For the 2024 cohort of the AfricaLic PhD Visiting Fellowship Program, which is focused on innovation and development, suitable PhD students from African universities are being sought after by AfricaLics, the African Network for Economics of Learning, Innovation, and Competence Building Systems. Those who are selected for this program will have the chance to take part in a fellowship that ideally combines three months of study at the University of Johannesburg (UJ) in South Africa with online pre- and post-activities. However, the three-month study visit at UJ is contingent upon money availability, and prospective students are asked to assist in fundraising (see section on financing concerns) in order to pay for their study visit at UJ.

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Aims of program

The purpose of the scholarships and visiting fellowship program is to support African doctoral students working in the field of innovation and development to enhance their research and academic credentials, polish their dissertations, and get ready for a career in the field, whether it be in academia or outside (such as in the government or private sector or in policy making). This is accomplished through the visiting fellowship program, which raises the PhD students’ mobility and exposure to global expertise in the area of innovation and development. The initiative is a component of AfricaLics’ efforts to support the growth of an active research community in Africa in this newly developing and intensely interdisciplinary topic.

Eligibility and selection criteria

PhD candidates from African nations classified by the OECD/DAC as low- and lower-middle-income countries are eligible for the scholarship, provided that their research, regardless of sector, focuses on the connection between innovation and environmentally, socially, or economically sustainable development. As AfricaLics works to increase the existing low number of female academics in Innovation and Development research studies in Africa, female PhD students are especially urged to apply. Likewise, as AfricaLics works to enhance research capacity in Innovation and Development in low-income countries in Africa, PhD students from these nations are especially encouraged to apply.

Apply for the TETFUND Alliance for Innovative Research (TETFAIR-4)

By December 2023, candidates must be enrolled in PhD programs in African universities and have finished their first year of study.

Candidates for the PhD visiting fellowship program at AfricaLics ought to:

• be enrolled in an African university as a PhD candidate.
• have finished their first academic year by December 2023
• possess a foundation in geography, history, development studies, science and technology policy, economics, sociology, political science, or geography (BSc, MSc, etc.).
• candidates may also work in manufacturing or within the STEM (science, technology, engineering, or mathematics) fields from a social science viewpoint.
• have sufficient English language proficiency (proof may be required).
• be actively engaged in a project that relates to the previously designated field of innovation and development.

Send us a one-page, 500-word application outlining your background, your reasons for applying, and the results you want to achieve by participating in the AfricaLics PhD visiting fellowship program.

The following files need to be sent with the application:

• A five-page maximum overview of your current PhD study, including training plans
• Curriculum Vitae (CV) (containing courses completed toward a PhD)
• Supporting letter from the primary PhD supervisor attesting to the PhD candidate’s completion of the upgrade and probation by the end of December 2023
• A letter of recommendation from the PhD student’s university, issued by the administration
• Copies of academic credentials (at least copies of the bachelor’s and master’s degrees)
• A single example of writing (a chapter or article) from a current PhD program.

Apply

Deadline

1st December, 2023.

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