Student Support & Services
What you can expect before you travel and while you are on mobility, and who to contact at each institution
A scholarship is more than tuition and an allowance. Every EXCEL-PHARM scholarship holder is supported by a named local coordinator at both their home and host institution, from the moment of selection until they return. The services below are arranged through your host institution; your local coordinator is your first point of contact for all of them.
Before you travel
Once you are selected and admitted, your host institution issues the admission and acceptance documents you need to prepare for mobility. Your local coordinator confirms your start date, tells you what to bring, and puts you in contact with the department that will host you. Ask your coordinator early — most delays in a mobility are caused by paperwork started too late.
Visas, residence and research permits
Your host institution provides the admission letter and supporting documents required for your student visa application, and your local coordinator guides you through the process for that country. After arrival, the host institution assists with residence registration or a residence permit where the country requires one. Where your research needs a permit — for example, work involving human participants, clinical material, or the transfer of biological samples — your host department arranges it together with your supervisor.
Arrival, welcome and accommodation
Each host institution runs an orientation for incoming students, covering registration, campus services, safety, and living in the city. Accommodation is arranged through the host institution — either in university residences or in assisted private housing — and the arrangements differ from campus to campus, so the details for each institution are listed below.
Language support
The consortium spans English-speaking and French-speaking institutions. Where the language of instruction at your host institution differs from the one you have studied in, the host institution provides language support so you can follow your programme and take part in laboratory and clinical work. Confirm what is available with your local coordinator before you accept a placement.
Health insurance and healthcare
Health insurance is part of the EXCEL-PHARM scholarship for the duration of your mobility. Campus health services and the referral arrangements for specialist care differ by institution and are listed below.
Academic supervision and guidance
You are supervised at your host institution and remain in contact with your supervisor at home, so that the work you do abroad counts towards your degree. Your supervisors and the two coordinators agree what you will study before you travel, and confirm the results at the end of the mobility.
Support for scholarship holders with special needs
EXCEL-PHARM particularly encourages applications from persons with disabilities, and from other applicants in vulnerable situations — this is part of how the consortium selects. Support is arranged individually rather than from a fixed list: tell us what you need, as early in the process as you can, and the coordination team will work it out with your host institution before you travel. Nothing you disclose about a disability is used to assess the academic merit of your application.
To discuss your requirements in confidence, write to info@excel-pharm.org or contact the local coordinator at the institution you are applying to.
Services at each institution
What each host institution provides, and who to contact there.
University of Cape Coast
GhanaStudent support services
Every EXCEL-PHARM scholarship holder arriving at this institution receives the same core support, arranged through the institutional coordinator: welcome and orientation on arrival; accommodation, either in a university residence or in assisted private housing; help with visa applications where these are needed; residence registration and any other registration the country or the institution requires; language support where the language of instruction is not your own; and campus health services.
The international office is open to scholarship holders for any other support they need. Your institutional coordinator is your first point of contact for all of it.
Facilities for people with special needs
This institution ensures access to its buildings, residences, teaching rooms and laboratories for persons with special needs.
Contact the EXCEL-PHARM institutional coordinator, or the consortium coordinator, to arrange any individual adjustment you need. Raise it before you accept a placement, so that the arrangements are in place on the day you arrive.
University of Port Harcourt
NigeriaStudent support services
Every EXCEL-PHARM scholarship holder arriving at this institution receives the same core support, arranged through the institutional coordinator: welcome and orientation on arrival; accommodation, either in a university residence or in assisted private housing; help with visa applications where these are needed; residence registration and any other registration the country or the institution requires; language support where the language of instruction is not your own; and campus health services.
The international office is open to scholarship holders for any other support they need. Your institutional coordinator is your first point of contact for all of it.
Facilities for people with special needs
This institution ensures access to its buildings, residences, teaching rooms and laboratories for persons with special needs.
Contact the EXCEL-PHARM institutional coordinator, or the consortium coordinator, to arrange any individual adjustment you need. Raise it before you accept a placement, so that the arrangements are in place on the day you arrive.
Cheikh Anta Diop University of Dakar
SenegalStudent support services
Every EXCEL-PHARM scholarship holder arriving at this institution receives the same core support, arranged through the institutional coordinator: welcome and orientation on arrival; accommodation, either in a university residence or in assisted private housing; help with visa applications where these are needed; residence registration and any other registration the country or the institution requires; language support where the language of instruction is not your own; and campus health services.
The international office is open to scholarship holders for any other support they need. Your institutional coordinator is your first point of contact for all of it.
Facilities for people with special needs
This institution ensures access to its buildings, residences, teaching rooms and laboratories for persons with special needs.
Contact the EXCEL-PHARM institutional coordinator, or the consortium coordinator, to arrange any individual adjustment you need. Raise it before you accept a placement, so that the arrangements are in place on the day you arrive.
Stellenbosch University
South AfricaStudent support services
Every EXCEL-PHARM scholarship holder arriving at this institution receives the same core support, arranged through the institutional coordinator: welcome and orientation on arrival; accommodation, either in a university residence or in assisted private housing; help with visa applications where these are needed; residence registration and any other registration the country or the institution requires; language support where the language of instruction is not your own; and campus health services.
The international office is open to scholarship holders for any other support they need. Your institutional coordinator is your first point of contact for all of it.
Facilities for people with special needs
This institution ensures access to its buildings, residences, teaching rooms and laboratories for persons with special needs.
Contact the EXCEL-PHARM institutional coordinator, or the consortium coordinator, to arrange any individual adjustment you need. Raise it before you accept a placement, so that the arrangements are in place on the day you arrive.
Makerere University
UgandaStudent support services
Every EXCEL-PHARM scholarship holder arriving at this institution receives the same core support, arranged through the institutional coordinator: welcome and orientation on arrival; accommodation, either in a university residence or in assisted private housing; help with visa applications where these are needed; residence registration and any other registration the country or the institution requires; language support where the language of instruction is not your own; and campus health services.
The international office is open to scholarship holders for any other support they need. Your institutional coordinator is your first point of contact for all of it.
Facilities for people with special needs
This institution ensures access to its buildings, residences, teaching rooms and laboratories for persons with special needs.
Contact the EXCEL-PHARM institutional coordinator, or the consortium coordinator, to arrange any individual adjustment you need. Raise it before you accept a placement, so that the arrangements are in place on the day you arrive.
Faculdade de Farmácia da Universidade de Lisboa
PortugalStudent support services
Every EXCEL-PHARM scholarship holder arriving at this institution receives the same core support, arranged through the institutional coordinator: welcome and orientation on arrival; accommodation, either in a university residence or in assisted private housing; help with visa applications where these are needed; residence registration and any other registration the country or the institution requires; language support where the language of instruction is not your own; and campus health services.
The international office is open to scholarship holders for any other support they need. Your institutional coordinator is your first point of contact for all of it.
Facilities for people with special needs
This institution ensures access to its buildings, residences, teaching rooms and laboratories for persons with special needs.
Contact the EXCEL-PHARM institutional coordinator, or the consortium coordinator, to arrange any individual adjustment you need. Raise it before you accept a placement, so that the arrangements are in place on the day you arrive.
Who to contact
Your local coordinator at your home and host institution is your first point of contact. You can find the coordinators for every consortium institution on the partners pages, and the coordination team at the University of Cape Coast can always be reached at info@excel-pharm.org.
Find your local coordinator