Japanese scholarship opportunities for Qataris

The Japanese Embassy has invited applications from Qatari undergraduate, postgraduate and research students for scholarships for various courses offered by universities in Japan. The announcement was made at a press briefing held jointly by the Supreme Education Council’s Higher Education Institute (HEI) and the Japanese Embassy officials on Thursday, April 22, 2010.

Ryoji Iwama, counsellor and deputy head of mission at the Embassy and Hissa Yousof Al Aali, director of the Scholarship Office at the HEI said the applications for the Japanese Government (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology – MEXT) for scholarships will be open until June 10, 2010.

A 5-year course including a year’s study of the Japanese language is scheduled to start in April 2011 and end in March 2016 for undergraduate students Applicants in this category must have been born between April 2, 1989 and April 1, 1994. For the 2-year Research (postgraduate) scholarships, the applicants must have been born on or after April 2, 1976. The program is scheduled to begin from April 2011 to March 2013. Students will undergo a compulsory six-month Japanese language course.

A joint selection committee comprising officials from the SEC, Qatar University and the Embassy of Japan will select the eligible candidates through document screening, written examination and interviews. Names of the selected candidates will be recommended to the MEXT of Japan for final screening.

Iwama said two Qatari students who were awarded the Japanese scholarships during the years 2009 and 2010 are staff from RasGas and Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation (Kahramaa). They are currently undertaking two-year postgraduate courses in business administration including a six-month Japanese language course at the Doshisha University. Doshisha University is one of the prominent universities located in Kyoto, an ancient Japanese city.

Iwama said the Japanese Embassy has plans to further enhance its efforts to increase number of Qatari students to study in Japan in cooperation with the Japan School of Doha with the support of the SEC.