships/index.htm (Belgium) http://www.fas.usda.gov/icd/borlaug/westafrica.htm ( http://uit.no/english/7782/2?Logout (Norway) http://www.umb.no/ior/okonomistudier/m_dr1.html (Norway) http://www.mpg.de/english/institutesProjectsFacilities/schoolChoice/index.html (Germany)http://www.vib.be/VIB/EN/Ph.D.+program/ (Belgium) http://www.kuleuven.be/english/admission/scholarschips.htm (Belgium) http://www.ugent.be/en/research/developmentcooperation/scholarships.htm (Belgium)
Christian Dimkpa is an ex V.L.I.R (Belgium) scholar and currently a Max Planck PhD fellow (Germany).
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