Saturday, January 21, 2012

Commonwealth Scholarship for New-Zealand-2012

Ministry of Human Resource Development,
Department of Higher Education,
West Block-I, Wing-6, 2nd Floor, R.K. Puram, New Delhi-110066




Commonwealth Scholarship for New-Zealand-2012


Applications on plain paper, as per prescribed format, are invited from Indian Nationals residing in India for the Commonwealth Scholarship for higher studies, research leading to Ph.D / Masters / Post Graduate Diploma Study in New Zealand.

Number of nominations to be sent : Two
Ph.D : 1(one)
MASTERS : 1(one)


SUBJECT FIELDS:
1. Environmental Studies;
2. Agriculture/ Fisheries/ Biosecurity and Food Safety

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED:

Applicants should have completed Bachelor’s Degree / Master’s Degree in the subject or allied fields with minimum 65% marks. Where percentage of marks is not available and grades are mentioned, the candidates must indicate the conversion formula adopted by the University / Institution and should also indicate equivalent percentage of marks.

AGE:
The candidate should not be more than 40 years of age as on 31.05.2012.

VALUE OF SCHOLARSHIPS:
(a) Travel: International, and New Zealand domestic, air travel at the start and end of the scholarship for awardee, and reimbursement of awardee’s visa costs. In addition, a reunion travel entitlement may be available to awardees who have left dependants in their home country.

(b) Tuition Fees and other compulsory institutional course costs.

(c) Postgraduate research and thesis allowance: An allowance of NZ$1,500 and a return economy airfare to awardee’s home country for overseas fieldwork, if research component is 50% or greater.

(d) Medical and Travel Insurance

(e) Establishment allowance: NZ$3,000 paid on arrival in New Zealand to meet text book costs and to assist with other set up costs in New Zealand. At the beginning of each additional study year NZ$1,000 will be paid to cover the full year.

(f) Living Allowance: The annual rate of NZ$21,580 (NZ$415 per week) is paid fortnightly and is a contribution to living costs for day-to-day expenses, including accommodation (rent or board), food costs, utility expenses (telephone, electricity etc.), transport, personal items and course-related costs (e.g. stationery, field trips, workshops etc.)

* No funding is available for dependants. Students who choose to have their immediate family members join them in New Zealand will be responsible for their financial support.

* The New Zealand Government has the right to amend the terms and conditions of the scholarships as needed.

General Eligibility Criteria:
Applicants for the scheme must satisfy the following general eligibility criteria and any pre-determined country or regional-specific selection criteria set by NZAID and the nominating authorities. At a minimum, to be eligible to apply for a scholarship, applicants must:
(i) Have citizenship of Commonwealth developing country.

(ii) Be residing in their home country for at least two years prior to application.

(iii) Not have citizenship or permanent residence status of New Zealand or Australia, or another development country, except where their country does not issue passports and they hold a New Zealand passport.

(iv) Not be married or engaged to be married to a person who holds, or who is eligible to hold, citizenship or permanent residence status of New Zealand, Australia or another developed country, except where their country does not issue passports and they hold a New Zealand passport.

(v) Be applying to commence a new qualification and not be seeking funding for one already commenced at the PhD or Masters level.

(vi) Satisfy the admission requirements of the New Zealand education institution I which the qualification is to be undertaken, including English language criteria.

(vii) Have been working in their country of citizenship, preferably for at least two years prior to application.

(viii) Hold a first class standard (or above); or a first class degree and a relevant postgraduate qualification, which will normally be a Master’s degree.

(ix) Be available to commence their academic studies in New Zealand by the start of the New Zealand academic year in February 2013.

(x) Have already secured admission to their preferred New Zealand university; evidence of admission (eg. A letter of offer) is required with the application form; a conditional letter of offer from a New Zealand university is sufficient to allow an application to be accepted; (To be produced at the time of interview)

(xi) Have a planned programme start date (in the letter of offer) not earlier than February 2013.

Important Note:
Information on the New Zealand Commonwealth Scholarship scheme, including the list of participating New Zealand educational institutions, is available on the scholarships pages of the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the New Zealand Aid Programme website: www.aid.govt.nz/scholarships/ .

Applicants cannot: (a) be studying full-time at post-secondary level.

(b) be transferring from another tertiary scholarship to a Commonwealth Scholarship.

(c) be hold, or have held, a New Zealand Government or Australia Government scholarship in the 24 months preceding the scholarship start date.

(d) have been terminated from a New Zealand or Australian Government scholarship previously.

TENURE OF AWARDS:
1. Awards for Ph.D study will be made for three years in the first instance with provision for an extension of upto one further year. Each award will be made on the understanding that it will be continued for the period of the programme of study or research for which it is granted, provided that the scholar’s progress and conduct are satisfactory, but no award shall last for more than four years.

2. Each application must be accompanied by attested copies of (a) certificate of age (b) mark-sheets of the qualifying examination (c) all degrees/diplomas/certificates (d) Plan of Study for Ph.D students and (e) Name of 3 referees (Recommendation letters from the referees to be submitted at the time of interview)

3. Candidates who have already been abroad for study/training/specialization either on scholarship or on their own for a period exceeding six months are eligible to apply only if they have been in India for at least two consecutive years after returning from abroad as on 31.5.2012.

4. Applications in subject fields other than those specified above will not be considered.

5. Applications of candidates who are abroad will not be considered.

6. For research students, a statement of 500 words outlining the applicant’s proposed research topic, including research question and objectives, proposed methodology, timeline and justification for home-located research. The statement should also identify the significance and application of the proposed research topic to the development of the applicant’s home country.

7. Those who have already completed Ph.D. in India or abroad need not apply.

8. Candidates who do not possess the requisite qualifications need not apply.

9. Candidates should have adequate knowledge of geographical situation, cultural heritage of India and the donor country.

10. Documents submitted alongwith the applications will not be returned. Hence, candidates are advised to send only the photocopies of the certificates etc. duly attested by competent authority. Self attested certificates will not be accepted.

11. Since these scholarships are offered by Foreign Government, applications should invariably be submitted in English only.

12. Experience has to be supported by documentary evidence.

13. Candidates must have good knowledge of written and spoken English (The donor country reserves the right to request evidence of having passed an accredited English language test).

14. Applicants are required to be of sound health and awards are subject to successful candidates’ satisfying a prescribed medical examination by donor country.

15. Employed candidates must send their application through their employers with a "No Objection Certificate". They will not be called for interview unless the certificate is forwarded with the application.

16. Mere fulfillment of requirements as laid down in the advertisement does not qualify a candidate for interview. Interview letters in a particular subject are sent only to the best candidates after their applications are judged by a duly constituted Selection Committee of Experts.

17. Applications not in the prescribed proforma and application received after the prescribed date and incomplete applications will not be considered.

18. Canvassing in any form will be a disqualification.

19. The Selection committee’s decision about candidates for interview or selecting a candidate for nomination will be final. NO REPRESENTATIONS IN THIS REGARD WILL BE ENTERTAINED.

LAST DATE:
Candidates should apply for the above scholarship on thick plain paper (preferably typewritten) with recent passport size photograph duly affixed, furnishing the details/particulars in the given format to the Section Officer (ES.4 Section), Scholarship Division, Ministry of Human Resource Development, Department of Higher Education, West Block-I, Wing-6, 2nd Floor, R.K. Puram, New Delhi-110066 latest by 31st May, 2012 (Telephone No. 26172492).

Application received thereafter will not considered. On line applications may be accepted provided hard copy of the application alongwith enclosures (attested copies of certificates, mark sheet etc.) reach the Ministry within 7 days after the last date.

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