The Mawazo Institute Women Leading Research in Africa invites applications for its 2025 cohort of the Mawazo Non-Residential Fellowship Programme for Africans.
The Mawazo Fellowship Programme is a non-residential fellowship programme designed to build a network of African women experts poised to influence policy and public discourse in academia and beyond, increasing the application and implementation of practical, evidence-based ideas that drive Africa’s development.
This programme supports African women PhD students from across the continent working on emerging development issues and provides them with
- virtual, on-demand training hosted on our Mawazo Learning Exchange (MLEx) e-learning platform,
- a mentorship scheme where Fellows receive guidance and support from experienced professionals, and a peer network that provides an avenue for Mawazo Fellows to encourage each other and hold each other accountable during the fellowship year,
- access to a robust Fellows Fund that supports research activities, conference travel, research translation, and cross-sector collaborations, and
- welfare and wellness support for the Fellows’s overall well-being
All eligible PhD students are more than welcome to apply, and they particularly encourage applications from those working in the following thematic areas:
- Agriculture and Food Security
- Business, Trade, and the Economy
- Climate Change, Natural Resources, and the Environment
- Education and Pedagogy
- Energy and Engineering
- Gender, Rights, and Governance
- Indigenous Knowledge Systems
- Information and Technology
- Life and Health Sciences
- Mathematical and Physical Sciences
Duration: 15 months
Benefits
Mawazo Fellows will receive the following benefits:
- Participation in Mawazo’s in-house virtual training and professional development programme, offered through the Mawazo Learning Exchange (MLEx) e-learning platform
- Connections to expert and peer mentors through a structured mentorship programme, as well as exposure to leaders from academia, industry, government, and other sectors
- Funding for research activities with access to grants
- A stipend worth $500 for discretionary use
- Data bundles worth $150 to help access the MLEx platform
- Research and editorial support from the Mawazo team and partners
- Visibility via Mawazo Voices, public policy, and engagement, strategic communications, and strategic partnerships program
Eligibility
To be eligible for the Mawazo Fellowship Programme, applicants must:
- Be a woman
- Be a national of an African country
- Have a good command of written and spoken English.
- Be enrolled for their PhD at an accredited university in an African country
- Demonstrate potential for leadership both within and outside academia, and a strong passion to leverage their expertise for impact in society
- Have completed their coursework (if applicable) and successfully passed their departmental or graduate school proposal defense. Proof of this will be required.
- Demonstrate that their PhD research is related to African development and is relevant to a global, regional, national, or subnational policy priority
- Demonstrate that they have a “Big Idea” to transform Africa through their research
Selection Criteria
Successful applicants will demonstrate that they can do the following:
- Meet all eligibility requirements
- Identify a research problem that has important implications for African development and is linked to a global, regional, national, or sub-national-policy priority
- Demonstrate that their PhD research is academically rigorous and addresses a unique and important gap in the field
- Demonstrate that their PhD research has clear objectives and is appropriately designed for the research questions being asked
- Write a summary of their PhD research that is clear, concrete, and accessible to scholars outside their field
Application Process
Applications will be considered complete when the following are provided: A:
- completed online application form
- letter confirming current enrollment in an accredited PhD programme
- letter confirming that the applicant has completed his/her course work (or equivalent) and passed his/her departmental defense
To apply for the Mawazo Non-Residential Fellowship Programme, click here.
Deadline: November 10, 2024.
For more information about the Mawazo Non-Residential Fellowship Programme, visit the official site.
