Scholarships: Available for Online Education?
For many students all over the world, the only way to afford an education is through scholarships. Often, North American universities attract talented athletes to their sports departments with the appeal of winning a scholarship. But what about online education? Are the same benefits afforded students who study on the internet, as opposed to studying in classes onsite at colleges and universities? And what about students in Sudan? Are scholarships even available for online education in their country?
Generally speaking, there are scholarships available to Sudanese students for online education, but students must closely examine all university promotions to determine when spots are available, since they are usually offered concurrent to a grant being awarded the institute. For example, the University of Juba, named after the capital of Southern Sudan, located in Khartoum, is presently making students aware of scholarships in Library and Information Science. The program is being funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs through the Norwegian Centre for International Cooperation in Higher Education, and is a component of the "Norwegian University Cooperation Program for Capacity Building in Sudan". The institutes involved in the program are Upper Nile University, the University of Juba, Makerere University (Uganda), as well as Oslo University College and the University of Bergen, both in Norway.
Additionally, there are scholarships available for online education students that are not necessarily offered to Sudanese students from Sudanese universities, but rather for any qualified students born in Africa as a whole. An example of this type of scholarship is the Desmond Tutu Scholarship at the University of Edinburgh (UK) for the Master's program in the School of Divinity. The university also offers many other scholarships for African students at the Master's level through their distance learning program. Plus, there are specific programs for each individual country within Africa.
Likewise, the University of Liverpool (UK), which is considered to be the largest institute in Europe offering online degrees, recently announced the availability of £200,000 in scholarships for its online Doctorate in Business Administration program. Of particular note to students from Sudan is the fact that the university, through Laureate Online Education, is also offering twenty spots to its online undergraduate programs for students from developing nations, in order to celebrate its ten year history since the start of its online programs. Another UK university which appeals directly to students from Sudan is the University of Nottingham. International scholarships are offered for a variety of programs at the undergraduate, postgraduate, and research levels of distance learning degrees.
There are in fact many opportunities available for Sudanese students, but the task of finding those scholarships can be quite cumbersome. First, students must be able to locate universities offering full degree programs online (without having to travel to the university for exams and other requisites), then they need to research various organizations and institutes who have funded or been awarded monies to offer scholarships, and then students must meet the eligibility requirements. Lastly, they must demonstrate that they are "better" than the other students applying for the same scholarships, as spaces will be limited.
Finally, a good place to look for scholarships that are available for online education is through the numerous NGOs that work in and around Sudan. Often, these types of scholarships are not only directed at adults who attend higher education programs, but also, at younger students who need to complete their primary or secondary school educations. Globally, there is a "big push" to help developing nations reach acceptable levels of literacy. As a result, many organizations, both charitable and academic, have specific programs that reach out to those in need in Sudan.