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NORAD FELLOWSHIP PROGRAMME

Publication
final report 03/09
CONTENTS
/03/ Greeting from Ruth Haug, the NFP-board

/04/ The students’ view:


Homesick? No way...
The candle is still burning
The first student
Inspired by the professors

/07/ Statistics: 1999-2009

/10/ The academics’ view:


Simply excellent students

/12/ The administrator’s view:


I miss the students

/14/ A brief history of the NFP

Photo, front page/ NFP-student Sarah Khasalamwa from Uganda at


the “Winter Seminar” in Gausdal in 2003. (Photo/ Teresa Grøtan)

Published by the Norwegian Centre for International Cooperation in


Higher Education (SIU), December 2009.

TEXTS/ Teresa Grøtan


PRODUCTION/ Konvoi AS
PRINTING/ A7 Print AS
CIRCULATION/ 300
ISSN/ 1503-2876
The end of the
Norad Fellowship Programme
By Professor Ruth Haug
former chair of the Norad Fellowship Programme (NFP)
and the Norad’S Programme FOR Master’S STUDIES (NOMA)

Everything has to come to an end — even the Norad Fellowship Capacity development among universities in developing countries
Programme (NFP). The closure of the programme is the end of is indeed necessary, both to strengthen the quality of higher
an era for Norwegian support for higher education in the south. ­education and to give more students access to higher education.
New and better ways of providing support for higher education The situation in most developing countries is that students want
institutions in developing countries have been introduced, and to go to OECD countries for their degrees — national universities
these have gradually replaced the old fellowship programme. cannot compete for the best students in their home markets.
In addition, the quota programme has been established, which
distributes fellowships to Norwegian universities and university The quality gap between universities in developed and develop-
colleges in a cheaper and less bureaucratic way than under the ing countries appears to be increasing, and those who can afford
Norad fellowship programme. to or who win a fellowship prefer to go somewhere else. It is of
course of value for students to also study at universities other than
For those candidates who were lucky enough to get the opportunity their domestic ones, but the main driver for international studies
to go to Norway by winning a Norad fellowship, the programme was should not necessarily be that your national universities are below
a great success — the fellows did very well in Norway and most of standard. Developing as well as developed countries need strong
them returned to prosperous jobs in their home country or abroad. universities that can both educate tomorrow’s agents of change,
In addition to the Master degree, many of the fellows were able to and provide an independent and critical voice in society.
save money while studying in Norway and returned with a surplus
to invest.

For the Norwegian institutions that had the privilege of hosting


Norad fellowship master programmes, the programme was also
a great success in paving the way for internationalisation by pro-
viding generous funding, useful networks and alumni.

So why not continue this mutual success? There are many answers
to this question. In my view, the main reason for closing down
the Norad Fellowship Programme was that rather than support-
ing individuals from developing countries who wanted to study in
Norway, as well as the Norwegian universities themselves, Norad
and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs instead wanted to contribute
towards capacity development by directly supporting universities
in developing countries.

NORAD fellowship PROGRAMme/3


Homesick? No way...
Pawan Kumar Bhattarai (30) and Sunil Kumar Joshi (40) are
previous NFP-students from Nepal.

Bhattarai studied for a Master of Science in What was the most important knowledge you
Hydropower Development at NTNU in 2008, gained from your stay in Norway?
while Joshi followed a Master of Philosophy in
Health Sciences at the University of Bergen in Bhattarai: From the course, I learnt about inno-
2002. vative Norwegian technology that I am using
in my country for hydropower development.
Both work as academics in their home coun- Apart from that, the Norwegian culture and
try today. Bhattarai is Deputy Head of the its history of development from difficult times
Department of Civil Engineering at Tribhuvan to the present were important lessons for
University, while Joshi is Assistant Professor me. The punctual and hardworking nature of
of Community Medicine at Kathmandu Medical Norwegians has been a nice gift for me in my
College. own life. The knowledge of Norwegian history
is pushing me very much to develop my own
Pawan Kumar Bhattarai
How was it living in Norway? Where you home- country, which is going through a difficult time
sick? at the moment.

Bhattarai: Living in Norway was a wonderful Joshi: Knowledge in the field of my studies,
experience. The snowfall, skiing, nice shy research and publications. I also learnt about
people, late night parties in the midnight sun, life in Norway, and its culture and language.
reindeer meat etc. are unforgettable. I am really
thankful to the administrative staff at NTNU Has the Norwegian degree helped you in your
and my friends at Moholt for making my stay career?
wonderful. Homesick? No way... not at all...

Joshi: Living in Norway was perfect. As there


were many Nepalese students, we were not
homesick.
« I learnt about true teacher-student
relationships.

Were you happy with the education in Norway?


