TURKISH LANGUAGE PROGRAMME SCHOLARSHIP FOR PUBLIC OFFICIALS AND ACADEMICIANS 2022-2023

The Embassy of the Republic of Turkey is informing of the Turkish Language Programme for Public Officials and Academicians (KATIP) offered through the Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities (YTB). 

KATIP is a comprehensive fellowship programme for the foreign public officials, diplomats, academicians, and researchers who wish to learn Turkish and get closely familiar with Turkey.  The programme aims at contributing to the creation of communication networks which will serve for further development of the relations between Turkey and fellow countries. 

Besides Turkish language instruction, KATIP Programme offers a wide variety of activities whereby the participants can better acquaint themselves with the Turkish culture and society.  With Seminars on diverse topics by eminent professors, cultural trips around Turkiye, and workshops on classical Turkish arts and traditional sports activities, KATIP participants will have a chance to experience Turkiye’s cultural atmosphere closely.  Throughout the programme, the interaction of the participants with public institutions, think-tanks, media organizations and universities will also be encouraged through joint events and short-term internship opportunities to create channels of institutional cooperation in various sectors between countries.

Qualifications for the Candidates

To be considered for this scholarship opportunity, an applicant must:

• be a citizen and/or permanent legal resident of Saint Lucia;

• For public officials; to have worked at a relevant institution for atleast 3 years and preferably hold a Master/PhD degree
• For academicians and researchers; to be employed at a university/research center and preferably hold a Master/PhD degree
• To be under the age of 40 as of January 1^st 2022
• To have English Proficiency
• To have not benefited from other Turkiye Scholarship Programmes

Scope of the Programme

• The scholarship programme lasts for 10 months.
• The scholarship covers the expenses of Turkish language education, monthly stipend, round trip airfare tickets, accommodation expenses, and the cost of all the trips and cultural activities during the programme.
• Monthly stipend is 4.000 TRY for the 2022-2023 academic term.
• Health insurance is covered by the candidates themselves.
• The programme is based in Ankara.
• The language courses start from  A1  level of  Common  European  Framework of Reference (CEFR). Successful participants are entitled to receive C1 level Turkish language certificate at the end of 10 months.
• Attendance to the classes, seminars and other events is mandatory.
• The financial support is reduced by 20% for the participants who fail the level exams.
• In case of prolonged absence and sustained failure,  the support provided to the participant will be cancelled and the amount of support provided until that date will be collected from the participant.

Application and Registration Procedures

Application for the KATİP programme is on the basis of invitation. The access to online application is provided only for the candidates recommended by the Turkish representations or the public authorities in the relevant countries.

Being recommended by the Turkish representation or the public authorities does not guarantee candidates’ participation.

Application and registration procedures will be carried out at tbbs.turkiyeburslari.gov.tr.

The application and registration steps are as follows.

1. Candidates must create a pre-registration account with a valid e-mail address at tbbs.turkiyeburslari.gov.tr.

2.   The following information for the candidates who have created pre-registration accounts must be submitted to YTB by the recommending institutions through e-mail (katip@turkiyeburslari.gov.tr) until August 1st 2022.

a.   User ID

b.   Name Surname

c.   E-mail

d.   Workplace

3.   Confirmed candidates will be sent an invitation e-mail to finalize the online application by filling out the personal information and uploading required documents. (Submission deadline: August 5th 2022).

4.   Online interviews will be carried out with the shortlisted candidates.

5.   The recommending institutions will be informed about the application results of the successful candidates.

6.  All candidates will be informed regarding their application results by e-mail and through the application system.

Documents Required

§    Passport/ ID*

§    Photograph*

§    Transcript*

§    Diploma*

§    Letter of intent*

§    Document indicating the employment of the candidate*

§    Document from the workplace indicating that the candidate is allowed to participate in the scholarship programme*

§    Letters of recommendation received from the workplace

Fields with * are required.

Please note the following:

• Recommendation does not guarantee that the candidate will be granted the scholarship.

• In addition to Turkish language classes, weekly  seminars and cultural activities will be held. The participants are expected to attend these co-curricular activities regularly. Besides, they are expected to write  articles, reports etc. on their areas of expertise. During their stays in Türkiye, the participants can work on a part-time basis or might continue to have certain responsibilities as a part of their employment but it must not affect their attendance and active participation.

• The programme accepts applications from candidates who either do not have Turkish knowledge or have a beginner level of  Turkish.  Therefore, it is preferred that the candidates with advanced levels are not recommended for the programme. Besides, because the language of communication will be English for the co-curricular activities, the candidates are expected to have English proficiency.

• The beginning and end dates of the programme are tentative, there might be minor changes in the schedule.

The deadline to apply for this scholarship is no later than Thursday, July 28, 2022.

If you require any further information, you are kindly asked to contact the Human Resource Development (HRD) Unit at telephone numbers 468-5229/5431 or email hrd@education.gov.lc or hrdeducation.slu@gmail.com.