World Bank/IUCEA Masters Fellowship 2018 for African Female Scientists (Fully-funded)

Deadline: June 4, 2018

Applications are open for the World Bank/ACE II Masters Fellowship 2018 for African Female Scientists. The World Bank is partnering with eight Governments in Eastern and Southern Africa in an innovative project with the aim of improving the quality of training and research in higher education, and reducing the skill gaps in key development priority areas.

The Eastern and Southern Africa Higher Education Centers of Excellence (ACE II) Project supports the governments of Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia in strengthening selected African Centers of Excellence (ACEs) to deliver quality post-graduate education and build collaborative research capacity in the following priority areas: Industry, Agriculture, Health, Education, and Applied Statistics.

As Regional Facilitation Unit (RFU) for the ACE II Project, the Inter-University Council for East Africa (IUCEA) leads the implementation of key elements of Component 2 of the project, aimed at building strong and sustainable regional partnerships and collaborations to produce competent Masters and PhD holders for the regional market and improve quality of teaching in higher education and quality of production and services in public and private sectors.

To encourage the participation of young African female students at postgraduate level, IUCEA wishes to implement a Fellowships Program aimed at providing competitive Masters Scholarships to academically deserving future talents to promote regional female student mobility.

Fellowship

The provided financial support for each Fellowship Program will cover:

• University tuition fees: Approximately USD 3,000 per year (payable directly to the Host University according to an official invoice);
• Stipend: USD 800 per month to support living expenses such as housing, food, utilities, local transportation, medication and settlement expenses;
• Research: USD 4,800 to support student research, payable upon approval of research proposal
• Allowance: USD 2,000 one-off allowance to cover visa, laptop and books
• Air ticket: A round-trip economy fare for the most direct route between the beneficiary’s home country and the study destination of Host University

Eligibility

• Applicants must be a female national of one of ACE II participating countries (Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia) or Burundi;
• Be under 35 years;
• Be a holder of a Bachelor’s Degree from a reputable university in the relevant field, at the level of Upper Second Class Honours;
• Have been admitted in any of the 24 ACEs to study full-time in any of the priority disciplines of the ACE II Project: STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) or Industry, Agriculture, Health, Education, and Applied Statistics;
• Have demonstrated outstanding academic achievement as evidenced by academic transcripts, and academic awards, if any.

Application

Interested candidates are to fill in the application form and attach all requested documents, and send by e-mail to exsec@iucea.org with a copy to ace2rfu@iucea.org. For proof of eligibility, an applicant should ensure that the following are provided:

• Completed application form
• Recent passport-size photograph
• Summarized CV with names and contacts of two referees
• Certified copies of academic certificates and transcripts
• Certified copies of passport or national identity card indicating citizenship
• Copy of admission letter from one of the host universities (please refer to the attached table on Countries, ACEs and Universities)