Sub-Saharan Africa
Planning and Design
Scholarship
Two full scholarships each year for exceptional young planners and designers from Sub-Saharan Africa. Applications open every November.
Hosted by the Centre for the Just City, Department of Urbanism, TU Delft
Since 2016, the Sub-Saharan Africa Planning and Design Scholarship has brought two extraordinary students to Delft every July — not to observe the city, but to plan and redesign it.
The scholarship is open to students from Sub-Saharan African countries between the ages of 22 and 28 who are studying in a field related to urbanism and urban development. It is funded by the TU Delft Global Initiative and hosted by the Centre for the Just City, Department of Urbanism.
We are looking for students who are exceptionally motivated and excellent communicators — students with natural leadership qualities and a genuinely collaborative spirit who will not only contribute something remarkable to the Summer School itself but will multiply and disseminate what they learn when they return home. Recipients act as ambassadors for TU Delft, the Centre for the Just City, and the Delft Global Initiative. Female students are especially encouraged to apply. Our diversity and inclusion policy is available on our website.
This scholarship is for the Summer School only — not for a Master’s degree at TU Delft
The Sub-Saharan Africa Planning and Design Scholarship covers two weeks at the Summer School in July. It is entirely separate from the TU Delft Sub-Saharan Africa Excellence Scholarships, which fund full Master’s degree programmes. Please confirm you are applying for the right opportunity before submitting.
Selection Process
The application period opens on 1 November each year. You apply via the standard Summer School application form, selecting “Sub-Saharan African Scholarship” when prompted. All supporting documents must be submitted through the same form.
A selection committee reviews every application in full: your motivation letter, your introduction video, your CV, and your supporting letter. We do not select on grades alone. There is no country or discipline quota; selection is based on motivation, communication, leadership, and potential for impact at home.
Shortlisted candidates are invited to an online interview with the selection committee. Interviews are conducted in English and last approximately 20–30 minutes.
All applicants are informed of the outcome by the end of March. Selected scholars are then guided through visa application and travel logistics by the Summer School team.
Eligibility
- Passport holder of a Sub-Saharan African country
- Aged 22–28 at the time of the Summer School in July
- Currently enrolled in a Bachelor’s, Master’s, or PhD programme
- Field of study related to urbanism, planning, design, or spatial development
- Strong English language skills (assessed through your motivation letter — no separate test required)
- Female students are especially and particularly encouraged to apply
Any field with a clear focus on cities and urban development is eligible. No design portfolio is required or expected — we are selecting for analytical drive and human qualities, not technical drawing skills.
What the Scholarship Covers
- Return flight — a round-trip ticket purchased and managed directly by TU Delft. You do not pay upfront and claim back; the ticket is bought for you.
- Course fee waiver — all Summer School tuition and programme fees are fully covered.
- Pocket money — a daily allowance to cover meals and local transport during the Summer School.
- Accommodation — you stay with a TU Delft student in Delft, free of charge, for the full duration of the programme.
- Dutch visa fee — you must pay and arrange your own visa application. We provide a formal invitation letter to support your application.
- Health insurance — this is mandatory and entirely your responsibility. You cannot travel to the Netherlands without valid health coverage for your full stay.
- Personal and extra costs — any expenses beyond your daily allowance (shopping, personal travel, tourism) are not covered.
Application Instructions
Ask a teacher or academic supervisor who knows your work to write a short letter confirming: that they fully support your application, that they know you plan to attend the Summer School in July, and that in their view you are an outstanding student. A generic endorsement is not sufficient — the letter must be specific to you and must be signed.
This is the most important part of your application. Your letter also serves as your English language assessment — there is no separate test. Address the following questions in your own voice:
Why do you want to participate in this programme specifically? · What is the most urgent spatial problem in your city, and what would you do about it? · Why should we select you — what do you bring that others cannot? · What will you do with what you learn in Delft when you return home? Read the motivation letter guide before writing.
