Deadline: November 13, 2015
Application for the 2016 Bertha Scholarship is now open! The Bertha Centre for Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship offers up to five Bertha full or partial MBA and MPhil scholarships to students that have met the requirements for these programmes and who are driven by their pursuit of social justice. The focus will be on encouraging scholars on their journey to generate inclusive opportunities to advance social justice. Bertha Scholars are Africa-based social innovators with commitment and a track record to creating positive change.
The Bertha Scholarships were created to nurture a new generation of social innovators, and to explore entrepreneurial solutions to help solve some of the urgent social, economic, environmental and humanitarian challenges of our time.
The Bertha Scholarships are open to candidates in any field where they have been exploring social and/or environmental impact through innovative approaches.
The Bertha Centre is also interested in candidates who are aligned to its key focus areas:
- Innovative Finance – social finance and impact investing
- Inclusive Healthcare Innovation – innovations in healthcare delivery
- Education Innovations – innovations that improve quality and access to education
Scholarship Award
The Bertha Scholarship covers either the full or partial costs of the MBA and MPhil in Inclusive Innovation programmes at the UCT Graduate School of Business for candidates committed to social innovation and entrepreneurship.
Eligibility
The criteria used for selection of Bertha Scholars are:
- Candidates must be South African / South African Citizens and or a Permanent Resident for at least 1 full year.
- Candidates must have started or worked in an entrepreneurial or social or green venture, or have worked on a socially innovative or sustainable strategies within an organisation for at least one year. Should you be interested in one of the focus areas, experience in these fields would be preferable, as well as a track record of exploring or initiating innovative approaches in these sectors.
- Candidates must demonstrate a strong moral character, strong entrepreneurial drive, a track record of action, leadership qualities, traits of social activism and a commitment to the sustainable development of emerging economies.
- Through the submission of an essay, candidates must show how the degree programme at this stage in their career will help to accelerate their impact and how it will contribute to the wider creation of value for society.
- Candidates must demonstrate some need for the scholarship, through either previous work experience, personal background or demonstrated commitment to start a social venture, which make self-funding the degree programme a significant burden.
How to Apply
- Candidates must first be eligible, comply with and apply for the MBA or MPhil programmes entrance requirements at the UCT Graduate School of Business. For full details about the MBA programme and the MPhil in Inclusive Innovation, eligibility, criteria and how to apply click here.
- Interested candidates should submit the Bertha Scholarship Application Form together with their UCT application number received from the GSB Admissions Office, contact details and CV.
- Candidates are then notified if they are selected for an interview.
- The final decision and award of the scholarship will be made by a Scholarship selection panel, following which candidates will be informed by mid December 2015. Candidates will only be able to take up the Bertha Scholarship if successfully admitted to the UCT GSB MBA or MPhil programmes.
For more information, visit the Bertha Scholarships or contact Nicolette Laubscher – Bertha Centre Scholarship Manager at: [email protected]
