Asfari Leadership Bursaries at Columbia Business School
(Developing Leaders Program for Non-profit Professionals, 20-25 March 2016)
For emerging leaders in civil society in Syria, Palestine,
Lebanon and the UK
The Asfari Leadership Bursaries give emerging third sector leaders the opportunity
to complete a one-week intensive leadership training course at Columbia Business
School in New York in March 2016. The bursaries are funded by the Asfari
Foundation and will cover course fees, visa, travel and accommodation costs and a
modest stipend to cover living costs.
Bursary Details
Asfari bursaries are available for Columbia Business School’s Executive Education
course ‘Developing Leaders Program for Non-profit Professionals’. The course,
which runs full time over one week from 20-25 March 2016 offers “formal training in
fundamental elements of strategic management, including how to use financial data
for strategic decision making, and also covers critical areas in leadership such as the
planning and implementing of organisational change, negotiating effectively, and
self-awareness”. For more information about the course see:
http://www8.gsb.columbia.edu/execed/program-pages/details/111/DLP?sourceid=finder
Entry requirements
To be considered for a bursary, applicants must apply directly and online to
Columbia Business School by Wednesday 21 October 2015 and meet the entry
criteria set by the School for the Programme.
The bursaries are open to:
 Syrians living in Syria, or displaced in Lebanon, Turkey, or the UK;
 Lebanese citizens;
 Palestinian nationals, or refugee or displaced Palestinians living in Syria or
Lebanon, or Palestinian citizens of Israel.
 They are also open to British nationals who live and work in the UK or in
Syria, Lebanon or Palestine.
Bursary recipients have to meet all of the below criteria:
 Work full-time in middle or higher managerial or leadership positions in a
mission-driven organisation on projects related to the aims and objectives of
the
Asfari
Foundation
(www.asfarifoundation.org.uk)
or
broader
developmental issues related to Syria, Lebanon or Palestine. (British
applicants will only be considered if their work is directly related to the aims
and countries of the Asfari Foundation);
 Be aged 40 or younger;

Have a clear idea of why they want to take the course and how they plan to
use the learning upon their return to their organisation.
In cases of equal merit, preference will be given to applicants who:
 have not had training opportunities abroad;
 come from disadvantaged backgrounds or have faced other barriers (such as
disability);
 work in small organisations (especially those which may not otherwise be able
to afford such development opportunities for staff).
Application process and deadline
Applicants should apply directly to Columbia Business School using the form on the
School’s website (selecting ‘Asfari Foundation’ as the sponsor in the section entitled
‘Tuition Assistance’) by the deadline of Wednesday 21 October 2015, to allow time
for applications to be considered by both Columbia Business School and the Asfari
Foundation. Candidates may be asked to submit additional information to the Asfari
Foundation in support of their funding application in late October or early November,
and if so will be contacted about this. The School will notify all candidates of the
outcome of their applications (both for admission and for funding) by the end of
November 2015.
Details on how to apply and who to contact with queries is on the School’s website:
http://www8.gsb.columbia.edu/execed/program-pages/details/111/DLP?sourceid=finder
Background Information
Columbia Business School Programs in Social Enterprise (PSE) are part of the
Executive Education division of Columbia Business School. The mission of PSE’s
open-enrolment programs is to help develop non-profit and public leadership in the
emerging field of social enterprise - locally, nationally, and internationally. To
accomplish this goal PSE draws heavily on the outstanding resources of Columbia
Business School, including MBA content, faculty, and facilities. The vehicles for
developing executive leadership are two open-enrolment training programs, one for
senior executives (titled the Senior Leaders Program or SLP) and the other for those
who could become senior executives with more training and experience (titled the
Developing Leaders Program or DLP). For more information on the Columbia
Business school, see: http://www8.gsb.columbia.edu/
The Asfari Foundation works in the UK and the Arab world (particularly Syria,
Lebanon and Palestine). It provides partner organisations in these countries with the
resources to:
 Give talented and motivated young people the opportunity to achieve the skills
and knowledge required to help develop themselves and their societies;
 Support civil society practitioners and organisations to gain and share
knowledge and practical tools to create a vibrant and effective civil society;
 Implement humanitarian action that alleviates the trauma and losses inflicted
by man-made and natural emergencies in the Foundation’s target countries.
The Foundation’s vision is for an educated, democratic and lawful society which
promotes development and progress through knowledge, tolerance and integrity. For
more information on the Asfari Foundation, which is supporting this bursary scheme,
please see: www.asfarifoundation.org.uk