Canada-ASEAN Scholarships and Educational Exchanges for Development (SEED) 2021-22

Competition: Open for the 2021-2022 academic year

Deadline: March 4, 2021

Who applies: Canadian institutions

NOTE: Only Canadian institutions can submit applications on behalf of candidates. They may choose to set their own internal deadline to receive supporting documentation.

Description: The Canada-ASEAN Scholarships and Educational Exchanges for Development (SEED) program provides students, from member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), with short-term exchange opportunities for study or research in Canadian post-secondary institutions at the college, undergraduate and graduate levels.

Guidelines

The Canada-ASEAN Scholarships and Educational Exchanges for Development (SEED) program aims to reduce poverty in the developing countries of ASEAN and to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Scholarships and educational exchanges will contribute towards all Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including Goal 5 (Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls) through, for example, women’s studies, political science, anthropology, and economics; and Goal 13 (Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts) through, for example, environmental sciences/policy examining climate change mitigation and adaptation, energy, peatlands and other land use effects and strategies, and forestry.

SEED scholarships are facilitated through institutional collaborations and student exchange agreements between Canadian and ASEAN institutions. These agreements are created between colleges, technical or vocational institutions and universities. Students, hereby referred to as “candidates”, must be registered as full-time students in their home institution at the time of application and during the entire duration of their study or research stay in Canada.

Canadian post-secondary institutions

Canadian institutions are:

• responsible for submitting applications on behalf of eligible candidates from post-secondary institutions in ASEAN; and
• encouraged to promote this scholarship opportunity to faculty and staff members, as well as to partner institutions in ASEAN.

Canadian institutions with successful candidates:

• should identify a single person responsible for the administration of the contribution agreement and another person with delegated signing authority; and
• will receive contribution funding from Global Affairs Canada (legally referred to as the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development, or DFATD) to disburse as scholarships to recipients.

Southeast Asian candidates

Candidates interested in this scholarship program should contact their home institution to:

• make their interest known;
• find out if there is an existing institutional collaboration and student exchange agreement with a Canadian institution; and
• request information about the application process and selection criteria specific to the Canadian institution and provide any additional information, such as transcripts, language test results, a research project and a registration form for an exchange program.

Selected candidates are encouraged to:

• ensure that they fulfill the requirements of the Canadian institution including academic requirements, language proficiency and, if applicable, institutional student exchange program requirements;
• submit their visa application as early as possible and follow the procedures as outlined by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (generally a study permit is required for course work and a work permit is required for research);
• initiate the process for the transfer of credits to their home institution as soon as their Canadian courses have been identified; and
• contact alumni of the program through their home institution for advice and a local perspective on the scholarship experience.

Post-secondary institutions in ASEAN countries

Post-secondary institutions in ASEAN countries are encouraged to:

• communicate with post-secondary institutions they are partnered with in Canada to confirm or explore institutional collaborations and student exchange agreements;
• promote this scholarship opportunity through their international offices;
• identify strong academic candidates who meet the admission requirements for the Canadian partner institution;
• provide the candidates’ documents to the Canadian partner institution, which is responsible for submitting the scholarship applications; and
• propose to selected candidates to gain additional linguistic training, academic upgrading and cultural preparedness before their departure.

Scholarship value and duration

Funding for SEED scholarships is made available by Global Affairs Canada through its legal title: the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development (DFATD).

The Canadian institution will receive funding from DFATD for all successful candidates in the form of a contribution agreement and will be responsible for providing the funds to scholarship recipients.

The scholarship value varies depending on the duration and level of study. The scholarship value for students is:

• CAD 10,200 for college, undergraduate or graduate students (Master’s and PhD) for a minimum of four months or one academic term of study or research;
• CAD 12,700 for graduate students (Master’s and PhD) for a period of five to six months of study or research; or
• CAD 15,900 for undergraduate and college students for a period of eight months or two academic terms of study or research.

In addition to the funds allocated to the recipients by DFATD, the Canadian host institution may also claim CAD 500 per scholarship recipient to assist with administrative costs once the scholarship recipient arrives in Canada.

Eligible expenses

Canadian institutions will disburse scholarship funds to the scholarship recipient to contribute to the following costs:

• visa and/or study/work permit fees;
• round-trip airfare for the scholarship recipient only (from an ASEAN member state to Canada and return upon completion of the scholarship) via the most direct and economical route;
• health insurance;
• living expenses, such as accommodation, utilities and food;
• ground transportation expenses, including a public transportation pass; and
• books and supplies required for the recipient’s study or research, excluding computers and other equipment.

Payment procedure

Subject to the terms and conditions of the Contribution Agreement, funding will be disbursed by direct deposit to the Canadian institution upon receiving the following documents:

• the Contribution Agreement signed by both the designated authority at the Canadian institution and the designated authority at DFATD; and
• a Cash Flow Statement submitted by the Canadian institution, once the Contribution Agreement is in effect, to coincide with the arrival of the scholarship recipients to Canada.

