African Leadership Center Peace, Security & Development Fellowships 2016 for African Scholars

Application Deadline: 17:00 hrs, Friday 18 March, 2016

The African Leadership Centre (ALC) was established in Kenya in June 2010 as a joint initiative of King’s College London and the University of Nairobi. The ALC is pleased to announce a call for applications for the Peace, Security and Development Fellowships for African Scholars starting in September 2016.

This Fellowship covers an 18-month period, comprising a rigorous training programme on peace, security and development, which includes a 12-Month MSc programme at King’s College London and a six-month attachment to an African University to undertake an independent research project. The Fellowship programme is designed to expose junior African scholars to the complexities of Security and Development issues facing the African continent. The Carnegie Corporation of New York has provided funding for this programme.

The ALC aims to build a new community of leaders generating cutting edge knowledge on peace, security and development. To this end, the ALC undertakes to do the following:

• Create an enabling environment for ideas that are grounded in African realities;
• Provide space for interaction with role models;
• Build capacity for independent thinking;
• Expand the knowledge base to develop transformational ideas for meaningful change;
• Create opportunities to transfer knowledge to achieve multiplier effects for communities;
• Connect with processes nationally, regionally and globally, especially in the field of peace and security; and
• Build lasting partnerships that will maintain an African-led vision of change.

The programme seeks to nurture junior African Scholars interested in pursuing a career in Peace, Security & Development, and to equip them with the skills necessary to achieve this. Through taught courses as well as rigorous mentoring activities, the programme will accomplish the following objectives:

1. Increase the pool of African experts in the area of peace, security and development working to generate African-led ideas to address the security and development challenges on the continent.
2. Foster studies on Peace and Security issues within African institutions of higher learning, and ensure that academic institutions have better access to knowledge and expertise on these issues.
3. Inject skills within regional and national centres of excellence so that they can strengthen their research capacity on peace, security and development topics with independent and critical approaches.
4. Contribute to expertise on peace and security that is grounded in the pursuit of excellence and integrity.

Eligibility Requirements:

• In order to be considered eligible, candidates must have citizenship in an African country.
• Successful candidates must hold valid travel documents prior to acceptance.
• The competition is open only to junior faculty members based in universities in Africa from departments of political science; international relations; history, law, development studies, peace, security and conflict studies, and related departments.
• Candidates need to demonstrate an interest in pursuing careers in the field of Peace, Security and Development. Previous study or engagement with the issues of Security & Development is not required however candidates must demonstrate a basic familiarity with these issues. Candidates must additionally be able to demonstrate that they are committed to contributing to work on peace and security in Africa.
• Candidates will be expected to have a clear plan on how to utilise knowledge gained in the Fellowship upon returning to their countries and academic institutions.
• Candidates must be fluent in spoken and written English.
• Candidates must be able to demonstrate the following values during the application phase: Independent thinking; Integrity; Pursuit of excellence; and a value for all forms of diversity.

Fellowship Worth:

• This is a fully funded opportunity, not including any visa application and processing costs. Funds will be made available to cover tuition, subsistence in the UK and Africa, accommodation, research-related costs, and all travel expenses related to the programme.
• However, successful applicants are expected to find their own accommodation both in the UK and Africa. In the UK successful candidates will be able to apply for University of London accommodation, and they can also make their own accommodation arrangements.
• Candidates are strongly advised to make all necessary accommodation arrangements well in advance of taking up their positions at King’s College London. Information on KCL student accommodation can be found at this link:
  http://www.kcl.ac.uk/study/accommodation/index.aspx

Application Procedure:

To  be  considered  for  the  Fellowship  please apply through the Online Application System by 17:00 hrs, Friday 18 March, 2016:

Ensure the following documents are attached in PDF format.

• A letter of application detailing your relevant experience and qualifications.
• A supporting statement no longer than 1,000 words, detailing why you think that this programme is important and future plans for engagement with peace and security issues.
• 2 letters of recommendation (after you submit names and contacts of referees, they will receive an email asking them to submit the reference using our online system. These references received directly from the Referees must be received by the deadline of 17:00 hrs, Friday 18 March, 2016).
• Recent curriculum vitae.
• Two writing samples (maximum 3000 words each).

Please indicate in your application letter, if you have completed the University application (Note that you are required to submit your application to the M.Sc. Security, Leadership and Society, King’s College London, as detailed above by the deadline of 17:00 hrs, Friday 18 March, 2016).

This project is supported by the Carnegie Corporation of New York

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the African Leadership Center  Peace, Security & Development Fellowships 2016 for African Scholars