PASET-RSIF PhD Scholarship Programme 2020/2021

The Partnership for skills in Applied Sciences, Engineering and Technology (PASET) is an African-led initiative with the goal of strengthening skills in the Applied Sciences, 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. RSIF focuses on transformative technologies that have a far-reaching positive impact on society. It is funded by contributions from African governments, the World Bank and the Government of Korea and facilitated by the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe) in Nairobi, Kenya.

RSIF aims to train quality PhD students and post-doctoral researchers at selected African universities (‘African Host Universities’) 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 SSA. RSIF also supports the strengthening of research and innovation ecosystems at the African Host Universities by providing funding through competitive grants.

RSIF supports training, research and innovation in five PASET Priority Thematic Areas: (1) ICT including big data and artificial intelligence, (2) Food security and agri-business, (3) Minerals, mining and materials engineering, (4) Energy including renewables and (5) Climate change.

The specific objectives of RSIF are to:

• Create a stock of highly skilled scientists, professionals and innovators in ASET areas.
• Identify and nurture young talented Africans who wish to further their studies in ASET fields where expertise is needed most.
•  Address imbalances in the number of women and disadvantaged groups in ASET fields in Africa.
• Build
  African university capacity to provide relevant ASET training and to
  ensure continued investment in scaling up the ASET education and
  workforce.

Thematic Areas.

RSIF supports training, research and innovation in five PASET Priority Thematic Areas:

• ICT including big data and artificial intelligence
• Food security and agri-business
• Minerals, mining and materials engineering
• Energy including renewables and
• Climate change.

Eligibility.

Applicants must

• Have
  a relevant master’s degree in one of the fields of study. The master’s
  degree must have been completed less than six years before April 30,
  2020.
• Meet the specific admission requirements of the African Host University they are applying to.
• Be a citizen of a sub-Saharan Africa country.
• Be willing to enroll full-time in a PhD program at a African Host University in the 2020-2021 academic year.
• Be
  willing to spend 6-24 months in a ‘sandwich’ training at an
  international partner university, research institute or private company.
• Demonstrate
  that their research goals are well aligned to the RSIF Priority
  Thematic Areas and contribute to Africa’s development.
• Priority for the scholarships will be given to women and existing young academic faculty who do not have a PhD.

Benefits.

RSIF PhD Scholars will receive the following benefits:

• The
  RSIF PhD Scholarship covers university tuition and related fees,
  competitive stipend to cover living expenses, travel, medical insurance,
  and research costs.
• RSIF PhD scholars will be supported to
  spend 6-24 months in a ‘sandwich’ training at an international partner
  university, research institute or private company.
• RSIF PhD scholars become part of a growing network of emerging leaders in ASET fields in Sub Saharan Africa.
• RSIF PhD scholars will have access to RSIF competitive research grants upon completion of their PhD.

How to Apply

Apply Here.

• Reference the RSIF PhD scholarship call guidelines (English or French) for
  guidance in completing your application. Please note that only complete
  applications submitted online will be accepted. Should there be any
  challenges navigating the application system, please
  contact [email protected] 
• Complete the online application and submit together with the required supporting documents via the online system.
• The
  online platform will accept the following file types: doc, docx, pdf,
  jpg, jpeg, png. The maximum file size accepted for any single file is 32
  MB.
• Submit together with the required supporting documents.
• The application must be completed in English or French.
• Applications must be submitted no later than 15 June, 2020 at 5:00 pm (East Africa Time; UTC+3).

Deadline

Closing date for applications: 15th June, 2020.