Did it meet your expectations? Bhattarai: Nepal has huge hydropower poten-
tial, but our country lacks manpower in hydro-
Bhattarai: I am extremely happy with the educa- power engineering. Norway is a pioneer in the
Sunil Kumar Joshi tion in Norway and I got more than I expected. world in this field. This degree has helped me
to serve my country, which I am doing happily
Joshi: Yes, I was happy with the education in now both as a hydropower design engineer
Norway. I learnt about true teacher-student and as a lecturer in hydropower engineering
relationships. I also learnt how to do research subjects.
and make publications.
Joshi: Yes, it has helped a lot. I entered this
What did you write your thesis about? academic position thanks to this degree. But a
two-year master’s programme is not adequate
Bhattarai: I did laboratory model work in the for promotion beyond assistant professor in
Norwegian Hydraulic Laboratory (NHL) about Nepal, as this requires a three-year master’s
one of the hydropower plants in Nepal, the degree.
Khimti I Hydropower Plant.

Joshi: I wrote my thesis on possible occupatio-


nal lung cancer in Nepal. It was the first study
into that specialisation in Nepal.

4/NORAD fellowship PROGRAMme


The candle is still burning
Juliet Katoba, NFP student at the University of Bergen in 2002-2004, NORAD Fe
is currently living in the USA. But her plan is still to go home to her Programm llowship
native Zambia to help fight the AIDS pandemic. e
Competence
in Nepal building
Page 14

Happiness
in Tanzania
Page 26

In 2002, Juliet Katoba was one of 104 accepted fellowship that I now have at the Johns Hopkins Leading wom
Page 28
en

students out of 1711 applicants to the Norad University. It put me in the limelight because
The history
of the NOR
Fellowship AD
Programme
Page 8

Fellowship Programme. In 2003, SIU inter­ not so many applicants had an education NORAD Prog
in Arts and ramme
Education
Cultural

viewed the 29-year old Zambian student about background similar to mine. So I was very com-
Page 36

Juliet Katob
her studies and future prospects. Katoba had petitive. I also made use of the education  to a studies
for the future
Page 4 of Zambia
never been outside Africa before coming to get involved in teaching  some courses at the
Norway. We met her in her flat in the Fantoft department of community health in Zambia.”
student village and came along to her con-
gregation during a Sunday service. She was a What was the most important knowledge you
devoted NFP student in international health at gained in Norway?

876
the University of Bergen.

ISSN 1503-2
No. P2

2004

“The most important thing I learnt while in Norway


“It’s about the future of my country,” she said was actually to work faster and harder, and to not
then. “I want to take part in fighting the HIV/AIDS spend time wasting and postponing work.” Juliet Katoba was the «covergirl»
epidemic. My country desperately needs people of the Norad Fellowship Magazine
with knowledge about HIV and AIDS. This is cru- In the interview in 2004, you said you would published by SIU in 2003.
cial if the country is to have a bright future.” go back to Zambia to build up the country. You
specifically mentioned the HIV epidemic. Is this
When we met six years ago, she told us that she still your plan?
had married just two weeks before leaving for
Norway. Her husband stayed behind in Zambia. “Yes, I still have plans to make a contribution
Today Katoba lives in Boston, USA, with her to my country. The candle is still burning. I

T
husband and two children. She is finishing a have the necessary knowledge to help reverse
pre-doctorial fellowship in bioethics (research the HIV  trend or maintain stability levels. It’s
ethics) at Johns Hopkins University. not very easy, but with concerted effort, it
can happen. I intend to work alongside other
How have you made use of the education you researchers currently involved in HIV research In
got in Bergen?  work in Zambia and also collaborate with rese-
archers from developed countries, like Norway TER
“The education I got in Bergen was excellent. I or the US. Hopefully one day I can get funding NE
made use of the degree from Bergen to get the to do my own research.” “O

in K

The first student alon


study
today
Balaram Pradham was the first Nepali NFP student to come to youn
Norway in 1977. his fri
just m
with lo
“My studies gave me the confidence that what Balaram Pradhan took a Diploma in electrical O
we were doing in Nepal was OK. The company power distribution at the Norwegian college. THE FIRS
T: Balaram
Balaramwife
Pradham that the
Tara with with hisPrwife
adhan and
I worked for benefitted a lot from my training in thei
Tara and son Iswar. r stepson Ishwor (11).
his
Norweg
Norway, and personally, I gained a lot of confi- After returning, Pradhan went back to his old borrowe
dence,” Pradhan says about his stay in Norway. employer, the Butwal Power Company. Later, join them
he ran his own firm, working as an adviser for
He came alone to Trondheim and the Norwegian the Norwegian consulate and Norad, being Room B
Technical College (the NTNU today), leaving his involved in different projects and offering His wife T
wife and children behind in Nepal. Later on his advice in relation to the privatisation process Trondheim
family joined him. in the power sector in Nepal. “We
“I will always remember Moholt, room B532,” Today, Pradhan is retired and lives with his hunting fo
Pradhan says. family in Kathmandu. ered these
the shop an
It was
Power Com
NORAD fellowship PROGRAMme/5
cal engineer
heim to take
His clas
Inspired by the professors
Buli Edjeta Jobir from Ethiopia currently works as a consultant
in his native country.

In 2002-2004 he was an NFP-student at the of Bergen! It is very often understood among


Department of Social Anthropology at the employers that degrees from Europe are a
­University of Bergen. plus. Those people who are familiar with social
anthropology and the contribution of Norwe-
Why did you decide to apply for the Norad gian anthropologists have particular respect
­Fellowship Programme? for degrees from the University of Bergen.

