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

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.

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.

Deadline for candidates and Southeast Asian institutions

Interested candidates are encouraged to check with both their home institution and the Canadian institution to obtain their respective deadlines.

Home institutions are required to send the candidates’ supporting documents to Canadian institutions by their established internal deadline.

Arrival in Canada

Scholarship recipients for the 2020-2021 academic year may commence their studies or research as early as August 1, 2020 but no later than February 1, 2021. Global Affairs Canada anticipates allocating SEED scholarships again each year for three years.

Notification

Canadian institutions will be provided a preliminary update on the eligibility status of their respective applications by the end of April 2020. The Canadian Bureau for International Education (CBIE), the Scholarship Administrator, will communicate all updates and results to the main contact at the Canadian institution.

Canadian institutions will be informed of the final selection and results by May 2020 following approval from the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development (DFATD).

International candidates are advised to contact their home institution or the Canadian institution regarding the status of their application.

Canadian institutions with successful candidates will receive a contribution agreement for the administration and disbursement of scholarships to the recipients.

Application process

Candidates:

• should first contact their home institution;
• must submit a letter of intent that explains how their studies/research in Canada will enable them to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in their future career to help combat poverty and narrow the development gap in the ASEAN region; and
• do not apply on their own behalf.

Home institutions:

• are responsible for identifying strong academic candidates who meet the admission requirements for the Canadian partner institution and providing the candidates’ documents to the Canadian partner institution.

Canadian institutions:

• must apply on behalf of the candidate(s) by submitting the online application form and uploading all supporting documents prior to the deadline;
• may submit multiple applications and may be asked to rank their applications, based on their strategic priorities;
• should identify a single person responsible for the administration of the program; and
• should instruct Canadian faculty or staff members who are submitting an application to notify the person responsible for the administration of the program at their respective institution as the institution may be requested to rank multiple applications.

Canadian institutions are encouraged to carefully read the instructions below before beginning the online application. Further information is available on the Apply for Scholarships with Momentum webpage.

If institutions experience difficulty filling out or submitting the form, they should send an email to scholarships-bourses@cbie.ca.

Supporting documents

The following documents must be uploaded and attached to the online application form in one of the following formats: .pdf, .jpg, .doc, .docx, .txt or .gif. Each document must be smaller than 5 MB in order for the application to upload successfully.

• Proof of citizenship: a copy of the candidate’s passport or national identity document with valid dates. If the identity document is in a language other than English or French, an English or French translation of the identity document approved by the partner international institution must be provided. Note: a driver’s licence, permanent resident card, student card or baptism certificate is not accepted as proof of citizenship. The country of citizenship selected in the online application form must be the same as the country of the proof of citizenship.
• Proof of full-time enrolment: a letter in English or French from the home institution, on official letterhead, dated within the last six months, confirming that the candidate is currently enrolled in a full-time program and will continue to be enrolled upon their return and providing the expected completion date of the degree. The letter must clearly state:
  1. The type of program and the level of study of the candidate at the home institution;
  2. The full-time enrolment status at the home institution; and
  3. The anticipated completion date of the degree at the home institution.

  Note: copies of transcripts, a student card or letter of admission are not acceptable (maximum one page).

• Letter of intent from the candidate: a letter in English or French explaining how undertaking the study/research in Canada will empower the student to apply the learning to address the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and how they intend to use this learning to help combat poverty and narrow the development gap in the ASEAN region in their future career. In the letter of intent, candidates must identify the Sustainable Development Goal that their proposed study or research in Canada would contribute to (maximum one page). The 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.
• Letter of support from the home institution: a letter in English or French from the candidate’s instructor, professor or international director on the institution’s official letterhead explaining the nature of study or research, how the candidate and the home institution will benefit from this scholarship program, and the institution’s assessment of the candidate’s commitment and capacity to use the program of study or research in Canada to help combat poverty and narrow the development gap in the ASEAN region (maximum one page).
• Letter of invitation from the Canadian supervisor: applications for graduate students must include a letter from the Canadian supervisor indicating their willingness to support and mentor the candidate. This letter must be on institutional letterhead, be in English or French, be signed and demonstrate the support for the candidate during the exchange period and demonstrate how the Canadian institution, supervisor and peers will benefit (maximum one page).
• Signed copy of Memorandum of Understanding or Agreement with the partner institution: a written agreement or understanding, in English or in French, signed by both institutions indicating that tuition fees will not be charged and containing any other clauses of mutual interest. The specific clause in which the tuition fees are waived must be clearly indicated in the agreement submitted in the application or must be confirmed in writing in a letter appended to the agreement signed by both institutions. Note: a signed copy of this document is mandatory for undergraduate and college applications. For graduate applications, if the exchange is made under a signed agreement, it is strongly suggested that it be included with the application.
• Privacy Notice Statement: a copy of the Privacy Notice Statement for non-Canadian participants dated and signed by the candidate.

Selection process

The following guidelines are followed for the review, assessment and selection of applications:

• All online applications received by the deadline will be pre-screened to ensure they meet eligibility requirements established for the program.
• Eligible and complete applications, including the supporting documents, will be evaluated based on the following criteria:
  • the linkage of the proposed research or study that the student will undertake in Canada to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development;
  • the candidate’s commitment to use his/her research or studies in Canada to help combat poverty and narrow the development gap in the ASEAN region;
  • benefit to the home institution, supervisor and peers;
  • benefit to the Canadian institution, supervisor and peers; and
  • strength of the linkages to be created through the proposed exchange.
• Should there be a larger number of applications than funding available, the Canadian institution will be asked to rank its eligible applications based on its institutional strategic priorities.

Conditions

Only applications submitted directly by Canadian institutions will be considered.

Only fields of study or research that are aligned with, and contribute to, the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development are eligible under SEED. Only candidates who demonstrate a commitment and capacity to use their research or studies in Canada to help combat poverty and narrow the development gap in the ASEAN region will be considered.

The scholarship administrator is not able to provide feedback for unsuccessful candidates.

These scholarships are subject to the availability of funding from the Government of Canada.