The SI Scholarship 3,000 Hours Requirement

Why 3,000 Hours?

SI is specifically funding working professionals, not fresh graduates. The scholarship is designed for people who've already started their careers and want to advance them. The work experience requirement is the filter that makes this possible.

3,000 hours is roughly 1.5 years of full-time work at 40 hours per week. But it doesn't need to be full-time, and it doesn't need to come from a single job. Part-time work, freelancing, and multiple employers all count — within the limits. You don't have to be employed when you apply, and the hours must be accumulated before the application period opens (for the 2026 round: before 9 February 2026).

3,000 hours, from a maximum of 3 employers. Internships excluded.

What Counts as Work Experience

SI is specific about this. Not all paid activity qualifies. SI's own wording: valid work experience includes full-time and part-time employment, for instance as an employee, employer or freelancer.

• Full-time employment
• Part-time employment (count actual hours worked)
• Freelance work (with clients, invoices, or contracts to document)
• Self-employment or entrepreneurship (with registration or business documents)
• Professional military service (not mandatory conscription) — this guide’s reading; SI does not list it
• Internships — even paid ones, even long ones, explicitly excluded by SI
• Volunteer work — can be included as leadership experience, but not counted as hours
• Academic research assistantships — this guide treats them as academic, not professional, even if paid
• Casual or undocumented work that can't be verified by an employer

Work experience in line with your chosen field of study is prioritised.

The 3 Employer Maximum

This is the rule that trips up the most applicants. Your 3,000 hours must come from a maximum of 3 employers (organisations or companies). Hours from a 4th employer cannot be counted — even if you need them to reach the 3,000-hour threshold. If three experiences are not enough to reach 3,000 hours, the application is ineligible.

1. 1
   If you've worked at 5 companies, pick 3.

   The other two cannot contribute hours to your application.

2. 2
   If your best 3 employers together give you fewer than 3,000 hours, you don't currently meet the requirement.
3. 3
   Strategy

   Pick the 3 employers that give you the most hours AND tell the strongest professional growth story.

How to Calculate Your Hours

Use actual working hours, not calendar time. Leaves of absence, maternity or paternity leave, and unpaid gaps do not count. Official holidays are generally not counted either.

Worked examples

Example 1: single employer. Job A: 2 years full-time = 4,000 hours (1 employer). You already meet the 3,000-hour minimum from a single job. You don't even need employers 2 or 3.

Example 2: part-time, single employer. Job A: 3 years at 20 hrs/week, 50 weeks a year = 3,000 hours (1 employer) — meets the requirement on its own.

Example 3: three employers combined.

Example 4: hits the employer cap.

This example actually meets the 3,000-hour minimum from 3 employers alone. But if it didn't, the 4th employer's hours would be completely ignored.

The Document Template

SI provides a mandatory Proof of Work and Leadership Experience form. You cannot create your own format, and you cannot use templates from previous application years.

1. 1
   Download the current year's form from the official SI website.

   For 2027/28, expect the 2027/2028 template around mid-November 2026.

2. 2
   Type in your details, then send to each employer.

   Each work form covers one employer — maximum 3 work forms, plus up to 2 leadership forms.

3. 3
   Have each form printed, signed and stamped.

   Signed by someone who knows your work in a professional capacity, stamped by the organisation or a notary office.

4. 4
   Combine all forms into one PDF.

   Work experience forms first, in reverse chronological order (most recent job first), then the leadership forms, also reverse chronological.

5. 5
   Check the length.

   Each form at most one page; maximum 5 pages in total, excluding the instruction page. Do not include the instruction pages in your submission.

The Stamp Problem

This is a genuine pain point. Many organisations — especially tech companies and Western-style organisations — don't use stamps. SI does not make exceptions for documentation gaps: if you can't produce a valid, properly signed and stamped document, that employer's hours cannot be counted toward your total.

Don't assume any alternative is acceptable. Check SI's current FAQ or contact SI directly for their position on stamp alternatives in the year you are applying.

Who Can Sign the Form

The signer must know you in a professional rather than a personal capacity and be able to speak for the employer. It does not have to be your direct manager, but they must be able to comment on your experience on behalf of the employer.

Eastern European Countries

Citizens of these six countries have a lower threshold: any documented work experience qualifies, with no minimum hours.

• The same documentation template and employer stamp/signature rules apply — the threshold is lower, but the paperwork requirements are the same. Without proof of work experience, the application is ineligible.
• More experience is still better than less, even without a minimum. SI states that applicants with more experience are prioritised.

Leadership Experience (Separate from Work Hours)

The application asks about leadership experience separately from work hours. SI defines it as experience leading colleagues or organisations, a mandate to influence your organisation's development strategy, allocating tasks to colleagues, and/or familiarity with decision-making processes. There is no minimum number of hours, but strong, relevant leadership from employment is prioritised.

• Managing people or teams
• Running projects with significant scope
• Influencing organisational decisions
• Leading community or civil society initiatives
• NGO or community group leadership
• Professional association roles
• Volunteer leadership roles DO count here — unlike work hours, which exclude volunteer activity.
• Leadership is documented in the leadership part of the same SI form, separate from the work experience part.
• Maximum 2 leadership forms, combined into the same final PDF after the work experience forms.
• Same stamp and signature requirements apply to leadership forms.

Common Mistakes

These are the documentation errors that get applications rejected or marked down. Avoid all of them.

• Listing internships in the work experience section. They don't count. Including them doesn't help and can cast doubt on your understanding of the requirements.
• Using a template from a previous application year. SI updates its templates. Always download the current year's version from the official SI website.
• Submitting forms from more than 3 employers. Hours from a 4th employer are ignored regardless of how many forms you include.
• Family members signing for a family business. Use a non-family staff member, a company client, or a notary instead.
• Including the template instruction pages in your PDF. Remove them before combining your forms.
• Not combining all forms into a single PDF. All work and leadership forms must be submitted as one combined PDF, not as separate files.
• Forms in the wrong order. Work forms first, most recent job first; then leadership forms, most recent first.