Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) Ghana on Tuesday announced the official opening of the 2020 Master’s Degree Scholarship programme at a news briefing in Accra.

The programme, funded by the government of the Republic of Korea through KOICA, is under the Capacity Improvement and Advancement for Tomorrow (CIAT).

KOICA Master’s degree scholarships are awarded to government officials from Ghana and other partners or target countries annually.

This year, Ghana was given 18 slots including; one allotted to an individual from the Civil Society Organization (CSO’s) and Non-Governmental Organisations.

Ms. Jeongyi Choi, KOICA Deputy Country Director, Ghana Office said the programme was being undertaken in collaboration with some leading universities adding that KOICA recognized higher education as the foundation for prosperity and success in a rapidly changing and technology-driven global economy.

Ms Choi noted that the scholarship scheme was contributing to the capacity development of beneficiaries, their institutions and indirectly, the systems of partner countries since it was added to KOICA’s global strategic portfolio.

“It offers future leaders in our partner’s unique opportunities to learn Korea’s development experiences and best practices and help develop their professional and academic skills.

“Through this scheme, KOICA hopes that they can contribute to the socio-economic development of their home countries,” she added.

Ms. Choi said by studying in Korea, beneficiaries would be immersed in a distinct culture, acquire new language skills, and invaluable experiences.

She said scholarship awardees by living and studying in Korea have the opportunity to experience a vibrant modern society, incredible new outlooks, customs and activities while exploring new natural wonders, museums and landmarks of our nation Korea.

Ms. Ronny Lartey, Assistant Manager for CIAT& Governance said KOICA’s master’s degree scholarship programme was globally competitive since its inception.

This year, Ms. Lartey said the scheme was opened to 64 target or partner countries; 16 Asian countries, 23 African countries, 13 Latin American countries, three countries from the Middle East and nine from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) adding globally, more than 300 applicants are selected for this programme every year.

She said from the year 2014 to 2019, 150 Ghanaian government officials received KOICA scholarships to study various courses in Korea.

She gave the breakdown as follows; 2014 - 18 officials, 2015 - 25 officials, 2016 - 23 officials, 2017 - 25 officials, 2018 - 29 officials and 2019 -30 officials.

She said the scholarship package awarded included; an airfare, fully paid tuition fees, and expenses for extracurricular activities such as study visits, workshops and Korean language classes.

The rest of the package covers accommodation, insurance and KRW 999,000 (an equivalent of 900 USD) monthly allowance or stipend.

Courses to be read at the various Universities include; Regulation Management for Economic Development, Techno- Entrepreneurship Competency Based on EE and ICT Convergence, Global Education Leadership, MBA in Social Economy, and Response to Climate Change.

Others are; Urban Development, Gender Equality, Public Administration, Tax and Finance Policy, Industry and Trade Policy, Agricultural Economics and Production, Community Development, Airport Safety management, Global ICT Policy, Energy Science and Policy, Global Health Security among others.

Ms Lartey said prospective applicants are to be Ghanaians, a government employee and they must have two years working experience in the field of study adding prospective applicants could visit KOICA CIAT website for more information on the scholarships.