Latvian scholarship fund now accepting applications

The €1.75 million scholarship fund in Latvia, set up to provide mobility grants to the EEA EFTA states for Latvian students and teachers, launched its call for applications on 28 March.

Over a span of more than three years, the fund will provide mobility grants to Latvian students, teachers, university lecturers, education management staff and teacher assistants for study, training and work experiences in the EEA EFTA states. The aim of the scholarship fund is to contribute to the development and education of human resources, and enhance the cooperation in the field of education between Latvia and Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.

The Latvian Academic Programme Agency (APA), a governmental institution supervised by the Ministry of Education and Science, is managing the fund and will accept applications until 28 April 2008. The fund is supported with a €1.5 million grant from Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, while Latvia will provide the remaining 15 percent of the fund's costs.

The following scholarships are available:

  • Grants to students in Latvian higher education institutions that would like to pursue their studies in Iceland, Liechtenstein or Norway for a time period spanning from one study term to one academic year;
  • Teachers, university lecturers, and education management staff can apply for support to participate in in-service training courses, teacher training, conferences, language courses, job placement, or job shadowing in education institutions in Iceland, Liechtenstien or Norway for a time period from one to six weeks; and
  • Teacher traineeships will be provided to student teachers and new teachers that would like to take on a teacher assistant job in schools in Iceland, Liechtenstein or Norway for a time period from three to ten months. u0009

For further details on the ongoing call for applications, including the application form, see the web site of found of the Latvian Academic Programme Agency, www.apa.lv.