Organization of American States Department of<br />Human Development
SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS

NOTE TO ALL APPLICANTS TO OAS SCHOLARSHIPS

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The application must be completed in its entirety before exiting the site or submitting the form. The information you enter can be saved as you are working on it during this session. However, information cannot be saved for another session before the application is submitted. We strongly suggest that you print the blank application form, prepare the narrative information in a separate Word document which you can copy and paste into the on-line application form, and fill out the other data by hand on the application form before you begin to fill out the form on line. Once you access and open the form, it can remain open (without exiting or submitting it) indefinitely, so you will have time to fillout the form and check your information before submitting it. No changes will be permitted after you submit the form.


Professional Development Scholarship Program

SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS 
[1]

                                                                                                                                                                                                   OAS/DHDEC/CIR. 056/2011

1. Study venue: USTTI 1150 Connecticut Ave. NW Washington DC 20036, Suite 702

2. Offered by: Inmarsat, Intelsat and The Boeing Company under the auspices of the United States Telecommunications Training Institute (USTTI), Regional Training Center of the Inter-American Telecommunication Commission (CITEL), e-mail: [email protected]

3. Coordinator: Laura Donaldson, USTTI Curriculum Coordinator, Email: [email protected] Phone: (202) 785-7373, Fax: (202) 785 1930

4. Modality: On site

5. Start and end dates: October 13 – 21, 2011

6. Course duration: 9 days

7. Language: English

8. Objectives: Participants will become aware of the range of technical and regulatory issues associated with satellite communications and services, including technological developments related to satellite transmission and reception techniques. The focus of this course will be on developing an understanding of the fundamentals that impact the global satellite industry, the state of development of present and future satellite applications, and technical challenges applicable to the satellite industry. This course is oriented toward managerial and technical staff seeking to gain a better technical understanding of the working methodologies of satellite communications, including application development, as well as policy and regulatory issues affecting satellite communications and spectrum management.

9. Course Content: This course will provide practical technical and regulatory fundamentals of satellite communications and services. The training will focus on the technical basis and characteristics of satellite architecture and operations, signal and applications management, and frequency use. In addition, this course will explore regulatory aspects associated with satellite communications, including international policy and regulations, frequency assignments and allocations, coordination issues, spectrum management policies, and the regulation of satellite communications and services. The course will also provide a fundamental understanding of satellite transmission technologies, as well as an overview of satellite applications. Work will focus on the state of technology development and the practical implementation of satellite services, including the integration of digital applications and hybrid, end-to-end solutions.

10. Eligibility Requirements:

a. Citizenship or permanent residence of an OAS Member State[2], with the exception of the United States since is the host country.

b. Participant profile: Regulatory, managerial, economy, and/or technical background in the telecommunications sector with particular emphasis in work related to satellite aspects.

c. At least two years of experience in the sector.

d. English proficiency. To be considered for admission, scores must be submitted from either the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or the academic International English Language Testing System (IELTS). Exceptions may be made for applicants who hold a degree from a university located in a country in which English is the official language and also the language of instruction at the university. The minimum scores for admission consideration are:

    1. Academic IELTS: an overall band score of 6.0 with no individual score below 5.0
    2. TOEFL: 550 on paper-based or 80 on Internet-based test

e. Submission of completed application form by the deadline set by the National Liaison Organization (ONE) [3] It is the candidate’s responsibility to ascertain the deadline set by the ONE in his or her country of residence.

f. In addition to the OAS application, applicants must also submit a formal application through the USTTI. Applications may be filed through USTTI’s web site: http://ustti.org

11. OAS Scholarship Selection Criteria: In accordance with article 4.2 of the Manual of Procedures of the Scholarship and Training Programs of the OAS, OAS scholarships shall be granted based on the following criteria:

· The objectives and priorities established in the Strategic Plan for Partnership for Development;

· The training priorities of the member states;

· The merits and overall credentials of the candidate, including his/her academic and professional background;

· The financial need of the candidate; and

· An extensive and equitable geographic distribution for the benefit of all member states and that takes into account the greater needs of the smaller and relatively less developed economies.

12. Benefits: For successful candidates:

· OAS/CITEL will cover round trip economy class air tickets from country of origin or residence to Washington, DC, United States of America. Funds for terminal and in-transit expenses are NOT provided [4]
· USTTI will provide a stipend of $400.00 to offset hotel and living expenses, as well as waiving the $150.00 administrative fee.