A professor from the University of Bergen, who Secondly, it equipped me with more theoretical
happened to be my external examiner at the and methodological tools for research. After
MA programme at Addis Ababa University, I returned home, I was easily able to set up my
paved the way to apply for the Norad pro- own research and consultancy firm. Currently I
gramme. This man’s knowledge and theore­ get consultancy work from known world-class
tical sophistication further ignited my interest institutions like the World Bank, other known
Buli Edjeta Jobir to study in Norway. I am highly indebted to international NGOs and the government.
Leif Manger.
How was it living in Norway? Where you home-
What did you write your thesis about? sick?

How conflict among groups creates cultural Norway is a very interesting country to live and
boundaries. The title of the thesis is “Conflict study in. Firstly, its natural beauty is so capti-
and Boundary. The Case of the Karayu Oromo vating. It will endure in my memory throughout
and Afar in the Upper Awash Valley of Ethio- my life. Secondly, Norwegians are peace-loving,
pia”, from 2004. I was inspired by Professor decent, respectful and very loving. Thirdly, the
Gunnar Haaland and the famous Norwegian university was very clean and well structured,
social anthropologist Fredrik Barth’s theory a place where you can freely learn, ask and
of continuous identity formation and shift, to have access to everything. I really admired
which my thesis tried to give an additional case the friendliness of my professors. They were
study. friends, colleagues, teachers and advisors,
with whom you can get along with and socia-
Were you happy with the education in Norway? lise. Such behaviour was highly in contrast
Did it meet your expectations? with what I was used to in the university back
home.
I am very satisfied with my education in ­Norway.
The courses helped me to develop my theore- Yet one thing that needs improvement is that
tical understanding of social anthropology in students who come to Norway need to get
general and human ecology in particular. ­Norwegian language courses, like students

«
from other (European) countries do.
I came to understand that
stability, peace and democracy What was the most important knowledge you
are the basis of development, gained from your stay in Norway?
which my country badly needs.
I came to understand that stability, peace
and democracy are the basis of development,
Has the Norwegian degree helped you in your which my country badly needs.
career? If so, in what way?

It has definitely helped me in my career. Firstly,


it gave me an opportunity to have a more pre-
stigious degree – an MPhil from the University

6/NORAD fellowship PROGRAMme


Statistics of Norad Fellowship Programme
Figur 1 The five largest countries according to the number Figur 4 Number of graduated students 1999–2008
of master theses submitted
250
3,5

3,0
200

2,5

150
2,0

1,5
100

1,0

50
0,5

0,0
1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 0
1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Ethiopia Nepal
Uganda Bangladesh
Tanzania

Figur 2 The three Norwegian institutions with the largest Figur 5 Percentage of master theses submitted by gender
numbers of master theses completed 2003–2008
60 80

50 70

60
40

50
30
40
20
30

10 20

0 10
1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

UMB 0
NTNU 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
UiO
Female
Male

Figur 3 The three Master programmes with the largest


numbers of master theses completed
3,0

2,5

2,0

1,5

1,0

0,5

0,0
1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

Management of Natural Resources and Sustainable Agriculture UMB


Hydropower Deveopment NTNU
Petroleum Engineering and Petroleum Geoscience NTNU

NORAD fellowship PROGRAMme/7


Statistics of Norad Botswana
YEAR Number of students enrolled
Ethiopia
YEAR Number of students enrolled

Fellowship Programme 2000


Total
4
Female
1
Male
3 2000
Total
17
Female
6
Male
11
2001 4 4 0 2001 13 2 11
1. Number of students enrolled in 1999 2002 - - - 2002 15 6 9
2003 - 2003 13 4 9
Land Number of students 2004 - 2004 18 3 15
enrolled
2005 - 2005 21 4 17
Total 8 5 3 Total 97 25 72
Bangladesh 9
Bhutan 1 China Guatemala
Botswana 3 YEAR Number of students enrolled YEAR Number of students enrolled
China 3 Total Female Male Total Female Male
Eritrea 1 2000 3 1 2 2000 -
Ethiopia 17 2001 - - - 2001 1 - 1
Namibia 3 2002 5 3 2 2002 -
Nepal 20 2003 2 1 1 2003 -
Nicaragua 3 2004 2 2 - 2004 1 - 1
Maldives 2 2005 1 1 - 2005 1 - 1
The Palestinian Territory 7 Total 13 8 5 Total 3 3
Philippines 4
Congo –Kinshasa India
Sri Lanka 11
YEAR Number of students enrolled YEAR Number of students enrolled
Tanzania 23
Total Female Male Total Female Male
Uganda 9
2000 1 0 1 2000 -
Vietnam 9
2001 - - - 2001 1 1 -
Zambia 6
2002 - 2002 2 - 2
Zimbabwe 2
2003 - 2003 2 - 2
Total 133
2004 - 2004 2 1 1
2005 - 2005 1 1 -
Total 1 1 Total 8 3 5
2. Number of female /male students
­enrolled according to the countries Cuba Indonesia
(2000-2005) YEAR Number of students enrolled YEAR Number of students enrolled
Total Female Male Total Female Male
Angola 2000 - 2000 1 0 1
YEAR Number of students enrolled 2001 - 2001 - - -
Total Female Male 2002 - 2002 -
2000 3 - 3 2003 - 2003 2 1 1
2001 - - - 2004 1 1 2004 12 5 7
2002 1 1 - 2005 - 2005 6 2 4
2003 - Total 1 1 Total 21 8 13
2004 -
East Timor Laos
2005 -
YEAR Number of students enrolled YEAR Number of students enrolled
Total 4 1 3
Total Female Male Total Female Male
Bangladesh 2000 -
YEAR Number of students enrolled 2000 - 2001 2 1 1
Total Female Male 2001 - 2002 -
2000 2 0 2 2002 - 2003 -
2001 8 4 4 2003 - 2004 -
2002 11 4 7 2004 - 2005 -
2003 10 3 7 2005 2 - 2 Total 2 1 1
2004 12 3 9 Total 2 2
Malawi
2005 9 5 4
Eritrea YEAR Number of students enrolled
Total 52 19 33
YEAR Number of students enrolled Total Female Male
Bhutan Total Female Male 2000 1 1 -
YEAR Number of students enrolled 2000 4 2 2 2001 2 1 1
Total Female Male 2001 4 2 2 2002 6 4 2
2000 0 - - 2002 3 1 2 2003 6 2 4
2001 1 - 1 2003 - 2004 8 6 2
2002 1 - 1 2004 1 - 1 2005 6 2 4
2003 1 - 1 2005 1 1 0 Total 29 16 13
2004 - Total 11 4 7
2005 -
Total 3 3

