The World Bank is committed to learning and capacity building as essential steps toward sustainable development and the eradication of poverty throughout the world. The World Bank Institute (WBI) supports the Bank’s learning and capacity building agenda through a variety of means, including the Joint Japan/World Bank Graduate Scholarship Program (JJ/WBGSP).
The JJ/WBGSP vividly demonstrates the Government of Japan’s continuing commitment to enhance capacity building in developing countries around the globe. Over the years, Japan has contributed close to $186 million to the World Bank Graduate Scholarship Program (renamed the Joint Japan/World Bank Graduate Scholarship Program in 1995 to reflect Japan’s central role).
I. JJ/WBGSP Events
 Mr. Zoellick meets with JJ/WBGSP scholars at Harvard
African Regional Conference in Cameroon, May 7, 2008
II. JJ/WBGSP News
JJ/WBGSP mission trip to Japan, March 24 - 28, 2008
JJ/WBGSP mission trip to Canadian universities
Meeting for JJ/WBGSP scholars studying at Williams College
JJ/WBGSP Discussion Forum: Overview
Participate in JJ/WBGSP Discussion Forum!
III. Scholars News
Messages from JJ/WBGSP scholars
JJ/WBGSP publishes abstracts of scholars' Master/Ph.D. thesis
JJ/WBGSP assists its graduating scholars in their search for employment IV. Alumni News
Alumni experiences and achievements
JJ/WBGSP publishes an alumni roster to present their credentials V. Other News
Restructuring of the Robert S. McNamara Fellowships Program
I. JJ/WBGSP Events Mr. Zoellick meets with JJ/WBGSP scholars at Harvard
On Thursday April 3 Mr. Robert B. Zoellick, President of the World Bank made an appearance at the John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum at Harvard Kennedy School. The John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum is one of the world's premier arenas for political speech, discussion and debate. Located at the heart of the John F. Kennedy School of Government, the Forum regularly hosts heads of state; leaders in politics, government, business, labor and the media; academics; community organizers; and artists. On this occasion, the MPA/ID program which has a partnership with the JJ/WBGSP organized a gathering for our scholars with Mr. Zoellick and also invited Mr. Yoichi Suzuki, Consul of Japan in Boston. Mr. Zoellick graduated from Harvard Kennedy School of Government with the degree Master of Public Policy (MPP) in 1981 and Harvard Law School with Doctor of Laws degree (JD - Latín Jurum Doctor) in 1975. The JJ/WBGSP collaboration with Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government (HKS) started in 1987, when HKS admitted the first group of scholars. Since then, a total of 204 World Bank scholars have earned Master’s or PhD degrees in public administration and public policy. The scholars came from all regions, and most have returned to their home countries to take leadership roles in government, including at the ministerial level, e.g., Mr. Cao, Duc Phat, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Vietnam, and Mr. Alzhan Braliev, Vice Minister of Environmental Protection, Kazakhstan.
This collaboration deepened in 1999, when the JJ/WBGSP provided support to the Kennedy School to develop the Master’s of Public Administration in International Development (MPA/ID), a career program focused on leadership in international development. To date this program has graduated 610 students more than half of whom (58%) have been nationals from developing countries, almost a third of which - 108 in all - received a Joint Japan/World Bank Group Scholarship.
African Regional Conference in Cameroon, May 7, 2008
The Scaling-Up Program will hold a regional conference in Yaoundé, Cameroon, on May 7, 2008.The objectives of this event are: - to promote knowledge sharing among and beyond those who participate in JJ/WBGSP
- to have a dialogue on current development issues with particular focus on the host country and the region involving development practitioners, and
- to foster a network of scholars
At the conference, participants will explore how the JJ/WBGSP has contributed to capacity development in Africa and how to further leverage the knowledge and network of its community to address the pressing challenges that development partners face today. Discussions on the current issues on capacity development and knowledge economy, with particular implications to Africa, will take place with various presentations given by the donors and partners. Outstanding papers written by the recent scholars from the region will be presented and be awarded to provide an opportunity to testify how new knowledge is being generated under the JJ/WBGSP. The conference also will mark the establishments of two new alumni associations – Cameroon and Chad. The attendance to this conference will be by invitation only.