13. Responsibilities of the selected candidates:

· Based on shared accommodations and on arrival date of Wednesday, October 12, 2011 and departure date of Saturday, October 22, 2011 the additional amount needed for this course is USD$ 700.00. (Please be advised that the accommodation that is being provided requires participants to share hotel rooms, if an unshared (single) hotel room is requested, an additional USD$ 720.00 is required).

o The selected candidates must confirm their acceptance to the OAS General Secretariat Office in their respective countries and through the ONE in order for the OAS to proceed with making the necessary travel arrangements to purchase the air travel tickets, economy class, round-trip, between their country of origin or residence and the study location or, if the scholarship is refused, to appoint another candidate.

o The selected candidates must confirm their acceptance of the scholarship by signing and returning to DHDEC their completed “form of acceptance of the scholarship award”; only after this has been done will the OAS proceed with the necessary travel arrangements to purchase the air travel tickets, economy class, round-trip, between the scholarship recipient’s country of origin and the study location.

o Upon selection, candidates must accept the scholarship by confirming their availability to follow the course during the period indicated and their acceptance of the duly provided conditions of study.

o Selected scholarship recipients are responsible for obtaining the necessary visa(s) to enter the country of study and the corresponding transit(s). The OAS will not be responsible for any costs related to obtaining visas or transfer documentation.

o Each scholarship recipient is responsible for arriving in time for the commencement of activities on the date established by the institution offering the course or program.

o If the scholarship recipient fails to travel on the scheduled dates, or change routes, after the General Secretariat of the Organization of American States (GS/OAS) has purchased his/her travel ticket, he/she will be responsible for paying the difference in ticket costs in order to arrive at the course site in time. The scholarship recipient will furthermore have to reimburse the GS/OAS the total cost of the airfare for his/her travel from his/her country of residence to the site where the Professional Development Course will take place and back if, after the ticket has been purchased, he/she declines the scholarship without written authorization from the Department of Human Development.

o The latter includes any additional costs, if any, incurred by the GS/OAS, such as extra costs for accommodation during the scholarship recipient’s travel to and from the country where the course will be held.

o If the fellow declines, cancels or terminates the Scholarship after the course or program has started without providing the GS/OAS with a compelling reason, he or she will have to reimburse GS/OAS the total amount of incurred costs/expenses.

14. Certification: The participants will receive a diploma from the United States Telecommunications Training Institute (USTTI), regional Training Center of the Inter-American Telecommunication Commission (CITEL).

15. Presentation of candidacies:

Please Notice: If you were awarded an OAS Professional Development Scholarship in the past twelve (12) months or if you currently hold an OAS Scholarship for Academic Studies, you are not eligible to apply for another Professional Development Scholarship.

The online application form must be completed on-line and can be accessed at: http://www.educoas.org/portal/en/oasbecas/onsite.aspx?culture=en&navid=282 here you’ll find the announcements of all the onsite courses, click in the one you are interested in, go though the end of the page, and then you’ll find the Continue button which will direct you to the online application form.

Once the applicant has completed the online application form and submitted it, a copy will be sent automatically to his/her e-mail account. This completed form must be printed, signed and submitted to the National Liaison Office (ONE) with all other forms (http://www.educoas.org/portal/en/oasbecas/formspd.aspx?culture=en&navid=282)

All the additional forms must be completed electronically or in typewritten format.

The following is the list of National Liaison Organizations (ONEs) in the OAS Member states: http://www.educoas.org/portal/en/oasbecas/ones.aspx?culture=en&navid=282

Please note that the official announcement is published in the language of instruction of the course and is available via the Educational Portal of the Americas Web page at: http://www.educoea.org.

Any questions regarding submission of applications for this course should be sent to: [email protected]

IMPORTANT NOTICE: THESE SCHOLARSHIPS ARE SUBJECT TO THE AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS CORRESPONDING TO THE 2011 REGULAR BUDGET


[1] The General Secretariat of the Organization of American States (“GS/OAS”) reserves the right to cancel this scholarship announcement at any time. Moreover, the OAS, GS/OAS, and its personnel are not liable for any actions taken in reliance on or otherwise based upon information in this announcement.

[2] On June 3, 2009, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Americas adopted resolution AG/RES. 2438 (XXXIX-O/09), which resolves that the 1962 Resolution that excluded the Government of Cuba from its participation in the inter-American system, ceases to have effect in the Organization of American States (OAS). The 2009 resolution states that the participation of the Republic of Cuba in the OAS will be the result of a process of dialogue initiated at the request of the Government of Cuba, and in accordance with the practices, purposes, and principles of the OAS

[3] The deadline for presentation of applications to the (ONE) differs from country to country and should therefore be confirmed with the relevant ONE in the applicant's country of origin or permanent residence.

[4] OAS professional development scholarships will cover up to $1,150.00 for round trip airfare to travel between member states and up to $2,500.00 for roundtrip airfare to travel from member states to observer countries.

 

This application must be completed on-line.


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