8/NORAD fellowship PROGRAMme


Maledives Nigeria Sudan
YEAR Number of students enrolled YEAR Number of students enrolled YEAR Number of students enrolled
Total Female Male Total Female Male
Total Female Male 2000 - 2000 2 0 2
2000 1 1 0 2001 - 2001 -
2001 4 2 2 2002 - 2002 -
2002 - - - 2003 - 2003 -
2003 1 - 1 2004 4 - 4 2004 1 - 1
2004 2 2 - 2005 2 - 2 2005
2005 1 - 1 Total 6 6 Total 2 0 2
Total 9 5 4
Pakistan Tanzania
Mali YEAR Number of students enrolled YEAR Number of students enrolled
YEAR Number of students enrolled Total Female Male Total Female Male
Total Female Male 2000 - 2000 15 8 7
2000 - 2001 4 - 4 2001 14 8 6
2001 - 2002 3 2 1 2002 9 6 3
2002 1 - 1 2003 5 3 2 2003 12 7 5
2003 - 2004 1 1 - 2004 11 6 5
2004 - 2005 2 - 2 2005 12 7 5
2005 - Total 15 6 9 Total 73 42 31
Total 1 1
The Palestinian Territory Uganda
Mozambique YEAR Number of students enrolled YEAR Number of students enrolled
YEAR Number of students enrolled Total Female Male Total Female Male
Total Female Male 2000 6 4 2 2000 10 4 6
2000 1 1 - 2001 4 1 3 2001 7 2 5
2001 6 3 3 2002 2 1 1 2002 14 9 5
2002 1 1 - 2003 - 2003 11 3 8
2003 4 2 2 2004 - 2004 16 6 10
2004 4 4 - 2005 1 - 1 2005 17 4 13
2005 - - Total 13 6 7 Total 75 28 47
Total 16 11 5
Philippines Vietnam
Namibia YEAR Number of students enrolled YEAR Number of students enrolled
YEAR Number of students enrolled Total Female Male Total Female Male
Total Female Male 2000 3 1 2 2000 12 4 8
2000 4 4 2001 - 2001 6 2 4
2001 - 2002 - 2002 8 4 4
2002 3 2 1 2003 - 2003 8 2 6
2003 - 2004 - 2004 9 3 6
2004 - 2005 - 2005 7 5 2
2005 - Total 3 1 2 Total 50 20 30
Total 7 6 1
South Africa Zambia
Nepal YEAR Number of students enrolled YEAR Number of students enrolled
YEAR Number of students enrolled Total Female Male Total Female Male
Total Female Male 2000 3 1 2 2000 7 0 7
2000 21 3 18 2001 2 2 - 2001 1 - 1
2001 8 2 6 2002 3 2 1 2002 3 3 -
2002 9 4 5 2003 4 2 2 2003 4 2 2
2003 7 - 7 2004 - 2004 8 2 6
2004 12 3 9 2005 2 - 2 2005 11 8 3
2005 4 - 4 Total 14 7 7 Total 34 15 19
Total 61 12 49
Sri Lanka Zimbabwe
Nicaragua YEAR Number of students enrolled YEAR Number of students enrolled
YEAR Number of students enrolled Total Female Male Total Female Male
Total Female Male 2000 7 4 3 2000 4 1 3
2000 2 2 - 2001 5 - 5 2001 2 1 1
2001 1 1 - 2002 3 1 2 2002 2 1 1
2002 - 2003 5 2 3 2003 -
2003 1 - 1 2004 8 3 5 2004 2 1 1
2004 1 1 - 2005 3 2 1 2005 4 3 1
2005 - Total 31 12 19 Total 14 7 7
Total 5 4 1

NORAD fellowship PROGRAMme/9


Simply excellent students
The academic staff at the Norwegian institutions enjoyed
tutoring the NFP students, as they were highly motivated,
hard-working and got excellent grades.