II. JJ/WBGSP News
JJ/WBGSP mission trip to Canadian universities Over the period of February 13-15, Mr. Kamel Braham, Scholarships Administrator, and Marie des Neiges Grossas, Program Officer, traveled to Quebec and Montreal, Canada as part of the regular monitoring of the JJ/WBGSP regular program. The purpose of the mission was to meet with officials from Canadian universities as well with JJ/WBGSP scholars and their advisors. Universite Laval has a long history of cooperation with the JJ/WBGSP. Since 1989, 44 scholars coming mostly from French speaking African countries have studied at this university in fields ranging from agricultural economics, forestry, rural development, demography, regional planning, epidemiology to public health. The series of meetings organized by the International Office explored the different options and ways to improve our cooperation by introducing schools/departments which share common development objectives. Presentations on the JJ/WBGSP activities were made to the International Office, the Office of Financial Aid, the School of Agriculture and Nutrition, the School of Social Service, the School of Education and the Vice-Rector Office. The JJ/WBGSP mission also met with the Vice-Rectors, Bernard Garnier and his deputy for International Cooperation Nicolle Lacasse. Both showed a keen interest by in cooperating with the JJ/WBGSP. The university and School of Social Service, Serge Dumont, elaborated on the existing cooperation with universities in Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso, Lebanon (Universite St. Joseph), and Chili (Universidad de Concepcion). The Dean of the School of Education, Marcel Monette, presented their program in Education Administration and Evaluation, as well as the joint Master degree already offered in countries like Gabon and Morocco, and under development in Haiti and Algeria. Meeting with scholars and advisors
Three scholars, currently enrolled at Universite Laval, and their advisors attended the meeting. They are studying a Masters degree in Public Health, Regional Development Planning and Management, and Integrated Rural Development. These are the three schools which hosted the majority of JJ/WBGSP scholars. The scholars expressed a great satisfaction with their respective programs, as well as with the support given by the university and the scholarship program. Ecole Nationale d'Administration Publique (ENAP)
The ENAP is a unique institution in North America with five campuses in Quebec offering instruction in French on public administration for public servants. A meeting was held with Yves Poulin, Director of International Cooperation and Paul-Andre Comeau Director of the program on public policy and globalization to discuss ways of disseminating the information on the JJ/WBGSP to their candidates. They expressed their appreciation for being on the list of host institutions and are considering the amount of cost-sharing/tuition waiver they can offer. Universite de Montreal
The University of Montreal has a long history of cooperation with the JJ/WBGSP. Since 1990, 37 JJ/WBGSP scholars have graduated from this university. Given the strength and reputation of this institution, there is a need to continue our cooperation in order to diversify our academic offerings and better respond to the demands of French speaking candidates. The Vice-Rector Martha Cargo, with whom we had meetings previously in Washington, organized a series of meetings with heads of different schools and departments. There were representatives from the Office of International Relations, the School of Environmental Design, the School of Arts and Sciences, the School of Education, and the School of Nursing. Discussions revolved around the objectives and criteria of the JJ/WBGSP and the McNamara program, how to increase the number of applicants. JJ/WBGSP mission trip to Japan, March 24 - 28, 2008 During the period March 31-April 4, 2008, Tsutomu Shibata, Senior Adviser, World Bank Institute and Marie des Neiges Grossas, JJ/WBGSP Program Officer, went on mission to Japan. The main purpose of the mission