Partnership for Knowledge - PfK - is a higher education initiative of the Italian Cooperation aimed at providing life-changing opportunities to researchers, public administration officers, social entrepreneurs and young leaders who are committed to develop their professional and academic skills, strengthen their capacities, widen their networks, make a difference in their home contexts and, last but not least, experience the Italian culture.
The programme, funded in years 2019-2022 by the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation in partnership with several Italian universities, offers a number of Master of Science scholarships and PhD fellowships in the following thematic domains, grouped in four academic platforms:
• Rural development and Spatial management
• Health, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene - W.A.S.H.
• Sustainable energy, Environment and Industrial innovation
• Cultural heritage and Sustainable tourism
English is the teaching language of all academic programs.
eligible applicants
PfK is primarily addressed to public administration officers, researchers and young leaders. Candidates should
• be citizens of an eligible partner country;
• hold a bachelor’s degree in order to apply for a MSc program;
• hold a MSc degree in order to apply for a PhD program;
• have a 2-year working experience in the field of the selected course (recommended);
• meet the language requirement.
scholarship coverage and duration
Scholarships cover international travel expenses (1 return ticket from/to home country), health insurance, university fees and VISA related costs. MSc students and PhD fellows will also receive a monthly allowance for living expenses. Scholarships will cover a time span of 24 months for MSc programs and of 36 months for PhD programs.The call for PfK PhD fellowship program is expected to open in the next months.
application procedure - now open
The call for the PfK MSc program is now open. Applications for PfK scholarships must be submitted no later than 15 March 2019 at 12.00 pm, Italian time. Candidates are invited to carefully check the university website of their chosen program as the actual deadline may be set earlier.
Applications submitted after the deadline will not be considered.
Candidates should follow 2 steps:
• Step 1 - Explore the academic courses offered by the 4 thematic platforms and choose the most suitable course. Then, submit your application through the appropriate university webpage. Applicants shoud pay careful attention to the admission requirements and documents, as they vary among universities. Incomplete applications will be rejected. University websites usually provide a help desk for assistance. As noted above, application deadlines may be set earlier than March 15;
• Step 2 - Inform the Agency of your application by filling the AICS notification form in the selected platform page. Applications submitted to the university, which are not matched by the AICS notification form, will not be considered.
selection process
An independent scientific board will assess the applications according to pre-defined criteria such as CV relevance, university career, professional experience and gender equality, among others. Selected candidates will be individually contacted for the formal acceptance of the scholarship. At this stage fellows should complete their enrollment to the university by validating the documents submitted through the university website at the local Italian Embassy.