“They were simply outstanding students. was done from health administrators, mainly
Period,” says Professor Arild Angelsen. He was middle managers.
the co-ordinator of the NFP course Master of
Science in Development and Natural Resource Students in Mozambique developed an infor-
Economics at the Norwegian University of Life mation system in public health. What kind of
Sciences (UMB) in Ås. system is this?

“The NFP students were particularly good at “It is a system for health services — for exam-
quantitative subjects such as statistics and ple, how many children have been vaccinated,
microeconomics. On average, they got half a or how many have a HIV diagnosis. It is a tool
grade better than the Norwegians. With the which may be used by health administrators
Master thesis, their grades were at the same from a national level down to the local clinic.
level as the Norwegians’.” The system has been installed in Malawi and
  South Africa, and is currently being adapted for
A few years ago, the university did a tracer implementation in Tanzania,” Kaasbøll says.
study of 50 of their previous NFP and Quota
students, and Angelsen says it showed that More intimate
the students had done really well. A few had The Associate Professor at the University of
stayed on in Norway—some because of love, Science and Technology in Trondheim (NTNU),
some who were seeking asylum—but the great Pål Skalle, was the co-ordinator of the NFP
Professor Arild Angelsen, majority went back to their home countries and Master of Science in Petroleum Engineering
the Norwegian University used their knowledge in good jobs. 10-15 went and Petroleum Geoscience.
of Life Sciences onto a PhD in Norway or elsewhere. 
“It was a more intimate situation with the
Many applicants Norad students compared to Norwegian ones,
“The students were good, because we got a as they needed more follow-up and there were

«
lot of applicants and could choose the best
ones,” says Professor Jens Johan Kaasbøll at
On average, the NFP-students
the Department of Informatics at the University
got half a grade better
of Oslo (UiO).
than Norwegians.
Kaasbøll was involved in three different NFP
master’s degree programmes. Two of them
were located in South Africa and Mozambique, also more social activities. It has been very
while the third was a sandwich course which rewarding to be part of this,” Skalle says.
took place partly in Mozambique and partly at
the University of Oslo. Do you know how the students are doing
today?
“The reason we wanted to locate the degrees in
the African countries was to connect the acade- “I know that some of the Bangladeshi ones
mic activities to the students’ home countries got jobs in their home country and others have
and to relevant issues for that specific country. gone abroad to work or do a PhD. The petro-
This way, there would be greater incentives for leum industry in Bangladesh does not absorb
the students to stay in Africa,” Kaasbøll says. the freshly educated. They are so good, you
know, that they can easily get jobs abroad.”
The students on the Master in Information
Systems course were recruited from university Jens Johan Kaasbøll at UiO says that out of all
Professor Jens Johan Kaasbøll, employees, while recruitment for the Master the students that graduated from the three NFP
the University of Oslo of Public Health (Information Systems Track) master programmes in informatics, he only

10/NORAD fellowship PROGRAMme


knows about one student who went to Austra- “It is not easy to see great changes, but we
lia to do a PhD. The rest have stayed in their see a slow improvement. Bangladesh has a
home countries, some after taking a PhD at the small petroleum industry. It is essential for the
University of Oslo. success of this programme that the co­operation
with the industry works well. So far it has not,
Combining research and education but last time we visited Bangladesh we could
What has been the most rewarding aspect of trace a certain positive change in attitudes.
working with the NFP? Two of the six students we had have now done
their thesis at the local business.”
Professor Arild Angelsen at UMB has no doubts:
“To have good and very motivated students. To Different views on NOMA
be able to integrate master’s-level education Professor Arild Angelsen at UMB believes the
with PhD work, research and institutional capa- NFP students in Norway got much more than

«
just academic input. “They got new ideas, not
Many of the academic staff just academically. They saw that it is not so
at the universities of Mekelle hierarchical here, and they got to appreciate
and Hawassa in Ethiopia curious and critical thinking.”
got their education from UMB. Associate Professor Pål Skalle,
Today UMB offers a similar degree in natural
resource economics in the NOMA programme the Norwegian University of
city building. Many of the academic staff at the in collaboration with African institutions. The Science and Technology
universities of Mekelle and Hawassa in Ethiopia first year is spent in Uganda, Malawi or Ethio-
got their education from UMB,” Angelsen says. pia, while the second year takes place at UMB.