was to meet Japanese partnership and cooperating universities in order to discuss various issues including some proposals and how to increase the number of scholars who would study in Japan. The University of Tsukuba explored the option of increasing the number of Program students from 10 to 15. Waseda University who recently started to cooperate with the JJ/WBGSP showed its interest and is looking for ways to increase the number of Program students. The University of Tokyo is trying to become a host University for the JJ/WBGS Program. The members of the JJ/WBGSP mission team also attended Graduation ceremonies at Yokohama National (Public Policy and Taxation Program) and Keio Universities. About 60 people participated in the Reception for Graduating Scholars which included graduating and current scholars, Program Directors, professors and other staff of JJ/WBGSP partnership universities as well as cooperating universities, former and current Bank staff, and Japanese Ministry of Finance officials. Meeting for JJ/WBGSP scholars studying at Williams College Scholars from Georgia, Sri Lanka, Peru, Liberia, Uzbekistan, Costa Rica, Thailand, Kyrgyz Republic, and Philippines studying at Williams College (Massachusetts) under the Joint Japan/World Bank Graduate Scholarship Program (JJ/WBGSP) came to Washington, D.C. to meet with professionals from the World Bank, IMF, IFC, and IADB. "It is well worth spending one week of our Spring break in D.C. to meet and interact with development practitioners. It very much feeds into the courses I am taking in Development Economics at Williams", said one of the scholars. The Joint Japan/World Bank Graduate Scholarship Program (JJ/WBGSP) held a luncheon meeting for 9 JJ/WBGSP scholars studying at Williams College and Assistant Director, Center for Development Economics, Williams College, to meet with WBISP staff for a face-to-face discussion on their academic training they have been pursuing under the JJ/WBGSP.
The scholars gave positive feedback on the training and cultural experience they have been exposed to, and also expressed their plan to go back to the public sector in their home countries after completion of their degrees. Bank staff briefed the group on the Six Strategic Themes of the Bank. JJ/WBGSP Discussion Forum:
Overview
JJ/WBGSP scholars and alumni as well as highly qualified mid-career professionals around the world were delighted to participate in the topics of the Discussion Forum on the web: (I) Community Building, (II) Capacity Building, and (III) Program Outreach
I. Community Building
The participants shared their experience and consult potential applicants per their requests on different aspects of community related projects, promoting the exchange of global and local knowledge and helping clients apply knowledge to development challenges in their communities: - environmental protection and sustainable development (Henry Ekwuruke, Lydia Ligunya, Chidinma Temitope Amakwe)
- use of natural gas and bio resources for energy service (Maisy Owino, Nadeem Ahmad, Joan Kariuki, Gideon Maureen, Luis Enrique Roberto B., Kojo D. Adjaley)
- district development planning (Innocent Maloba, Phaustine Wabwire, Joseph Chiwaula, Nwaka Mwambene, Shoukat Ali Sathio, Athanasius Enyindia, Adili .Y. Zella)
- effective urban sanitation technologies (Chidinma Temitope Amakwe, Garantigui Traore)
- income generating activities (Josee Munyaruganda, Richard Apeviwotowu, Swati Vyas, Lilian Kapinga, Jorgina Muananoua, Maseke Richard Mgabo)
- intellectual property protection (Kwanga Fuah C., Kojo D. Adjaley, Victor Campos, Optmist Habila, Nelcy Pane)
II. Capacity Building
The participants expressed their great appreciation to the global dfcapacity forum which offers unique opportunity to exchange updated information on the economic reform, project experience, and development issues. Most of the discussions focused on: III. Program Outreach
The participants shared their project experience and thoughts on
Participate in JJ/WBGSP Discussion Forum!
We encourage you to participate in the Discussion Forum on our main topics.
