Orange Knowledge Programme (OKP)

• You hold the nationality of and are a resident working in one of the participating countries.
  
  
• You are a professional who, in light of your:
  • role
  • multiple years of relevant work experience and
  • networks
    
    within a theme relevant to local development, is in a position or through your employer could be put in a position, to apply what you have learned in practice.
    
    
•  You work for one of the following types of national or local organizations:
  • ministries,
  • secondary or higher vocational or academic education institutions,
  • universities,
  • private sector,
  • commissions or NGOs.
    
    
• You may not work for:
  • a bilateral or multilateral organization;
  • a non-governmental organization that is internationally active and is focused on representing social interests, such as development cooperation, nature, and environmental protection, health or human rights.
    
    'Non-governmental organization' means a non-profit-making organization, not created by government authority and not legally or operationally linked to a government authority, which has legal personality under civil law.

Before you can apply for the Orange Knowledge Programme you will need to apply for a course first. We will determine your qualification for a provisional nomination and pre-nomination position for OKP based on your academic application.

• Apply for an OKP qualifying Master's | University of Twente

Once (provisionally) admitted to the course you will receive further information on how to proceed with your OKP scholarship application.

Before you apply, make sure you review the eligibility criteria carefully and check whether your employer is willing to nominate you for the scholarship. When you are certain that you are eligible for an OKP scholarship, you can start making the necessary preparations for your application.

There are many more applications than there are scholarships available. Not everyone who applies will receive an OKP scholarship. To increase your chance of getting awarded with a scholarship it is important that you submit all the required and necessary information.

NECESSARY INFORMATION

• Employer statement Since your employer needs to support your application, you will need to provide an employer’s statement. In this statement, your employer declares to continue to pay your salary during the programme, and after your return, will give you an opportunity to apply what you have learned in practice. 
  
  
• Motivation Make sure that you provide a compelling motivation about how your participation in the course will make a positive impact on you, your employer and your country.
  
  Please note that there are focus areas for each country. Only applications that fall within the focus area of your country of employment are eligible. It is advised to contact the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in your country on this issue.
  
  
• Government statement A number of countries require a statement from the government before you can apply. 
  
  If mandatory for your country, you should upload a government statement following this format.
  
  
• Identity document You should upload a copy of your identity card or passport. Your identity document should be valid for the entire application process.
  
  
• (Conditional) Admission letter If you meet all the academic and eligibility requirements you have received this letter from the University of Twente.

You will be invited by the University of Twente to apply for the OKP fellowship. You will receive a link to a web-form (DELTA) for the formal OKP application process.

Before you start filling out the registration form, please read the registration instructions carefully and make sure you have all the necessary documents at hand (see step 4).

IMPORTANT

• Before submitting your application, do a final check. Once you have submitted your application, it will no longer be possible to make any adjustments.
• Only applications with all the required documents, complete and in the correct formats will be considered as valid.
• Once submitted, your application will be assessed on eligibility and relevance.
• The scholarship applicant must not receive more than one OKP scholarship for courses/programmes that take place at the same time. If the scholarship applicant submits two or more scholarship applications for courses/programmes that take place at the same time:
  • The scholarship application that was registered first in the scholarship application system will be processed;
  • The other scholarship application(s) will be declared not eligible.

From all applicants who have applied, the University of Twente nominates a selected group for an OKP scholarship. Depending on the deadline that applies to your course, you will be informed after the first Tuesday in April, August or November (see table) whether or not you have been nominated.

If you have not been pre-nominated, we advise you to seek other funding.

If you are nominated please note that this is a pre-nomination. It does not mean you acquired an OKP scholarship yet.

• Embassies will assess the applications based on the country's focus.
• Nuffic will allocate scholarships according to the available budgets.
• The University of Twente will inform you about your selection.

If you have been selected, yet are not in the position to attend the course, we stress you to inform us immediately.