How to Apply for GYSP

The WAAW Foundation Global Youth Scholars Program (GYSP) offers unique and interdisciplinary courses using a project-based approach. GYSP is designed to allow students to experience academic learning, offers a large range of peer-to-peer interaction, and work in teams/groups to create solutions in a variety of different contexts.

GYSP have two cohorts offering grouped courses with the start and end dates as stated below;

Cohort 1 ( 3 – 17 July 2021, Abuja Nigeria)

Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Maths (STEAM) 

Entrepreneurship & Design Thinking 

Leadership & Policy

Culture & Ethics

Cohort 2 (25 July – 7th August 2021, Nairobi Kenya)

Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Maths (STEAM) 

Entrepreneurship & Design Thinking 

Leadership & Policy

Culture & Ethics

Course Objective

Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Maths (STEAM): Preparing students and workforce young leaders in Africa and globally with the ability to apply critical thinking, creativity, and innovation to create applications that can be commercialized to create jobs is indeed a great need for all countries globally. Our participants will explore how science has evolved in Africa and where it can be applied and explored in a wide variety of scientific fields such as physics, technology, space science, biochemistry, astronomy, engineering psychology, and earth science, etc. STEAM education is about learning by doing! 

It will be an innovative way of making learning fun and engaging through hands-on-practicals experiments that connect to real-life situations through the application of science, technology, engineering, Art, and mathematics by our participants. Seminars will include diverse topics such as:

• The impact of STEAM education in developing countries.
• Programming and software solutions for the development of African countries
• What areas do you think Africa needs to explore more in terms of Science and Technology etc?

Entrepreneurship and Design Thinking: Entrepreneurship has proven to be one of the key roles in the development of any country and Design Thinking is an innovation methodology that helps to focus on the needs to create better solutions, products, and services. The cycle of business start-ups and growth are linked to the socio-economic benefits of the global world at large. With a growing world population of over 7billion people both public and private enterprises have increased globally in the 21st century. Africa as well as Nigeria is not left out, there is a need to explore and learn more on how to get more youths involved in entrepreneurship. Seminars and Discussions will focus on the following areas:

• Factors affecting entrepreneurship in Africa/Nigeria
• How to locate good entrepreneurship opportunities in Africa?
• Does gender have a role to play in being a successful entrepreneur in Africa? 

Leadership and Policy: GYSP provides engaging sessions on leadership which will help to develop participants as ethical leaders who contribute value to a social venture, build lasting global networks and friendships. At GYSP, participants will gain tangible skills, take part in service-learning projects, strengthen self-awareness, and practice leadership and teamwork skills, preparing them to create positive change in Africa and around the world. Participants will explore critical analysis, problem-solving, and creativity skills as well as deliberate on innovative and sustainable solutions to a wide array of contemporary social, economic, and political problems.

Tuition Breakdown:

The WAAW Foundation Global Youth Scholars Program (GYSP) Tuition covers all expenses other than travel insurance, airfare, spending money, and visa fees (if applicable). This includes 3 meals and 3 snacks each day, as well as entrance fees to all historic sites and attractions. 

There is a non-refundable registration fee of $30 USD that must be paid online via credit card using the apply now button below before your application can be submitted and processed to the next stage. 

Payment Deadlines:

Once you have submitted the online application form, you are expected to proceed to the payment of your tuition fee in order to reserve your place at the WAAW Foundation GYSP. Check out the tuition fee with the payment deadline below:

Early Birds:       USD $2,500  (February 1st, 2021)

Late payment:  USD $2,700  (April 2nd, 2021)

How to Pay:

Applicants are required to pay a non-refundable application fee of $30 USD before the online application can be submitted and processed. Tuition and application fee can be paid with any of the WAAW Foundation payment methods. You can pay online, securely via Credit Card. 

The WAAW Foundation Global Youth Scholars Program accepts only online applications where students and their families (parents/guardians) go to complete and submit an application. 

Student’s applications are reviewed and accepted once the application fee is paid and the online form submitted. Once you have been accepted, you will receive detailed information on how to make payment during your enrollment process. You can pay online, securely via Credit Card, or via Bank Transfer. 

• Applicants are required to pay a non-refundable application fee of $30 USD before the online application can be submitted and processed.
• Applicants will receive the final decision within approximately 15-25 days when applications are submitted and the tuition fee is paid.
• Applicants will need to complete supplemental forms during the selection process medical insurance, flight and other details
• Applicant’s Parents/guardians will be expected to complete and sign the consent form.

The WAAW Foundation Global Youth Scholars Program (GYSP) strongly encourages applicants to review the sample application form and note all required detailed need as stated below;

• Personal information 
• School and academic information 
• Short answers to essay questions
• Additional information that will help GYSP staff get to know you

Note: GYSP will ONLY accept submissions through our 2021 online application. We will not accept any paper or emailed PDF submissions.

Visitors to Nigeria or Kenya may require a visa unless they come from one of the visa-exempt countries. All visitors must hold a passport valid for 6 months. The GYSP team will assist our participants throughout the visa process by providing detailed information, documentation, and advice to speed up and make the process as smooth as possible.

1. Visa Application: Not every foreign national needs to apply for a visa to visit Nigeria or Kenya, some countries are exempt. To check if you will need to apply for a visa to Nigeria click here, and to check if you need to apply for a visa to Kenya, click here. If you do need to apply for a visa, please check that you have all the documents you need according to your country of citizenship/country of passport issue.
2. Time: Give yourself plenty of time to apply for your visa. The sooner you start the visa application process the better. Do not leave anything to the last minute.
3. Document: Embassies are very strict about providing necessary documents while applying for Visa, so please make sure you check before submitting your visa application. 
4. Visa Pack: We provide a pack of documents that are required to apply for the necessary visa. Please review these documents, as well as the rest of your visa application, before applying. Please read and follow the instructions so that the embassy has everything they need for their visa.

The following documents will be provided by the GYSP team for the visa application process:

• Invitation letter confirming attendance, dates of the session applied for, and the address of the location of the program. This serves as the statement confirming the purpose and duration of your visit to Nigeria or Kenya.
• Participant letter confirming that all expenses in terms of accommodation and meals will be covered by WAAW Foundation.
• Copy of Identity Document of WAAW Foundation Executive who stands as guardian while students attend the program

In addition to these documents, participants also need to submit the documents required according to their country of passport issue. These include, but are not limited to:

1. A passport valid for 6 months, and it must have at least TWO unused pages for entry/departure endorsements.
2. Two-color, passport-type photographs: taken within the last three months and printed on high-quality photo paper, be taken against an all-white background, be two inches by two inches, provide the full frontal view of your head with your face centered in the middle, and displaying a neutral (non-smiling) expression and you may wear neither eyeglasses nor headwear except for religious purposes
3. Nationality Identification card
4. In the case of minors, we recommend you refer to the Home Affairs website to ensure you have the required documents based on your situation. 
5. Proof of medical/travel insurance
6. Flight itinerary if traveling by air
7. Yellow fever vaccination certificate (for some countries)