Funds will be disbursed to the scholarship recipients according to the Canadian institution’s internal processes and in conformity with the Contribution Agreement concluded between DFATD and the Canadian institution. Canadian institutions will typically disburse funds to scholarship recipients in instalments.

The Canadian institution will retain proof of scholarship payments to the recipient(s) and other documents required as further outlined in the Contribution Agreement concluded between DFATD and the Canadian institution.

Should a recipient not take up the scholarship, all funds, including the administrative fee, must be returned to DFATD through the scholarship program administrator, the Canadian Bureau for International Education (CBIE).

Eligibility

Candidates must be citizens of an ASEAN member state (Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos (Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR)), Malaysia, Myanmar, The Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, or Vietnam).

Candidates:

• who have obtained Canadian citizenship or who have applied for permanent residency in Canada are not eligible;
• already participating in an exchange scholarship program funded by the Government of Canada are not eligible;
• already enrolled in a degree or diploma program at a Canadian university or college are not eligible;
• must be enrolled full-time at a post-secondary institution in an eligible country and paying any tuition fees regulated by that institution at the time of application and for the full duration of the exchange;
• must take the responsibility for applying for a study or work permit (generally a study permit is required for course work and a work permit is required for research);
• must choose a field of study or research that is aligned with, and contributes to, the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development; and
• must submit a letter of intent (maximum one page) outlining how the chosen field of study or research contributes to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and how the candidate will apply the learning to help combat poverty and narrow the development gap in the ASEAN region. The candidate letter of intent must include the following:
  1. A brief description of the chosen field of study or research;
  2. A brief explanation of how the chosen field of study or research is aligned with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development;
  3. An identification of which Sustainable Development Goal(s) the chosen field of study or research is aligned with;
  4. For candidates from Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam: please provide a brief explanation of how you plan to use the learning in Canada to help combat poverty in your home country;
  5. For candidates from Brunei and Singapore: please provide a brief explanation of how you plan to use the learning in Canada to help combat poverty in one of the other eight ASEAN countries listed under item 4 above.

Terms and conditions

The following terms and conditions must be met during the period of the scholarship.

The Canadian post-secondary institution must:

• be recognized by its provincial or territorial government;
• waive tuition and/or academic fees for selected students, as scholarship recipients must be registered full-time and paying tuition to their home institution;
• inform both the candidate and the home institution of any mandatory fees that, in exceptional cases, cannot be waived, prior to applying for a scholarship on the candidate’s behalf;
• enter into an agreement with the recipient stating that:
  • funding for the scholarship is provided by the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development (DFATD);
  • the recipient must provide the Canadian institution with records to account for major expenses such as travel and lodging; and
  • the recipient agrees to have their contact information shared with DFATD, for reasons such as: to be invited to join the Government of Canada Scholars’ Alumni Association (GCSAA), to attend events organized by the Canadian Embassy or the High Commission in their home country and by DFATD in Canada, or for promotional and statistical purposes; and
• provide qualitative and quantitative reports during the scholarship period.

Scholarship recipients:

• must present a letter of intent of how their studies will enable them to contribute towards the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in the developing countries of ASEAN upon their return;
• must engage in full-time studies or research as defined by the Canadian institution;
• must be proficient in the language of instruction at the Canadian institution (English or French) before their arrival in Canada, as the scholarship does not cover language training. Language requirements are set by each Canadian institution;
• in pharmacy, medicine, dentistry or other health fields are excluded from clinical training or clinically-oriented research involving direct patient-care;
• may not hold any other scholarship granted by the Government of Canada;
• enrolled in courses must arrive in Canada by September for the fall semester or by January for the winter semester;
• conducting research must arrive in Canada for the uptake of their award between August 1, 2021 but no later than February 1, 2022. Failure to arrive during this time may result in the cancellation of the scholarship. In exceptional cases, and with prior approval from DFATD, the arrival deadline may be extended to March 1, 2022;
• must ensure that they have appropriate health insurance for the full duration of the scholarship, as per the policies of the Canadian institution; and
• must focus primarily on full-time studies or research during their stay in Canada.

Important information:

• For college and undergraduate applications, a written institutional collaboration and student exchange agreement or memorandum of understanding between the Canadian institution and the candidate’s home institution is mandatory.
• For graduate applications, an inter-institutional agreement is desirable but not mandatory. If there is no existing exchange agreement, graduate applications which involve a new or established collaboration between professors from a Canadian institution and the candidate’s home institution will be accepted.
• Applications submitted directly by a candidate or their home institution will not be accepted.
• Scholarships cannot be deferred and are not renewable.
• Candidates who have previously received a scholarship under the Canada-ASEAN Scholarships and Educational Exchanges for Development will not be considered for another SEED scholarship.
• Scholarships are not taxable by the Government of Canada for either the Canadian institution or the scholarship recipient.

Any questions?

Please direct all inquiries regarding the eligibility requirements to: scholarships-bourses@cbie.ca or 613-237-4820.

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