The Carlos Antonio López National Scholarship Program (Becal) has announced that starting in January 2025, the selected scholarship holders must obtain a qualified electronic signature to sign their contracts, based on the recent call made in September.
The implementation of qualified electronic signatures and the digitalisation of the required documentation aim to streamline the scholarship awarding process, eliminating the need to submit physical documents, reducing time and costs for scholarship recipients and the State.
This measure marks a significant advance in the management of scholarships, optimising access and protection of information in a safe and reliable manner.
This includes those awarded master’s degrees, doctorates, post-doctorates and degree mobility abroad in the self-managed modality, as well as those selected in the assisted call for language renewal in Paraguay, who must sign their contracts using a qualified electronic signature.
In the case of scholarship holders abroad, they must manage an equivalent signature in their country of residence that meets the requirements established in Paraguay. In situations of loss or renewal, the costs will be assumed by the scholarship holder. The list of service providers is here.
A qualified electronic signature will be required for those who are awarded the thirteenth call for self-managed applications to carry out postdoctoral studies, the nineteenth call for self-managed applications for master’s and doctoral degrees; the eighth call for self-managed applications for public sector officials to carry out master’s and doctoral degrees abroad and the twelfth call for self-managed applications to carry out international degree mobility.
The same applies to the assisted renewal call for Languages 06. The addenda indicating the obligation of the qualified electronic signature are available on the Becal website here.
Becal also mentions that other documents that must have a qualified electronic signature include the SPI’s Completed Application Task; the Conacyt Curriculum Vitae CVPy online, the Affidavit of Knowledge of Guides and Authorization, among others.
In a statement, a representative for Becal stated: “This move towards digitalisation reaffirms Becal’s commitment to the efficiency and modernisation of its processes, raising the quality of scholarship management and facilitating the experience of beneficiaries at each stage of the process.”
Becal also partners with the Chevening Scholarship programme run by the British government, which enables Paraguayans to obtain a Masters degree from any UK university on a full scholarship.
