For who

This scholarship is intended for professionals who are nationals of, and living and working in, an MSP country, and who wish to participate in one of the following courses:

Courses taught by the International Tax Center

• Advanced EU Tax Law, 4 March 2019 - 1 April 2019
• US Domestic Tax Law, 4 March 2019 - 1 April 2019
• Value-Added Tax Law, 9 April 2019 - 6 May 2019
• Advanced Transfer Pricing, 9 April 2019 - 6 May 2019
• US International Tax Law, 7 May 2019 - 27 May 2019
• Corporate International Tax Planning, 28 May 2019 - 17 June 2019

Courses taught by the Grotius Centre

• International Criminal Law Summer School, 1 July 2019 – 12 July 2019

Eligibility requirements

• You must be living and working in an MSP country at the time of your application in Atlas. Note that MSP is not currently open to applicants applying from Syria. Applicants with the Syrian nationality may apply if they are residing and working in one of the other MSP countries.
• You have a maximum age of 45 at the time of your application submission date.
• You must have a passport from one of the MSP counties, which is valid for at least three months after your application submission date in Atlas.
• Your current employer must support your participation in the short course.
• You must be unconditionally admitted to a short course that is eligible for MSP.
• Your government must support your participation in the short course (if applicable).

Obligations

• You are required to cooperate in surveys or evaluations conducted by Leiden University, Nuffic and/or the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs and provide any information requested.
• You must comply with the immigration procedures of the Netherlands.
• You must return to your home country and employer upon the completion of your short course.

See also: Obligations for MSP fellowship holders

Exclusions

• You may not be employed by an organisation that can be expected to have its own funds for staff development, such as:
  • a multinational corporation (Shell, Unilever, Microsoft etc.);
  • a large national and/or commercial organisation;
  • a bilateral donor organisation (USAID, DFID, Danida, Sida, Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, FinAid, AusAid, ADC, SwissAid etc.);
  • a multilateral donor organisation (a UN organisation, the World Bank, the IMF, Asian Development Bank, African Development Bank, IADB etc.);
  • an international NGO (Oxfam, Plan, Care etc.).

• You cannot be granted an MSP fellowship for more than one short course in any given period. If you submit multiple applications, only the first application submitted (in Atlas) will be processed.

Scholarship amount

An MSP fellowship includes funding for the tuition fee, travel costs, visa costs, accommodation, insurance and study materials.

Note: An MSP fellowship is intended to supplement the salary that the fellowship holder should continue to receive during his/her participation in the short course. If applicable, the fellowship holder is expected to cover the difference between the actual costs and the MSP fellowship amount.

Application process

1. Apply for admission to one of the above-specified courses at the International Tax Center or Grotius Centre
   Visit the website of the International Tax Center or Grotius Centre for more information about the short course that you want to follow and the admission procedure.
2. Ask your employer to provide an employer’s statement
   The statement must submitted on official letterhead paper, dated, stamped and signed by your supervisor. The statement must comply with the format Nuffic has provided.
3. Ask the government authority concerned to provide a statement (if applicable)
   Government employees from a number of countries on the MSP country list require a statement from the government before they may apply for an MSP individual fellowship. In this statement, the government expresses its support of the fellowship application. Check this overview for the requirements per country. The statement must be submitted on official letterhead paper, dated, stamped and signed by a government official. The statement must comply with the format Nuffic has provided.
4. Prepare your answers to the motivational questions
   In Atlas, the online application system for MSP fellowships, you will have to answer three questions regarding your motivation. We strongly recommend that you prepare your answers in a separate word document, so you can copy/paste them in Atlas.
5. Apply for the short course in Atlas (by 18 October 2018 at the latest)
   Complete the application form in Atlas and upload the required documents:
   • copy of your passport
   • employer's statement
   • admission letter from the International Tax Center or Grotius Centre
   • government statement (if applicable)

Selection process

Leiden University will inform all applicants about the results of the selection process in mid-December 2018. For more detailed information about the application and selection process for MSP short course fellowships, please consult the short guide.

Specific information

You can download an overview of all short courses that are eligible for an MSP fellowship on the Study in Holland website.

Background

The overall aim of MSP is to contribute to the sustainable democratic transition in the Arabic region. It also aims at building capacity within governments, non-governmental organisations and the private sector by enabling employees to take part in short courses in the Netherlands. The three-year programme (2017-2019) is initiated and funded by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs under the budget for Development Cooperation and managed by Nuffic.

Disclaimer

The applicant is responsible for submitting a complete application in Atlas, according to the steps described above and before the aforementioned deadline. Leiden University cannot be held responsible for late and/or incomplete applications.