PASET RSIF Scholarships for PhD Students, 2021-2022

Program Details

• Host Institutions: University Felix Houphouet-Boigny (Ivory Coast), University of Nairobi (Kenya), Kenyatta University (Kenya), Bayero University (Nigeria), University of Port Harcourt (Nigeria), Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology (Tanzania), Sokoine University of Agriculture (Tanzania), African University Of Science and Technology (Tanzania), University of Ghana (Ghana), University of Rwanda (Rwanda), University of Gaston Berger (Senegal).
• Eligible Programs: Please find the list below.
• Number of Awards: Not specified.
• Duration: up to 4 years.
• Eligible Countries: Open to citizens of a sub-Saharan Africa countries (Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Dem. Rep. Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, São Tomé and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe).

PASET RSIF Scholarships for PhD Students Benefits

Selected candidates for the Regional Scholarship and Innovation Fund will be offered the following benefits:

• Scholarship covers university tuition and related fees, competitive stipend to cover living expenses, travel, medical insurance, and research costs ;
• scholars will be supported to spend 6-24 months in a ‘sandwich’ training at an international partner university, research institute or private company ;
• 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.

Partner Universities with program offered

1. PhD in Biodiversity and Sustainable Agriculture (University Felix Houphouet-Boigny) ;
2. PhD in Natural Resources Management and Climate Change (Bayero University) ;
3. PhD in Physics (University of Nairobi) ;
4. PhD in Petroleum and Gas Engineering / Energy Economics (University of Port Harcourt) ;
5. PhD in Materials Science and Engineering (African University Of Science and Technology) ;
6. PhD in Materials Science (Kenyatta University) ;
7. PhD in Materials Science and Engineering (Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology) ;
8. PhD in Food Security and Agribusiness (Sokoine University of Agriculture) ;
9. PhD in Applied Agricultural Economics and Policy/Agribusiness (University of Ghana) ;
10. PhD in Internet of Things: Embedded Computing Systems (University of Rwanda) ;
11. PhD in Computer Science (University of Gaston Berger).

RSIF International Partner Institutions

RSIF International Partner Institutions (IPI) are approved universities, research institutes/centres, or companies (public or private) that offer sandwich opportunities for RSIF PhD Scholars from Africa. RSIF PhD Scholars must spend between 6 and 24 months at an IPI for a strategic research placement as part of their PhD program.

PASET RSIF Scholarships for PhD Students Eligibility

To be eligible for a RSIF PhD Scholarship, applicants must:

• Have a relevant Master’s degree in one of the fields of study ;
• Meet the specific admission requirements of the African Host University they are applying to ;
• Preference will be given to applicants who are 35 years of age and below ;
• Be a citizen of a sub-Saharan Africa country ;
• Be willing to enroll full-time in a PhD program at an African Host University in the 2021-2022 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.

You may also be eligible for the:

1. Quebec Merit Scholarship Program for Foreign Students;
2. MEXT Scholarship at the University of Tokyo;
3. University of Toronto Admission Scholarships for International Students;
4. Friedrich Naumann Foundation Scholarships for Master and PhD;
5. Schwarzman Scholars program at Tsinghua University.

Application instructions

Eligible applicants who would like to apply for this program must click on the apply button below to complete the online application and submit it together with the required supporting documents.

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. The application must be completed in English, French or Portuguese.

Required Documents

1. Certified copies of bachelor’s and master’s degree certificates ;
2. Certified copies of university transcripts for bachelor’s and Master’s degrees ;
3. Current curriculum vitae ;
4. Personal statement/ motivation letter (character limit, including spaces: 4,500) ;
5. PhD’s proposal abstract (character limit, including spaces: 15,000) ;
6. Two signed, official letters of recommendation from your employer (if currently employed) or university where the master’s degree was undertaken. The letters must be on official letterhead ;
7. If applicable, an official letter confirming that you will be granted study leave from your place of employment. The letter must be on official letterhead ;
8. Copy of a recognized form of identification (e.g., passport biodata page or national ID).

Should there be any challenges navigating the application system, please contact [email protected]

The application deadline has been extended to October 7, 2021 at 5:00 pm (East Africa Time; UTC+3). For more information about the PASET RSIF Scholarships for PhD Students, please visit the official page. To be the first to see latest opportunities, please follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram.