Engineering Professions Association of Namibia
Engineering Professions Association of Namibia
The EPA Scholarship Fund Trust, originally established in 1997 under the name EPA Bursary Fund Trust, was founded as an umbrella trust, under which several scholarship funds sponsored by various donors may be managed by a Board of Trustees appointed by EPA and, where applicable, the sponsors of the scholarship funds concerned. The Trust was reconstituted on 27 March 2007 under a new Trust Deed and Board of Trustees.
The mission of the Trust is to provide financial assistance to deserving students wishing to study at a Namibian or South African university or other tertiary technical institution towards a recognised degree or diploma in engineering or an engineering related discipline.
Typically, a sponsor wishing to provide funds for this purpose would donate money to a Fund specifically set up under the Trust in accordance with the sponsor's specific requirements. The appointed trustees would manage the sponsor's Fund in accordance with an agreement concluded with the sponsor at the establishment of the Fund, with EPA administratively handling the budgeting, receipts, investments and disbursements of the Fund.
This fund is sponsored by members of EPA, from a portion of fund management fees received by EPA for the management of other donors' funds, as well as by public and institutional donors.
In 2007, the Fund has received generous support from the Government of Sweden, through its development agency, Sida. This has made it possible to award scholarships as from the academic year 2009.
At this stage and until further notice, the Fund will only provide scholarships for studies at a Namibian or other university towards a Bachelor's degree in engineering (e.g. B. Eng.), but not in technology (e.g. B. Tech.). Scholarships are granted in the form of interest free loans for one study year at a time, but scholarship recipients may re-apply for subsequent years, depending on academic merit. Conditions apply, and specific conditions are: Namibian citizenship, compliance with specified minimum academic results, financial need, and academic merit. Further information and an application form may be downloaded from the links in the sidebar. The application form for scholarships in 2010 should be regarded as indicative only. The latest application form for scholarships is available from the EPA Administrator.
The Roads Authority was established in April 2000 as a largely autonomous statutory body for the management of the national road network, as part of the Namibian road sector reform project. The Authority, requiring extensive engineering capacity for the performance of its road network management role, has been sponsoring this Fund since 2003 with the aim of alleviating its shortage of engineers and technicians.
Bursaries are awarded mainly for study at universities towards a Bachelor's Degree in civil engineering, and for study at technical colleges for study towards a National Diploma in civil engineering. The Roads Authority periodically advertises the availability of bursaries, and performs the selection of candidates for the award of bursaries.
EPA manages the Fund under the umbrella of the EPA Bursary Fund Trust, prepares budgets, receives and invests funds sponsored by the Roads Authority, disburses bursary monies in accordance with a Memorandum of Agreement with the Roads Authority, and monitors and reports on the performance of students regarding their academic progress and compliance with the bursary agreement concluded between the Roads Authority and students. Annual audited financial statements of the Fund are submitted to the Roads Authority.
Enquiries about and applications for bursaries should be directed to:
Chief Executive Officer Roads Authority Bell Street, Snyman Circle Private Bag 12030 Ausspannplatz / Windhoek Tel. +264 (61) 2847000 Fax +264 (61) 235325 http://www.ra.org.na/