2023 AfricaLics Visiting PhD Fellowships for African PhD Students

AfricaLics is seeking for suitably qualified PhD students from reputable universities in Africa to participate in the 2023 cohort of the AfricaLics PhD Visiting Fellowship Programme targeted on Innovation and Development. The realization of the fellowship is subject to a final decision by its main funder (the Swedish International Development Agency) on whether to continue funding in a new phase (2023-2027). The aim of the visiting fellowship program and the scholarships is to help African PhD students working in the field of Innovation and Development to strengthen their academic/research qualifications, improve quality of their dissertations and prepare for a career in innovation and development either within academia or in the private sector or in government/policy making.

Under the AfricaLics Visiting Fellowship Program, successful fellows will be provided with the opportunity to take part in a one year fellowship program combining online pre and post-activities with a study period of 3 months at University of Johannesburg in South Africa. Mentoring will also be provided by a range of African and international scholars in Innovation and Development studies who are research active in AfricaLics and Globelics. The program will be housed by the DSI/NRF/Newton Fund Trilateral Research Chair in Trans-formative Innovation, the Fourth Industrial Revolution and Sustainable Development (TRCTI) at University of Johannesburg. It also includes the African Centre for Technology Studies (ACTS) and Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology (JOOUST) in Kenya and University of Sussex in UK.

Eligibility for the 2023 AfricaLics Visiting PhD Fellowships for African PhD Students:

PhD applicants from countries classified by the OECD/DAC as low and lower-middle income countries in Africa whose studies, irrespective of sectoral discipline, focus on the relationship between innovation and economic, social or and environmentally sustainable development.
Female PhD students from low-income countries are particularly encouraged to apply as AfricaLics endeavors to contribute to increasing the currently low number of female scholars and low-income countries scholars in Innovation and Development research studies in Africa.
Applicants must be registered as PhD students at African universities and must have completed their first year of PhD studies by December 2022.
Applicants must already have secured basic funding for their PhD studies from other sources like, African governments, other organisations or self-financing.
Applicants must have a background (BSc, MSc etc.) within Economics, Sociology, Political Science, Science and Technology Policy, Business, Geography, History or Development Studies. Applicants may also work within the STEM (science, technology, engineering or mathematics) subjects, technology management or even manufacturing but from a social science perspective.
Applicants must possess adequate skills in English.
Applicants are required to submit a brief application of 500 words explaining own background, motivation for applying and expected outcomes of participation in the Fellowship program.

Benefits of the 2023 AfricaLics Visiting PhD Fellowships for African PhD Students:

Return flight costs from applicants nearest international airport (economy class) and health insurance covered on a reimbursement basis.
Applicants health insurance for the study period will be covered (reimbursed) by the AfricaLics secretariat.
The visiting scholars will receive a stipend of R9500 per month as of the exchange rate at the end of June 2022.
A fixed amount is available to cover student participation in selected course activities.
Funding is available for organizing trilateral meetings between the PhD student, the main supervisor from home institution and the AfricaLics mentor(s) during the study period.
The scholarship covers only costs related to the visit of the student him/herself. The Fellowships are currently looking into the possibility of a small amount of funds being made available to cover the costs of pre-school age children being able to accompany single parents who are offered the fellowship.

Method of Application for the 2023 AfricaLics Visiting PhD Fellowships for African PhD Students:

Interested applicants who wish to apply for the Fellowship must accompany their application by the following documents below:

Brief outline of applicants current PhD project including training plan (max. 5 pages). Applicants should ensure to: be clear on the theoretical and conceptual frameworks they are using in their research, carefully stipulate their research questions making sure that the research questions are clear and focused, stipulate evidence that they intend to address each of their research questions, clearly specify the sources of the data/information that they will use to obtain the evidence that they require, explain how they intend to go about collecting this evidence (using interviews; data bases, surveys etc.)
Curriculum Vitae (including PhD courses attended so far)
Letter of support from the main PhD supervisor confirming that the PhD applicant will have completed her/his upgrade/probation/ proposal defense by end December 2022.
Letter of support from the University Administration at the university where the PhD applicant is registered.
Copies of academic certificates (copies of Bachelor and Master Certificates as a minimum).
One writing sample (article or chapter) from current PhD program.
Application Form.
PhD visiting fellowship program handout.

Application Deadline: September 15, 2022.

Kindly visit the official website for more information