Highlight achievements beyond your degree: work experience, community engagement, publications, prizes, extra-curricular activities, activist work. Two pages maximum. We are looking for evidence that you have done more than attend lectures.
A video shot on your smartphone is perfectly fine. Show us who you are: your curiosity, your energy, what makes you unusual. This is not a research presentation and no design portfolio is needed. Read the video guide for practical tips. The video is strongly encouraged but not strictly required.
A document signed by your university confirming your enrolled programme and current grades. If your institution does not yet issue transcripts, a signed letter confirming your enrolment is accepted instead.
Label every document you submit as FirstNameLastNameAfrica (e.g., ElsaGideyAfrica.pdf, ElsaGideyAfrica_CV.pdf). Compile all files into a single ZIP archive where possible. Applications with incorrectly named files may not reach the review committee.
Complete the standard Summer School application form and, when asked about scholarships, select “Sub-Saharan African Scholarship”. Upload all documents. Incomplete applications will not be considered. All materials must be in English.
All application materials must be submitted in English. Applications in any other language will not be reviewed.
Past Recipients
Elsa Gidey
I am a graduating student from EiABC, Addis Ababa University, currently working on my final thesis. Besides achieving good grades, I participate in voluntary community organisations that help low income groups of society by building low-cost houses, collecting funds and also consulting services. I have great communication and leadership skills. I was a coordinator and a team leader in group works and workshops for almost all my school years.
I wanted to participate in the TU Delft Summer School for three main reasons. First, I do hold a deep interest in the most fundamental aspects of planning and designing; as well as a goal to devote my professional career towards understanding them. I explored the application of water in urban design by researching cases in European countries, especially from the Netherlands and Belgium. And throughout my experience, I realized that I need first-hand experience from these countries.
Second, Ethiopia is in a rapid developmental change. Cities are changing and new towns are emerging by bulldozing the old. The tension from the government for environmentally sensitive design is evident. Third, Holland is one of the best examples of water-based city development. Through my research, I noted engineering and environment-conscious solutions that the world should learn from. It is my dream to study these solutions and apply them in my developing country.
The summer school will benefit me in many ways. I firmly believe that the curricula will provide answers to my questions regarding my design profession in Addis Ababa. Furthermore, the diversity of students and teachers will aid me in engaging in extensive discussion that could broaden my views, build my skills and make friends. In my view, the challenge of cities in the 21st century is the neglect of evolving man-made intervention onto the natural environment, creating crises at both land use and atmospheric levels. As an architect and planner, I believe that the future of our cities should be targeting sustainability.
Watch the three-minute introduction video Elsa submitted with her scholarship application.
Fitsum Abera Angasa
I was born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in 1989. In 2007, I joined the Ethiopian Institute of Architecture, Building Construction and City Development of Addis Ababa University, and I got my bachelor in Architecture and Urban Planning in 2013. After two and a half years in practice, I got the chance to become an assistant lecturer at EiABC, in the chair of Basic Architectural Design in 2015. I am really interested in assisting students and I love my work. My thesis subject is the resilience of traditional settlement systems in the Ethiopian Highlands.
I was so excited when I was selected to receive a scholarship for the Summer School Planning and Design with Water. The summer school helped me learn the core values and processes in spatial planning and design. The summer school was well coordinated with many lectures by TU Delft professors, researchers and government officials, as well as site visits. We also worked in a group project which deals with water issues in Scheveningen, a harbour area located in the west of The Hague.
At last I can proudly say that my summer school in TU Delft was fruitful — I took a lesson that can be applied in real practice and can be shared in my university.
The Sub-Saharan Africa Planning and Design Scholarship is made possible by the TU Delft Global Initiative — the university’s programme for problem-oriented interdisciplinary research and education addressing pressing societal challenges in the developing world, aimed at meaningfully improving the lives of people living in poverty. It is hosted by the Centre for the Just City, Department of Urbanism, Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment, TU Delft.