Members of JJ/WBGSP Discussion Forum have an opportunity - to participate in the on-line discussions
- to facilitate the international exchange of information on the current theory, research, development, and practice
- to enhance knowledge and professional skills through interaction with colleagues around the world
- to gain professional recognition by exchanging experience, ideas, opinions, research results and providing support to the junior colleagues
Let us hear what YOU think about the topics to be discussed:
III. Scholars News
Messages from JJ/WBGSP scholars To help JJ/WBGSP potential applicants to choose University to study the Program is publishing impressions of our current and former scholars about the program they attended, education they received, and their student's life. We hope this information will be also interesting to our broader audience. Speech at the graduation ceremony at the Yokohama National University
Evangelio, Gregoria Cuento from Philippines, program year 2006
Good morning ladies and gentlemen. First of all, I want to thank the Lord Almighty for this wonderful occasion.
Being the eldest among the present cohort, I was requested to give this short speech. On behalf of my brothers and sisters under the MPE-PPT program, I would like to extend our deepest gratitude to the government of Japan, the World Bank, Yokohama National University, National Tax Agency and the government of our respective countries, Colombia, Indonesia, Philippines, Tanzania and Uzbekistan.
No amount of good words can fit my overwhelming joy and sincere appreciation for this very rare opportunity. On our first year in Japan, two years seems very long, but at this moment, memories will only remain as part of yesterday. We will forever treasure the good values and discipline that we learn not only from this institution but mostly from 2 years of daily life experiences in Japan. I have witnessed and I have experienced myself how we have put our best effort to finish this program with the best of our ability.
After this graduation ceremony and as we walk this hall, I believe that a new wonderful beginning awaits all of us. Its time to put the knowledge we learn into actual practice. Not just know what we learn, not just talk about our achievements, not just think that we have fulfilled this dream of new degree, but most important, to do it – put it into practice.
Again on behalf of my colleagues/cohort, I want to take this opportunity to congratulate not only the newly graduate, but everyone in this hall. All of us have been a great part in the success of this program.
Thank you very much, in my language Maraming Salamat Po! Life changing course
Nthigai, Linus Muriuki from Kenya, program year 2007 I take this opportunity to thank the World Bank and the government of Japan for making my dream come true. The masters degree you sponsored me for Poverty Studies and Policy Analysis Program at the Institute of Social Studies, the Hague, the Netherlands, I promise money and time is well spent. This is a life changing course, and I believe life will never be the same again as my efficiency and effectiveness will be greatly enhanced when I go back to the ground. Again thank you so so much for making it possible. JJ/WBGSP publishes abstracts of scholars' Master/Ph.D. thesis
To help disseminate knowledge internationally JJ/WBGS Program together with the Scaling-Up Program are inviting current and former JJ/WBGSP scholars from Regular and Partnership Universities to present the Abstracts on their Master/Ph.D. thesis to jjwbgsp@worldbank.org to have them published on the JJ/WBGSP website.
The Programs are accepting only the Master/Ph.D. thesis with an abstract included or attached EITHER as a MS Word document OR a PDF file, with the entire document in ONE file. It is a great opportunity to have your research work presented to an international audience through JJ/WBGSP scholarships website. The Program encourages all of you to get involved in this activity. The Program would like to present appreciation to those who already submitted abstracts of their Master/Ph.D. thesis which have been published on the JJ/WBGSP scholarships website.
JJ/WBGSP assists its graduating scholars in their search for employment
The JJ/WBGSP shares the excitement of the graduating scholars, especially those who had to resign from their jobs in order to take the scholarships, about their future. In our attempt to support JJ/WBGSP graduating scholars, the program is posting their CVs on the JJ/WBGSP website.
JJ/WBGSP scholars who are close to finishing their academic program and who seek jobs in their home country or in other developing country are advised to send their CV's to the Secretariat. The Secretariat will post them on the JJ/WBGSP website, thereby making them available to companies, corporations and organizations working in developing countries that need well-qualified mid-career professionals.
When preparing your CV for submission, please use Template and Recommendations for Curriculum Vitae for JJ/WBGSP Scholars and Alumni. For details please look through the JJ/WBGSP scholars CVs that have been published on the scholarships website.
