IB expands scholarships bridging educator shortages

The International Baccalaureate Organization (IB) has increased the number of tuition-free scholarships in partnership with University of the People to complete an online Master of Education (M.Ed.) degree and fill the global need of more than 69 million teaching positions by 2030. This year, the IB is proud to support 140 educators, fostering the IB pedagogy within themselves and in their classrooms.

The IB is also celebrating the first graduates from the scholarship initiative.

This application cycle, IB received 350 applications, with 28% of its educators currently teaching students in IB World Schools. Regionally, IB applicants are spread out across six continents with individual applicants from 93 countries represented. The regions with the most applicants were Africa, Europe, and Middle East with applicants from 40 countries and the Asia-Pacific and the Americas region tied with applicants from 13 countries each.

With experienced review from 38 IB leaders and partners from around the world, the 350 applicants were narrowed down to award 40 new scholarships, from 27 different countries. Fifty-eight percent of new scholars are IB educators representing 22 IB World Schools.

"First and foremost, I am deeply grateful for receiving the scholarship to pursue my M.Ed. with University of the People. I also feel deeply committed towards giving my best effort in all the courses that I will enrol in during the length of my M.Ed., as this will allow me to further develop my career path by improving my teaching methods and strategies. I hope to be better able to serve my school community as a positive agent for change and development", said Soledad Darquea, a 2020 awardee currently teaching at Colegio Americano de Quito in Ecuador.

Awardee Philomena Mensah, from National Community Development Vocational Institute in Ghana noted, “I cannot explain in words how I felt when I received my letter. It has always been my dream to earn my Master of Education. This scholarship is really a dream come true for me. Thank you to the IB for making a dream that was almost impossible, possible. Thanks for the opportunity you are giving me, and thousands of people like me, to access education to the highest level to become the best at what we do”.

The first scholarship degree graduate, Evans Kimani, was one of 20 awardees in 2019. While pursuing the M.Ed., he served as an educator at Acorns International School, Kampala, Uganda and currently serves as the Primary Years Programme (PYP) coordinator. Reflecting on his experience, Evans shared, “My goal coming into the course was to become a better curriculum manager and instructor. The degree has helped me feel better prepared to be a teacher in a progressive classroom with the practical approaches and application-based learning. I have recommended this to my team and look forward to being part of the growing network of IB scholars this award is developing”.

With awardees in: Argentina, Armenia, Botswana, Cameroon, Colombia, Ecuador, Egypt, Estonia, Eswatini (formerly Swaziland), Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kenya, South Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritius, Mexico, Mozambique, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Russian Federation, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Turkey, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, United States of America, Vietnam and Zimbabwe, the IB provides these scholarships to help educators break down barriers to access quality education and invest their knowledge in their local communities around the world.

“On behalf of the entire IB family, we offer congratulations and the very best of luck to our new scholarship recipients”, stated Dr Siva Kumari, the IB Director General. “Each applicant demonstrates dedication to education, the IB philosophy and their school community along with the desire to make a positive impact in their student’s education and future. We are tremendously proud of this award and all participating in it. We are grateful for all our teachers, applicants, reviewers and partners for their time to support this initiative”.

Applications for the IB’s University of the People scholarship will reopen on 4 January 2021. For more information, please visit the IB website for details to apply.