Spanish as a Foreign Language Courses Scholarship

BASES OF THE CALL
IV SPANISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE COURSE FOR TOURIST GUIDES AND UNDERGRADUATE AND GRADUATE STUDENTS FROM FEALAC SOUTH-EAST ASIAN COUNTRIES.
AUGUST-NOVEMBER 2016

1. OVERVIEW

1.1. Description

Since 2013, within the Forum for East Asia-Latin America Cooperation –FEALAC- framework, more than 160 tourist guides and tourism specialized journalists from East-Asian member states have been sponsored by the Colombian Government in order to learn Spanish as a foreign language in Colombia.

This initiative has the goal of strengthening the mutual understanding, confidence, political dialogue, and friendly cooperation between Colombia and South-Asian countries that are members of FEALAC, positioning Colombia as a learning destination for Spanish and promoting its linguistic, cultural and touristic values.

In 2016 the Colombian Government decided to give continuity to this initiative and offer up to 60 scholarships to tourist guides and undergraduate and graduate students from South-East Asian countries, members of FEALAC, interested in learning Spanish as a foreign language. The course will have duration of one academic semester (approximately 4 months), and will be held at Colombian universities renowned for their high quality Spanish as a foreign language courses.

1.2.  Duration of the Scholarship

One academic semester (From August to November 2016)

1.3. Target Group

• Tourist Guides duly certified by the National Tourism Authority or Competent Authorities of their countries.
• Undergraduate students currently in their last two (2) academic semesters in any area and graduate students. The Government of Colombia will prioritize candidates who are studying courses related to Latin-American Studies, International Business, International Relations, International Trade, Business, Management and Foreign Languages.

2. REQUIRED PROFILE

• Must be nationals from South-East Asian countries that are members of FEALAC;
• Be tourist guides duly certified or students who have outstanding  academic results and are enrolled in the last academic year of their undergraduate course or a graduate course;
• Have a good knowledge of English (level B1);
• Have good physical and mental health;
• Have been born between January 1, 1976 and December 31, 1996.
• Accept and carry out the rules of this 2016 initiative, submitted as Annex I of this document;
• Have the necessary resources to cover the costs of the first month of their stay in Colombia. It is suggested a minimum amount of $500 (five hundred) US dollars;
• Preferably have basic knowledge of Spanish (level A1);
• Have not participated in past versions of this initiative, developed since 2013.

— ¹The student should certify a Grade Point Average (GPA) minimum of 4.0 out of 5 or equivalent.

3. REQUIRED DOCUMENTS

• Application form completed², which will be available on the webpage of the Colombian Embassy in the member countries of FEALAC. Point 8 below has the list of Colombian Diplomatic Missions with their contact details.
• A recent passport photo (3.5 x 4 cms).
• Copy of the principal passport page, containing biographical information. The passport must have a minimum validity of one year after the start of the program.
• Just for tourist guides: Acceptance letter or authorization of enrollment issued by the National Tourism Authority or Competent Authorities of their countries.
• Just for undergraduate and graduate students: Cover letter issued by University where enrolled that includes the Grade Point Average (GPA) of the candidate. For postgraduate students, copy of Undergraduate diploma.
• Medical certificate in English, signed by a doctor, certifying that the candidate is in good physical and mental health in order to take the course in Colombia.
• Documents evidencing the candidate has a proficient knowledge of English, equal or greater than B1, according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.
• Letter of acceptance signed by the candidate, submitted as Annex II in this document, to be signed only by the final beneficiaries.

— ²Google Chrome as a navigator is advised to reach the application form.

4. BENEFITS OF THE SCHOLARSHIP

• Round trip, air ticket in economy class from the capital of the home country to the Colombian city where the course will take place. The Colombian government will be responsible for assigning the placement city.
• Monthly stipend of one million six hundred (1.600.000) Colombian pesos for the beneficiary in order to cover basic living expenses, such as accommodation, local transport, and the cost of meals in Colombia. The monthly stipend will be proportional to the number of days of the beneficiaries’ stay in Colombia, and will be paid once per month in arrears subject to the assistance to the Spanish lessons by the beneficiary. It will be checked through report, which will be submitted by the University to the Colombian authorities. Point 9 below presents detailed information about the monthly payments.
• Tuition scholarship for the Spanish as a foreign language course.
• International Health Insurance, whose coverage is presented as Annex III to this document.
• Courtesy Visa during the progress of the course, which be granted for a time of three (3) months and renovated in Colombia before its expiry date.

5. APPLICATION PERIOD

• Begins:  April 22, 2016
• Submission deadline: May 20, 2016. 12:00 p.m., Bogotá time.

6. SCHOLARSHIP SUSPENSION OR TERMINATION

• The Government of the Colombian Republic reserves the right to terminate the scholarship and withdraw its support any time, if any of the following situations occur:Non-compliance of the stipulated regulations of the initiative submitted in Annex I.
• Checking by entities related to the initiative of the inaccuracy of the data provided by the fellow in the selection process.
• Being excluded from the Colombia University according to the rules of the institution.
• For reasons of serious illness or mental disability.
• Constitute a violation of any type of Colombia Republic laws.

7. TIME LINE OF THE PROGRAM

The Government of Colombia has decided to extend the deadline for the inscription of the participants until May 30^th, 2016.

Please find below the new timeline of the program:

8. EMBASSIES INFORMATION

9. DETAILED INFORMATIO ABOUT THE MONTHLY PAYMENTS

The allocation of beneficiaries at the Universities will be conducted only by the Colombian Government and it will not subject to change.

Download

Application form completed

Annex I

Annex II

Annex III