Manaaki New Zealand Thematic Short Term Training Scholarships

Benefits & funding

• Full scholarship — participants pay nothing toward the course.
• Tuition and course-related costs at the New Zealand institution delivering the training.
• For courses held in New Zealand: return economy airfares, visa fees, accommodation, travel and medical insurance, and other programme-related expenses.
• Online courses also carry no cost to the participant.
• Courses run two to five weeks; 2027 courses are scheduled between late January and early June 2027.

Eligibility

• Citizenship of an eligible country. Pacific: Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, French Pacific Territories (French Polynesia, New Caledonia, Wallis and Futuna), Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu.
• ASEAN: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Viet Nam.
• South Asia: Bangladesh, India, Jordan, Maldives, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka.
• Africa: Algeria, Angola, Botswana, Djibouti, Egypt, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
• Latin America and Caribbean: Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Montserrat, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Venezuela.
• Lived in the country of citizenship for the last two years or more; an exception applies to diplomatic corps and their families.
• Not a citizen or permanent resident of New Zealand, Australia, Bahrain, Canada, any European Union country, Iceland, Israel, Japan, Kuwait, Norway, Oman, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom or the United States. Named exceptions: people from Niue, the Cook Islands and Tokelau despite holding New Zealand citizenship; the French Pacific Territories despite French citizenship; and New Zealand–Samoan and Timor-Leste–Portuguese dual citizens.
• Note that the official pages list Singapore both as an ASEAN eligible country and on the excluded-citizenship list. Singaporean applicants should confirm with the programme before applying.
• At least 18 years old when the course starts.
• Not currently serving in the military.
• No Manaaki New Zealand Scholarship terminated in the last five years.
• Employer endorsement to attend the course, submitted on the programme’s Employer Endorsement form.
• Intermediate English — all courses are taught in English.
• Work experience is set by each course, not by the programme. Infrastructure Project Management (Pacific) asks for at least three years in the relevant course sector. The other courses that name a figure ask for at least five years’ relevant experience — Good Governance, Public Sector Leadership Mid Level, Agri-Food Systems, Renewable Energy, Disaster Risk Reduction, Trade Policy and Geothermal Energy Project Management. The Public Sector Leadership Senior Level courses ask for senior standing without naming a number of years.
• Each course publishes its own shorter country list, which can be narrower than the regional list above.

Application process

1. 1
   Open the programmes page and choose the regional list that matches your citizenship.
2. 2
   Check the individual course: its dates, whether it runs in New Zealand or online, its own eligible-country list, and its application window.
3. 3
   Complete the online application form for that specific course.
4. 4
   Upload the personal pages of your current passport (a government-issued photo ID is accepted for online courses), a CV in English, a job description in English stating your position title and responsibilities, and a completed Employer Endorsement form.
5. 5
   Attach certified copies of IELTS or TOEFL results from the last 18 months if you have them.
6. 6
   Successful applicants receive a Letter of Offer and accept the conditions of the scholarship.

Program timeline

1. Applications open — Public Sector Leadership, Mid Level (Financial Management), Pacific

   Aug 31, 2026

2. Applications open — Public Sector Leadership Senior Level and Good Governance, ASEAN

   Sep 21, 2026

3. Applications open — Agri-Food Systems (ASEAN) and Geothermal Energy Project Management (Africa)

   Sep 28, 2026

4. Applications close — Renewable Energy, Latin America and Caribbean

   Oct 4, 2026

5. Applications open — Renewable Energy, Disaster Risk Reduction (online) and Public Sector Leadership Senior Level, ASEAN

   Oct 5, 2026

6. Applications close — Infrastructure Project Management (Pacific) and Agri-Food Systems (ASEAN)

   Oct 11, 2026

7. Applications close — Good Governance, Pacific

   Oct 18, 2026

8. Applications close — Trade Policy, Africa

   Oct 25, 2026

9. Applications open — Public Sector Leadership Senior Level and Public Sector Leadership Mid Level (Public Health), Pacific

   Nov 16, 2026

10. Applications open — Public Sector Leadership Mid Level and Disaster Risk Reduction, ASEAN

    Nov 23, 2026

11. First 2027 course begins (Trade Policy, online, Africa)

    Jan 25, 2027

12. Last scheduled 2027 course ends (Public Sector Leadership Mid Level, Public Health, Pacific)

    Jun 4, 2027