Professor Jens Johan Kaasbøll at UiO talks “I’m not sure we are able to achieve the same
about the new co-operation between African academic quality as in the NFP programme,
countries, which has evolved out of the NFP. in particular when it comes to thesis work. In
“The most interesting aspect was the possibi- the NOMA model, active researchers are also
lity we had over a long period of time to develop asked to be development workers with no
partnerships with not only our main partner compensation. Students find that lecturers at
institutions in Mozambique and South Africa, some universities in the South do not prioritise
but also with universities in Malawi, Tanzania teaching these courses,  as they prefer to do
and Ethiopia. Over the years, this co-operation well-paid off-campus courses and consultancy
has become extensive. It has also led to co- work. Also, although we try hard, we no longer
operation between the African universities get the close integration between education,
in terms of research projects and exchanging research and institution building as we used
lecturers,” Kaasbøll says. to. The closing down of NFP was a political
decision that I regret.” 
Academic ties
The NTNU now co-operates with the Bangladesh For petroleum studies at NTNU, the situation is
University of Engineering and Technology and different. “There has been a positive develop-
the Eduardo Mondlane University in Mozambi- ment with the NOMA programme. The co-
que on a Master of Science in the Petroleum operation with the institutions, especially in
Sector in Asia and Africa as part of the NOMA Bangladesh, has become more constructive,”
programme. The NTNU also co-operates with Associate Professor Pål Skalle says.
the Universidade Agostinho Neto in Angola on
a Master of Science in the same field. At the University of Oslo, the change from NFP
to NOMA has hardly been noticeable for the
Associate Professor Pål Skalle appreciates the NFP programmes run in Africa. “The sandwich
established academic ties with the three coun- course has been closed down, but for the other
tries, especially Bangladesh. “The environment courses, it is a mere continuation of what we
in Bangladesh is very good, they are very eager. were doing already. But the financial model has
The goals set by Norad were received with ent- become too short-term. We worked for eight
husiasm, and we have worked on involving the years in Mozambique, which was necessary to
sector, the vice chancellor and the employees build up the degree. A three-year horizon is not
at the institution by having yearly visits.” long enough,” Jens Johan Kaasbøll says.

Have you seen developments in the sector in


Bangladesh as a result of this degree?

NORAD fellowship PROGRAMme/11


“Because of the Norad Fellow­ship Programme, my network around the world is incredible,” Kristin Holst Paulsen says.
She is administrative coordinator at Unifob Global and previous administrator of the NFP at the University of Bergen.

I miss the students


Administrative coordinator Kristin Holst Paulsen is sad
that the Norad Fellowship Programme is over. She clearly saw
the benefits for students coming to Norway.

Kristin Holst Paulsen points to the bookshelf in her office, filled were able to go where they wanted, and they had the freedom to
with Master’s degree dissertations. She is on the acknowledge- concentrate on their studies, away from family obligations,” she
ments list in tens of theses written by students from the Norad says.
Fellowship Programme.
Holst Paulsen says the NFP courses organised in the South have
“If there is one thing I miss in this position, it is the NFP and the shown that this model is not attractive for many students. For
students I met through the programme,” she says. example, Africans are less interested in studying in Nepal. Also,
there are fewer female applicants, as they often are not as free to
Good for women study in their home country.
Holst Paulsen is the administrative coordinator at Unifob Global, a
centre owned by the University of Bergen. For 10 years she was in Ask about everything
charge of the administration of the NFP, where students who came For ten years, Holst Paulsen did not take a summer vacation. She
to study at the University of Bergen. was too busy organising the arrival of new students. She arranged
visas, air tickets and all other non-academic issues related to their
“For the students, the NFP was a unique opportunity to go abroad. stay in Bergen. Many had never been outside their own country
It was also a big thing for them to meet so many international stu- before.
dents. Where else would a person from Nepal become friends with
somebody from Colombia?” Holst Paulsen asks, and continues: “I was in touch with the students through the whole summer. They
asked about everything between heaven and earth,” she says.
“It has been particularly good for women to come here. Here they

12/NORAD fellowship PROGRAMme


During the arrival period, from the first plane landing at Flesland
in the early morning, until the last plane at night, she was there to
welcome every single NFP student.

“After a while we could recognise which country the students had


come from as they walked into the arrivals hall. And all the stu-
dents studying administrative theory wore suits,” Holst Paulsen
says with a smile.

“The students really appreciated us being there to welcome them,”


Paulsen says, and talks about how she sometimes even took stu-
dents home because Fantoft, the apartment block where most of
the students lived, was closed.

Different teaching methods


The difference in educational methods – the way that students can
answer the professor and even disagree, was totally new to most of
the NFP students coming to Norway.

“We always arranged a welcome ceremony on the opening day.


Professor Rune Nielsen would come and greet the students, sit
down and talk with them. They would ask me: ‘When will we meet
the real professors?’ They couldn’t believe a real professor would
behave like that! They were used to professors being elevated and
practically unreachable for a student,” Holst Paulsen says.

According to Holst Paulsen, all the students benefitted greatly


from their Norwegian education. A degree from a Western country
is more highly valued than a local one, and many are promoted
when they return home. Many have continued with PhDs either in
Norway or in other countries.

The Norwegian culture, and what was expected from them as


students, was a big surprise to many of the NFP students, Holst
Paulsen says.

“For some, particularly the Asian students, it was a shock to realise


they had to make their own food and clean their own apartments. A
girl from Bangladesh had never even carried her own books before!
The first thing that happened was that she got a bad back!” Kristin
Holst Paulsen has many funny stories to tell, but also some sad
ones of students falling ill or being homesick.