IV. Alumni News
Alumni experiences and achievements
Shabalala, Nokuthula Thembi, Program in International Education at University of Sussex, Year of Graduation 2006 The scholarship afforded me the opportunity to study at the University of Sussex in the UK, with a good reputation for development. I interacted with dedicated staff and fellow students who contributed in helping me improve my knowledge and skills on education and national development. While in the UK, I studied courses which enlightened me on many aspects of education, particularly the education of the disadvantaged in our countries. I came to realize the need for pro poor policies and interventions in order to include all people to work towards the development of a country. I also came to value collaboration among neighboring countries as well as internationally in order to cross transfer new knowledge and skills rather than reinvent an already existing wheel.
As a result, I have become a well rounded educationalist who is always willing to learn from all around me. I am now part of an international project, the virtual university for small states in the commonwealth. We are involved in the collaborative development of web based content in two critical areas for my country, Swaziland’s development, namely tourism and hospitality then small business management. My interest began while in the JJ/WBGS Program. I studied e-learning and was attached with the teaching and learning development unit at the University of Sussex to research how students experience e-learning. Therefore, had it not been for the scholarship, I would not have acquired such skills and knowledge which have enabled me to help people in my country who would not have had the opportunity, to access university education.
Teshome, Kagnew Wolde, Program in Economic Policy Management at Columbia University, Year of Graduation 2006 I have got enormous benefits from JJ/WBGSP. The program had acquainted me with a good basis in strategic and technical management skills suited to today’s global market. It has familiarized me with inter disciplinary approaches to understand, analyze and solve policy relatable problems. I believe the JJ/WBGSP gave me all the required skills which to become a good asset to my country in general and to any organization in which I may get employed in particular. The scholarship has meant a lot to me. My dream has come true through it. I had no other means of financing this highly demanding and technically building graduate program. The only thing I had before securing the scholarhip was a strong desire to have an insight of participative and targeted development policy management. The scholarship enabled me to realize my strong desire and built my morale for further studies which will make me a valuable asset to the resource abundant but poor continent, Africa. Ogbuanu, Ikechukwu Udo, Program in Public Health at University of South Carolina, Year of Graduation 2006
The JJ/WBGSP has been the one single factor that has boosted my potential to make a major impact in the health and development of my home country, Nigeria. The opportunities and exposures the scholarship program afforded me could not have been possible without the financial and logistic assistance I received from the program. My life dream has always been to alleviate the sufferings of the less-privileged in Nigeria and around other developing nations of our world, and to contribute my quota in reducing the health disparities that exist between the haves and the have-nots. After practicing as a medical doctor in Nigeria for six (6) years (1999 - 2004), I realized how limited my clinical training was in my impact at the population level. The opportunity to study Public Health at the Graduate level has greatly reduced the impediments I experienced in my quest to fulfill that dream. I am most grateful to the World Bank, the government of Japan, and the program administrators for this rare opportunity, and I plan to do all in my power to give back to my country in particular, and to the world at large. I now believe that I have been provided with what it takes to do so at any level. Thank you. Vodounhessi, Anselme, Program on Water Management at UNESCO-IHE, Year of Graduation 2006 First, I want to underline that I could not get the management skills I currently have without the JJ/WBGSP scholarship, because no institution in West Africa can provide the specific Water Services Management courses I had at UNESCO-IHE. And moreover I don’t think that I afford one day, this huge amount to participate in UNESCO-IHE’s Water Management program. I’m now very proud of myself for the big change and innovation I’m bringing in my organization in term of Management (e.g., setting better strategies for programs, staff monitoring, evaluation, and change management). The main benefits for me is this successful personal change from a mere Water and Sanitation Engineer to Water Organizations Manager, that is making me an important person here in CREPA (Regional Center for low cost Water Supply and Sanitation covering 17 countries in Western and Eastern Africa). I can now deservedly attend high level decision making workshop, meeting, or conference on water and sanitation issues such as sanitation for MDGs or for any Regional strategy. It was my dream and hope that I expressed in my motivation when I was applying for JJ/WBGSP scholarship. I can say now that that dream was fully blessed. Moreover there is a high trust on me so that many challenges are making me more and more workaholic. I have to be Ecosan-UE Project Coordinator because of the research I did on ecological sanitation during my course at UNESCO-IHE. And this responsibility came in additional to a first one of Management Assistant of CREPA headquarter. A nice passion for me but I wonder if it is a real benefit. I due a huge thanks to the World Bank and the Japan government for the opportunity they gave me: JJ/WBGSP award. Barral, Juliana Mozachi Sandri, Program in Public Administration at American University, Year of Graduation 2005 Professionally, the JJ/WBGSP helped me to change my career and contribute for a better world. I always wanted to contribute for development of world, but my whole professional experience was in the private sector. The scholarship made possible to study Public Administration and so I found my way to contribute. The course reinforced my competencies and knowledge, and I could apply my experience in the public sector. Today I work for the Central Bank of Brazil, and I believe I can make a good contribution. This is just the first step to fly higher and contribute for other developing countries too.
