The Bertha Scholarship

Application Deadline: October 31st 2017

The University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business (UCT GSB) is offering scholarships to social innovators and entrepreneurs, who want to address our continent’s urgent social, economic, environmental and humanitarian challenges.

The African continent is facing severe challenges; be it poverty alleviation, access to quality education and healthcare for all or fiscal pressures – but the continent is also filled with opportunities and excellence which needs to be learnt from and scaled.

With this background and context in mind the Bertha Centre for Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship, a specialised unit at the UCT Graduate School of Business, is pleased to be offering Africa’s leading innovators, out-of-the-box thinkers, system-entrepreneurs, changemakers, graduates and social entrepreneurs and activists the opportunity to study at Africa’s top business school, the UCT Graduate School of Business.

The Bertha Centre hopes that by attracting Africa’s top talent to Africa’s top business school, to study either the MBA or the Masters in Inclusive Innovation programmes they will be diversifying the student body at the GSB.

The scholarships cover either the partial or full programme costs and are open to candidates in any field where they have been exploring social, environmental, political impact through innovative approaches towards social justice.

These scholarships offer a rare opportunity to African leaders, social innovators and entrepreneurs to study at Africa’s leading business school, to gain exposure to innovative study programmes and projects and to meet and engage with some of the continent’s most exciting and interesting entrepreneurs, changemakers, academics and leaders of business and civil society.

You are eligible for a Bertha Scholarship:

• if you are an African citizen or permanent resident
• if you have started or worked with a social/green/entrepreneurial innovative idea that seeks social or economic change
• if you have worked on advancing social justice and pioneering inclusive opportunities through social innovation within an organisation
• if you demonstrate strong leadership qualities within your field
• if you meet the admission requirements of the university for your selected course of study.

Benefits:

• The Bertha Scholarship covers full or partial costs of a wide variety of programmes at the UCT Graduate School of Business. These include the MBA (both full-time and the modular programme), the MPhil in Inclusive Innovation, and PhD programmes.

If you are interested, follow these steps to apply

1. Submit your MBA or MPhil in Inclusive Innovation programme application before the respective deadlines to the GSB.
2. Submit the GSB Scholarship Application Form which should include:

• Your UCT GSB application number received from the GSB Admissions Office
• Your contact details and your CV uploaded
• Your answers to the three essay questions, which shows how the degree programme at this stage in your career will help to accelerate impact in your area of work/interest and how it will contribute to society as a whole.
• Your short [no longer than four minute] video.
• In the choice of scholarship on the application form, remember to select the option for Focus on Social Innovation & Social Entrepreneurship (Bertha Scholarship).

Note: You will only be able to take up the Bertha Scholarship if you are successfully admitted to the UCT GSB programme for which you have applied.

Your submission will be assessed and you will only be contacted if you have been selected for an interview with the scholarship selection panel

Timelines

* Subject to change.

Applications are currently open until 31 October 2017.

Interviews will take place on 28 or 29 November 2017.

Contact The Bertha Centre

E-mail:  [email protected]

Tel:  +27 (0)21 406 1524 / 1514

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the UCT GSB Bertha Center for Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship Scholarships