Norwegian benefits
“I have travelled to some of the countries the students come from
– just as they couldn’t believe some aspects of Norwegian culture
and habits, I sometimes thought the same about their culture: it
cannot be! I have learnt a lot myself.”

Holst Paulsen and the University of Bergen are benefitting from the
huge network of previous NFP students spread all over the world.
Now she is the one being picked up at the airport.

“When I am in a country, I always try to arrange a gathering with


all the former NFP-students. In Tanzania I have particularly good
contacts. One of the previous students there involved her whole
family in arrangements for our conference. I was even invited home
to meet them, including her five siblings and their families,” Holst
Paulsen says.

NORAD fellowship PROGRAMme/13


A brief history of the Norad Fellowship Programme
In 2009, the very last students on the Norad Fellowship Programme (NFP) graduated,
and a 46-year old educational programme came to an end.

Approximately 6000 students from 50 countries received a fellowship School at the University of Oslo. Two years later, 90 students came
for higher education or training during the existence of the Norad Fel- to Norway. Four years later, the number was 200. In 1969, funds
lowship Programme (1962–2008). The NFP was unique in a develop- also included support for studies in the fellows’ home countries.
ment assistance perspective in that it was early to acknowledge the
importance of higher education for the development of nations. The 1970s
In the 1970s, focus of development assistance shifted towards
The 1960s commerce and industrial cooperation. Western countries’ research
The 1960s was known as “the decade of optimism” in Norway. results should not be transferred to developing countries indiscri-
With assistance from the Marshall plan, the country was rebuilt minately, and developing countries should focus on building insti-
after the Second World War. There was a dramatic increase in the tutions relevant to their needs.
number of students entering higher education, not least because In 1970, a committee was set up to consider how Norad should
of the initiation of the State Educational Loan Fund in 1947. best run the programme. The report from 1971 was normative for
In Africa, several colonies gained independence in the 1960s. the administration of the programme throughout its existence. The
The great majority of the population had little or no formal edu- requirements for the applicants remained almost unchanged: they
cation, and most countries had an inadequate education system. had to have relevant professional experience, provide confirmation
However, Uganda, Sudan, the Gold Coast and Nigeria established from their employer that the education was relevant and return to
universities soon after independence. their home country after finishing their degree in Norway.
More money was allocated in the 1970s both to courses in Nor-
First educational aid programme way as well as to education in the students’ home countries. In 1973,
The Norad Fellowship Programme, established in 1962, became 347 fellows were being educated in Norway, while 77 were supported
the first educational aid programme in Norway. That year, NOK in their home countries. In the second half of the 1970s and into the
275 000 or 3.7 per cent of the Norwegian budget for development 1980s, the annual number of students was approximately 400.
assistance, was spent on this educational programme.
The policy of the NFP in the 1960s was to offer training in fields The 1980s
where Norway had special competences – for example geology, pulp The 1980s was a decade with increased attention and support for
and paper technology, marine engineering, fisheries and shipping. developing countries. In Norway, the Ministry of Development Aid
Courses were designed especially for the Norad fellows in technical was established in 1984. In the first part of the 1980s, the NFP was
subjects, natural and social sciences and medicine/health. seen as an important part of Norway’s development assistance to
This was in line with the general view on development assis- poor countries.
tance in this decade: development would come through moder- However, in the second half of the 1980s, the NFP was eva-
nisation and economic growth. Lack of education was seen as a luated several times to see if the programme better could fit with
hindrance to economic development. the general aims of Norwegian development assistance. One result
The first 30 students came from India, Egypt and Thai- was that the number of eligible countries was reduced.
land. Most of them participated in the International Summer
From Diploma to Master’s
A report from 1988 concluded that the NFP contributed little to
systematic competence building and institutional development
in developing countries. The report concluded that none of the
Diploma courses offered were established on the basis of a known
need in the developing countries.
One advice was to change from Diploma to Master’s degree
programmes. The Diploma courses were thus slowly phased out or
made into 2-year Master’s degrees.
The results were fewer courses, fewer students and far less
political interest in the Norad Fellowship Programme in the final
years of the 1980s. The number of students dropped from appro-
ximately 400 enrolled students annually in the first half of the
1980s, to 113 in 1988, a level maintained through the rest of the
POPULAR IN NEPAL/ Norad students on the Master of Science in
programme’s existence.
Management of Natural Resources and Sustainable Agriculture
(MNRSA) course carrying out fieldwork in Nepal in 2003. The
MNRSA at the University of Life Sciences (UMB) was the most The 1990s
popular Master’s degree in the Norad Fellowship Programme, both Sustainable development and recipient responsibility were aspects
in terms of the number of applicants and the number of students. that were emphasised in the development theory of the 1990s. In
(Photo/ Teresa Grøtan) 1993, Norad stated that the main goal of the NFP was to contribute

14/NORAD fellowship PROGRAMme


to strategic competence building in developing countries in public
administration and civil society.
In the mid 1990s, Norad began purchasing places from
­Norwegian institutions of higher education instead of creating
specific courses for the NFP-students. The courses became part
of the Norwegian institutions’ ordinary curricula, and thus part
of the institutions’ own internationalisation process. In this
period the number of English-speaking programmes at Norwegian
institutions increased considerably. Norwegian students also
began taking part in the English language programmes.

