Sweden just made dreams come true for 402 brilliant minds around the globe. The Swedish Institute (SI) has officially announced the final selection for its fully funded SI Scholarships for Global Professionals and the groundbreaking SI Scholarship for Pioneering Women in STEM for the 2025/2026 academic year—an announcement set to change lives, fuel innovation, and empower global leadership.
With over 8,500 applications flooding in from across Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, and Latin America, only 351 exceptional individuals were handpicked for the prestigious SI Scholarship for Global Professionals, reflecting Sweden’s commitment to supporting changemakers passionate about democracy, sustainability, and equality. These future leaders are now set to study at 28 universities across Sweden, spanning 208 master’s programmes with a strong emphasis on social sciences, engineering, technology, and natural sciences.
But that’s not all.
For the first time ever, 51 trailblazing women from 10 countries in Africa and Asia have been awarded the newly launched SI Scholarship for Pioneering Women in STEM, designed to shatter glass ceilings and reshape the global tech landscape. These scholars will pursue STEM-focused master’s degrees at 26 Swedish universities, supported by a dedicated budget of SEK 29 million, affirming Sweden’s global stance on gender equity in science and innovation.
“Sweden is an export-dependent country that relies on international cooperation and exchange,” stated Madeleine Sjöstedt, Director-General of the Swedish Institute. “Our scholarship programmes are an important way to strengthen ties between Sweden and the rest of the world… We are proud to give a special welcome to this year’s scholars in STEM, and look forward to building meaningful relationships with all of our 2025 scholarship recipients.”
Together, these two scholarship streams carry a combined budget of over SEK 200 million, a testament to Sweden’s vision of cultivating a network of forward-thinking professionals ready to tackle the world’s most urgent challenges with Swedish values and global expertise.
To the 402 new SI scholars: Welcome to Sweden—your journey as a global leader begins now.
Ref: https://si.se/en/si-scholarship-2025-2026/.
