TURKISH LANGUAGE PROGRAMME SCHOLARSHIP FOR PUBLIC OFFICIALS AND ACADEMICIANS 2023-2024

The Embassy of the Republic of Turkey is informing of 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 Turkeiy 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, 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 at least 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 2023
• To have English Proficiency
• Not be residing in Turkiye
• To have not benefited from other Turkiye Scholarship Programmes

Scope of the Programme

• The scholarship programme lasts for 8 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 7.000 TRY for the 2023-2024 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 B2 level Turkish language certificate at the end of 8 months.
• 80 percent attendance is mandatory for the classes, seminars and other events.
• 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 canceled and the amount of support provided until that date will be collected from the participant.

Application and Registration Procedures

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

Application and registration steps are as follows.

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

2.   After registration, personal and educational information, work experiences etc. must be filled in, in the relevant sections on the left sidebar.

3.   Finally, candidates must go to home page to access KATIP 2023-2024 Scholarship Program application and upload the necessary documents to finalize the application.

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

5.  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.

• It is important that the nominated public officials have career related motivations to learn Turkish and are expected to be involved in policy planning in the future.  Technical specialists who are expected to use their Turkish language skills for specific and limited services such as secretarial work, interpretation and language instruction are not eligible for the programme.

• 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.  The participants are expected to write articles, reports etc. on their areas of expertise.

• The programme accepts applications from the candidates who either do not have Turkish knowledge or have beginner level of Turkish.  Therefore, it is preferred that   the candidates with advanced level 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.

• Spouse or families are not allowed to accompany the participants.

• 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 Monday, August 14, 2023.

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.