PASET Regional Scholarship & Innovation Fund 2019/2020 for PhD Scholars from Sub-Saharan Africa (Funded)

Application Deadline: 22nd July 2019 at 5:00pm (GMT)

The Partnership for skills in Applied Sciences, Engineering and Technology (PASET) is an African-led initiative with the objective of strengthening skills in the Applied Science, engineering and Technology to further socio-economic transformation in sub- Saharan Africa (SSA). The Regional Scholarship and Innovation Fund (RSIF) is the flagship program of PASET.

The primary objective of RSIF is to train high quality PhD and post-doctoral students to address the human resource gap of highly qualified specialists in the fields of applied sciences, engineering, and technology (ASET) and to contribute to improving research and innovation capacities in those fields in sub-Saharan Africa. RSIF supports PhD students, post-doctoral scientists and universities in SSA to establish a high-quality training, research and innovation environment and to develop their institutional capacity for the benefit of the whole region.

RSIF is currently funded by contributions from African governments, the World Bank and the Government of Korea; and implemented by the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe), Nairobi, Kenya, as the RSIF Regional Coordinating Unit (RCU-icipe).

The PASET priority thematic areas are: ICTs including big data and artificial intelligence; food security and agribusiness; minerals, mining and materials engineering; energy including renewables; and climate change.

Applications are invited from candidates interested in receiving international-quality PhD training, and access to research and innovation ecosystems at a PASET RSIF African Host University:
• 45 RSIF PhD scholarships are available for nationals of sub-Saharan countries who do not have a PhD degree, and who are not currently enrolled in any PhD Program
• The scholarships cover costs of the PhD Program, including travel, living expenses, medical insurance, university fees, and supervisor and research support.
• Scholars will spend 6-24 months ‘sandwich’ training at a selected international or regional partner university, research institute or private company.
• The RSIF scholarships will be awarded in September 2019 to begin studies in October 2019.

Eligibility Criteria
• Master’s degree holders in a relevant field of study
• Citizens of a sub-Saharan African country willing to enroll full-time in a PhD program at an RSIF African Host University
• Priority will be given to women and existing young academic faculty at African Universities
• Demonstrate leadership potential, such as community service in areas related to PASET RSIF fields of study
• Further information on the PhD program specific requirements and RSIF AHU admissions criteria can be found here: RSIF African Host Universities and available PhD programs.

Application Procedure

Completed application forms and accompanying supporting documents must be received ONLINE through the following website LINK.

Deadline Deadline for applications: 22nd July 2019 at 5:00pm (GMT)

Please address any questions to : Sagal Abdulle, Doctoral Scholarships Officer, Regional Coordination Unit (RCU), icipe sabdulle@icipe.org