SIU INTERNATIONAL SKIERS/ The “ Winter Seminar” was a popular


In 1998, Norad outsourced the administration of the programme to social and cultural event for the students on the Norad Fellowship
the Norwegian Centre of International Cooperation in Higher Edu- Programme for more than 20 years. The five frosty days in the
mountains were filled with seminars and discussions, disco
cation (SIU) under an agreement with the Norwegian Council for
­dancing – and most importantly: skiing. (Photo/ Teresa Grøtan)
Higher Education (UHR). A programme board consisting of acade-
mics from the Norwegian institutions was established. The board’s
main task was to advise SIU on the selection of NFP courses. share of the education in the NFP should take place in developing
countries. The argument was that supporting higher education in
The 2000s the South rather than bringing students to Norway, would better fit
In the early years of the 2000s, coordination with other relevant with the developing countries’ own demands, needs and existing
programmes, such as the NUFU programme and the Quota pro- competences.
gramme was encouraged, as was cooperation between institu-
tions in the South. From NFP to NOMA
The number of courses offered increased in this period, and In 2005, an evaluation commissioned by Norad concluded, once
several new institutions of higher education received funding for more, that the courses should be offered in developing countries
providing courses in a variety of academic fields. The budget was the rather than in Norway. Courses run in Norway should be limited in
same as it had been in the 1990s, around NOK 55 million annually. number, and students attending these courses should be transfer-
red to the Quota programme. The evaluation team also recommen-
Good grades ded a re-orientation of the development focus in the programme.
The NFP continued to be popular, particularly in Ethiopia, Tan- As a consequence, Norad decided to close down the Norad
zania, Nepal, Bangladesh and Uganda, which had the highest Fellowship Programme and instead introduce Norad’s Programme
numbers of applicants and enrolled students the first half of the for Master’s Studies (NOMA), in which Norwegian institutions and
2000s. In 2004, SIU received 2287 applications for 132 places. institutions in the South cooperate to offer degrees awarded by
In general, the NFP students performed very well, often better than the institutions in the South.
the Norwegian students. Completion rates were usually around The Norad Fellowship Programme had its last intake of stu-
90-95 per cent. These results may not be very surprising, conside- dents on courses in Norway in 2006 and on courses located in the
ring that most of the Norwegian institutions could pick and choose South in 2007.
from highly qualified applicants, many of them with Master’s 2006 was also the year when the first call for applications for
degrees from their home country. the new NOMA programme was announced. The following year,
17 new NOMA Master’s degrees located in Africa and Asia were
Men and women awarded NOK 92 million. Currently (2009), nearly 1000 students
In the early decades of the Norad Fellowship Programme, very few are participating in 36 NOMA Master’s degrees in 16 countries in
women applied and were accepted into the programme. Evalua- Africa, Asia and the Middle East. A new call for applications was
tions in 1971 and 1973 called for a higher percentage of female announced in November 2009.
students, but only 15–20 per cent of the applicants were women.
From 2000-2005, the percentage of female applicants was still Sources
only 23, but positive discrimination of eligible women led to 38 Furre, Berge: Norsk historie 1905-1990, Samlaget 1992
per cent enrolled female students. In this period, a few countries
Hestås Minken, Jannicke: “De kom for å bli kunnskapsbærere”, Post-graduate
had a majority of female students, notably Tanzania (42 female, 31
thesis, The University of Oslo, 2002
male), Malawi (16 female, 13 male) and Mozambique (11 female,
Lunde, Renate: “Kompetansevekst i spenning – norsk dokumentasjon rundt
5 male). 2002 was the only year in the programme’s history with a
og norske erfaringar med Norad stipendprogram”
majority of women (62 per cent).
Lundestad, Geir: Øst, vest, nord, sør. Hovedlinjer i internasjonal politikk
1945-1990, Universitetsforlaget 1991
Courses in the South
In 2001, a new five-year framework agreement for the NFP was set McNeill, D: “Review of Diploma Courses financed by MDC/NORAD” Oslo, 1988
up. Three new programmes at two universities in South Africa and Norad: “Evaluation of the Norad Fellowship Programme”, Evaluation Report
one in Mozambique were established. In the following years, new 1/2005, Norad 2005
Master’s degree programmes were initiated in cooperation with Norad: “Innstillling fra utvalget for vurdering av NORADS’s stipendiatvirksomhet”,
Norwegian institutions in Nepal, Tanzania and Mozambique. 24.11.1971
Ever since the 1970s, evaluation reports concluded that a larger SIU: “Norad Fellowship Programme”, No. P2 2004

NORAD fellowship PROGRAMme/15


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n o r w e g i a n C EN T RE F OR IN T ERNA T IONA L C OO P ERA T ION i n H IG H ER E D U C A T ION


phone: +47 55 30 38 00 FAx: +47 55 30 88 01 E-mail: siu@siu.no
postal ADdRESS: P.O.BOX 1093 SENTRUM, n-5811 Bergen
Office Address: Vaskerelven 39, 5014 Bergen www.siu.no

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