New Zealand launches a $1 million scholarship program for MBA candidates

On 9th August 2010, John Key, the prime minister of New Zealand launched a $1 million scholarship program for MBA candidates. This program is aimed at senior managers and executives, who are looking to access top business programmes in the world. This has been a welcome move for Business schools in Europe, especially schools in UK, which has been the main recipient of MBA applications from New Zealand.

"The aim is to build the capability of our businesses and help make New Zealand more internationally competitive.  It is expected that applicants would come from firms looking to export more," says Mr. Key.

The funding for the future programmes will depend on the success of the pilot programme.

Objective: To make Managers well equipped to work in an international environment.

Number of Awards: 15-25

Amount: Upto $110,000(The amount is expected to cover half of the costs of their course and direct expenses)

Criteria (Courses)

  • One to two-year full or part time executive MBA degrees
  • Shorter courses focusing on topics relevant to the needs of individuals and their firms.  
  • Education programmes focusing on the Asia-Pacific region will be preferred

Application Close date: 19 September

Announcement: Decembers (Scheduled)

Full criteria and conditions: http://www.med.govt.nz/prime_minister's_scholarships  

About the Author 

Atul Jose

I am Atul Jose, Founding Consultant of F1GMAT, an MBA admissions consultancy that has worked with applicants since 2009.

 

For the past 15 years I have edited the application files of admits to the M7 programs: Harvard Business School, Stanford Graduate School of Business, the Wharton School, MIT Sloan, Chicago Booth, Kellogg School of Management, and Columbia Business School, together with admits to Berkeley Haas, Yale School of Management, NYU Stern, Michigan Ross, Duke Fuqua, Darden, Tuck, IMD, London Business School, INSEAD, SDA Bocconi, IESE Business School, HEC Paris, McCombs, and Tepper, plus other programs inside the global top 30.

 

My work covers the full MBA application deliverable: career planning and profile evaluation, application essay editing, recommendation letter editing, mock interviews and interview preparation, scholarship and fellowship essay editing, and cover letter editing for funding applications. Full bio with credentials and admit history is here.

 

I am the author of the Winning MBA Essay Guide, the best-selling essay guide covering M7 MBA programs. I have written and updated the guide annually since 2013, which makes the 2026 edition the thirteenth.

 

The reason I still write and edit essays every cycle: a good MBA essay carries a real applicant's voice. Writing essays for F1GMAT's Books and Editing essays weekly is how I stay calibrated to what current admissions committees respond to.

 

Contact me for school selection, career planning, essay strategy, narrative development, essay editing, interview preparation, scholarship essay editing, or guidance documents for recommendation letters.