NEOM SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM
NEOM is an accelerator of human progress and a vision of what a New Future might look like. It is a region in northwest Saudi Arabia on the Red Sea being built from the ground up as a living laboratory – a place where entrepreneurship will chart the course for this New Future. It will be a destination and a home for people who dream big and want to be part of building a new model for exceptional livability, creating thriving businesses, and reinventing environmental conservation.
As a hub for innovation, entrepreneurs, business leaders, and companies will come to research, incubate, and commercialize new technologies and enterprises in ground-breaking ways. Residents of NEOM will embody an international ethos and embrace a culture of exploration, risk-taking, and diversity — all supported by a progressive law compatible with international norms and conducive to economic growth.
NEOM is uniquely positioned to become the regional epicenter of the media industry offering an unparalleled environment for content creation and establishing itself amongst elite global media and gaming hubs.
NEOM will offer an unmatched platform to support a flourishing media industry by attracting top talent and introducing a robust talent development infrastructure while offering unique incentives for both local and international participants such as screen production rebates and more.
Set to impact the wider media eco-system, NEOM will develop a physical infrastructure set to include state of the art facilities and technology from studios, backlots, broadcast studios, gaming centers, animation and VFX/post-production studios. Additionally, NEOM will extend a plethora of services including access to investors and innovators from the startup industry and will support ease of business through simple and transparent regulations and ease of movement to, from and within the region.
‘The NEOM Media hub’ is expected to be home to more than 400 independent businesses providing expertise, equipment and support focused on the film, television, gaming and digital publishing industries first regionally, and then internationally. We have identified a number of key enablers that will be critical to establishing the media hub. A business-ready workforce ensuring abundant access to the best talent is one of those enablers and we will partner with the world’s top educational, vocational, creative and technical training institutions to provide world-class media industry learning opportunities for Saudis.
We have partnered with the National Film and Television School (NFTS) in the United Kingdom for the first of many media industry learning partnerships to upskill and reskill Saudi nationals looking to establish or further their careers in this dynamic and exciting industry. The NFTS is listed as one of the top 10 ranked film schools globally and is recognised as the leading filmmaking school in the UK.
Together with NFTS, NEOM is offering 50 places for the entry-level blended learning NFTS Certificate in Filmmaking courses. Saudi Nationals interested in pursuing opportunities in writing, producing, creating and distributing visual effects, directing, cinematography, sound recording and more can apply to the six-month online program that culminates in a practical weekend of workshops at the NFTS in Buckinghamshire, England.
NFTS has a highly regarded masters degree program with a choice of majoring in one of the 17 disciplines including animation, producing, directing & digital effects among others. Five full scholarships will be offered, for talented Saudi Nationals, for a two-year degree which provides hands on experience alongside a progressive range of sophisticated course offerings, the NFTS has a graduate employment rate of 91%.
For nearly half a century, NFTS has developed some of Britain and the world’s top creative talents. The school has won 11 Oscars and 138 BAFTAs and has been nominated dozens of times for each.
NFTS runs more than 30 MA, Diploma and Certificate courses - as well as numerous short courses - across a range of film, television and games disciplines.
NFTS have more behind the camera courses than any other film school, including core craft areas such as directing and cinematography as well as specialist areas such as script supervision and production accounting.
The School is recognized internationally as a model of excellence in specialist higher education and one of the world’s pre-eminent institutions in film and the moving image; it is consistently the only UK film school to be listed in the Hollywood Reporter’s top international film schools list and has been described in the UK’s Guardian newspaper as the ‘World’s Best Film School’.
Applicants fill out the registration online form with their correct information and upload the requested documents, noting that the registration will close on the 26th of November at 11:59 PM.
All the applications will be filtered and evaluated based on the general and specific admission criteria for each program to select the top applicants.
The approval or rejection decision will be issued by the program administration and will be communicated via the email address registered on the application form. The estimated time is December 2020.
Accepted applicants start the program in either the online blended certificate program which is 6 months online, or a masters degree which is 2 years (full time, offline in the UK). The estimated starting time for the certificate program is in February 2021, and the masters degree will start in January 2021.
General Admission Requirements
General acceptance requirements for the blended learning NFTS Certificate in Filmmaking course and Master degree courses:
FAQ's
1. How can I apply for the NEOM scholarship program?
You can apply through this platform scholarships.neom.com. There are two tracks;
A Master Degree track that contains 4 master programs (for top 5 applicants):
Online Blended Certificate Program (for the top 50 applicants):
2. When is the application deadline?
The application deadline is on 26th November 2020.
3. What is the duration of the scholarship programs?
The duration of the online blended certificate program is 6 months: (5 months online, the last month will be offline in the UK), while the master degree is 2 years (full time-offline).
4. Is it possible for those who are expected to graduate to apply?
Admission to the NEOM scholarship programs depends on meeting the general and specific admission requirements.
5. Can I apply for a Master’s degree if I have previously obtained a degree?
Yes, you can apply for a Master’s degree if you have previously obtained a degree.
6. Can I be accepted in the NEOM scholarship program if I obtain an acceptance letter from a university other than NFTS (National Film and Television School) university ?
Acceptance into the NEOM scholarship program is restricted to NFTS (National Film and Television School) university only.
7. Do I have to resign or take a leave from my current job to be accepted into the NEOM scholarship program?
This matter is up to the applicant, and it must be coordinated with your employer. The program administration is not responsible.
8. Is it required to have a valid passport?
Yes, a valid passport is required, It is one of the program's conditions to have valid and complete documents.
9. What is the expected time for the results?
The applicants are notified via the email used in the registration process. The estimated time is to get back to you in December.
10. What are the advantages of the program?
The program includes tuition fees, accommodation expenses for students, and one round trip travel tickets from the KSA to the country of scholarship.
11. Does the NEOM scholarship programs end with employment?
The program does not end with employment. However the graduated applicants will enhance their chance of getting employment at NEOM.
12. What are the criteria for differentiation between applicants?
The program takes into consideration a set of criteria, please check the general and specific conditions mentioned in each program’s page.
13. I submitted more than one application within the same track, will all applications be considered?
Only the last application will be considered.
14. For the masters programs, do I have to be in the UK for the whole 2 years?
Yes, the applicant must attend the whole program in the UK
15. Can I apply to more than one major/course to increase the chance of acceptance?
Yes you can apply to more than one major/course to increase the chance of acceptance
16. Can children of female citizens apply for the program?
No, the NEOM scholarship program is only open for male and female citizens ( only Saudis) of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
17. Can the children of applicants accompany them during the scholarship? If yes, will they receive a stipend?
Yes they can, however the scholarship will only cover the applicants fees.
18. Is a companion required?
No, a companion is not required.
19. I registered on the website and did not receive the activation link in the email.
We recommend checking the Spam folder in your email. We also recommend using Gmail or Hotmail for better services.
20. I forgot my password, how can I reset it?
Click on "Sign in" at the top of the main page, then click on "Forgot Password" and follow the instructions.
21. Can I send application form requirements via email?
You must submit all requirements by filling out the registration form on: scholarships.neom.com
