Deadline: 10 November 2018

The African Union Commission is currently inviting applicants for its African Union Kwame Nkrumah Awards for Scientific Excellence (AUKNASE) Continental & Regional Awards 2018.

Objectives

The objectives of AUKNASE are to:

• To award and honour outstanding African scientists for their achievements and discoveries in science, technology and innovation;
• Promote scientific development in Africa through recognition of excellence among African scientists, women, men alike and younger researchers and encourage them to persevere in their research or academic careers, and nurture their ambitions;
• Popularize and promote public understanding and participation in the implementation of the African Union Agenda 2063, through Science, Technology and Innovation Strategy1 for Africa, the Sustainable Development Goals and the AU Assembly decisions on science, technology and innovation;
• Raise the profile of science, technology and innovation sector in African Union Member States, Regional Economic Communities so that science, technology and innovation effectively contribute Africa’s sustainable development, poverty alleviation and integration efforts.

Award Information

Continental Level where two awards of USD 100,000 are given to African pioneer scientists

Focus Sectors

• Life and Earth Science and innovation
• Basic Science, Technology and Innovation

Eligibility Criteria

• To be eligible for the African Union Kwame Nkrumah Awards for Scientific Excellence, nominees shall be African scientists who have made remarkable achievements, demonstrated by number of publications, number of trained research graduate students, applicability of the scientific work to Africa’s challenges, and its patentability. The award is intended to recognize those who demonstrate excellence in research of relevance to the developmental needs of the continent.
• Only nationals of the African Union (AU) Member States are eligible to participate in these Awards;
• Nominees shall be Africans residing in any of the AU Member States and can be nominated only for achievements based on work conducted in an African country.
• For the REGIONAL AWARD: for Women Scientists, applicants should have nominators with a PhD degree, if it is an Academic in a university must at least have a rank of Associate Professor. There is no age limit for this award. The nominee should meet at least three of the following:
  • Must have published at least five articles in journals (with impact factor greater than 1.0)
  • Must appear as senior/corresponding author in at least three of the five articles
  • Must at least have a minimum H-index of 5
  • Must have at least one international or two national patents registered
  • Must have supervised or co-supervised at least 5 PhD students
  • Must have won an international grant as a principal investigator
  • Must have written a review article in her field of specialization
• For the CONTINENTAL AWARD: is open to all African pioneer scientists, applicants should have nominees with a PhD degree, if the nominee is an Academic in a university must at least have a rank of Associate Professor. There is no age limit for this award. The nominee should meet at least four of the following:
  • Must have published in journals (at least 20 articles with impact factor greater than 1.0)
  • Must appear as senior/corresponding author in at least 15 of the 25 articles
  • Must have a minimum H-index of 25
  • Must have at least two international or four national patents registered
  • Must have supervised or co-supervised at least 10 PhD students
  • Must have won an international grant as a principal investigator
  • Must have written a review article in his/her field of specialization

How to Apply

Interested applicants must apply online via given website.

For more information, please visit AUKNASE.