But the benefits I got from JJ/WBGSP go further than my professional career. The experience to live abroad changed my view of life and my way of behaving. Living at Washington, DC, knowing different people, living so many different cultures, enlarged my way of living. I believe I am now a better person than I was before the scholarship because I don’t want to stop here. I want to do more, study more, donate myself more, and contribute more to a better world. JJ/WBGSP publishes an alumni roster to present their credentials
As the World Bank focuses on building capacity in developing countries to carry out effective socioeconomic development, the JJ/WBGSP is an invaluable resource for building skills and imparting competencies.In recognition of the contribution of the JJ/WBGSP alumni to the capacity building of the developing countries, the program decided to publish their profiles.The objectives are: Every month we have over one hundred fifty thousand visitors to our website and this number is growing. Professionals from different countries are interested to be in touch and to discuss their career and professional experience as well as their social issues. International corporations are looking for specialists with good level of education and high professional skills in different areas for different regions.
The Program publishes an alumni roster on the JJ/WBGSP website to present their credentials, professional experience, and educational background.If you as JJ/WBGSP alumnus are interested in having your CV published on the JJ/WBGSP website, please submit it to jjwbgsp@worldbank.org . You can submit one page of information (up to 2000 characters, including spaces), along with your photo, if available.When preparing your CV for submission, please use Template and Recommendations for Curriculum Vitae for JJ/WBGSP Scholars and Alumni. For details please look through the JJ/WBGSP alumni CVs that have already been posted on the scholarships website. V. Other News Restructuring of the Robert S. McNamara Fellowships Program The Robert S. McNamara Fellowships Program (RSM Fellowships) was established in 1982 by the World Bank to award fellowships for full-time study or research at the postgraduate level in fields related to economic development. Funding came from the Bank and contributions from the governments of Bangladesh, China, India, Kuwait, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, and former Yugoslavia. The fellowships are funded through the income from the investment of the endowment fund set up with these contributions. Since the inception of the Program in 1982, more than 250 fellowships have been granted to fellows and the program has achieved widespread recognition in developing countries. Since 2008 the Program has been restructured in order to focus on young researchers who are working in academic and research institutions from developing countries, and preparing a doctoral thesis. Research grants cover residence costs for a 5 to 10 month period in a renowned university or research center. Fellows are expected to advance their research work mainly by using the facilities provided by the host institution, having access to essential resources such as reference books and research publications, databases and software, attending seminars and eventually courses, and more generally by interacting with peers. For more information on the RSMFP visit the World Bank Scholarship website: www.worldbank.org/scholarships
Applicants are encouraged to read carefully the information on RSM Fellowships Program, review the Eligibility Criteria and Application Procedures. Respective candidates have to apply directly to the Secretariat at the World Bank Headquarters. To be considered for the 2008 cycle, all completed application forms must be received in Washington, DC, by April 3), 2008. The awards will be announced in June 2008.
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