German- West African Tandem Fellowships (Junior/Senior) for African Researchers – University of Ghana

Application Deadline: April 10th 2020

The Maria Sibylla Merian Institute for Advanced Studies in Africa (MIASA) is broadly dedicated to research in the Humanities and Social Sciences, with ‘Sustainable Governance’ as its central, but by no means exclusive topic. Overarching aims of MIASA are working towards a reduction of global asymmetries in knowledge production and bridging the cultural divide between anglophone and francophone Africa. MIASA, established in 2018, serves as a hub for exchange, networking and collaboration amongst leading researchers from Germany, Ghana, the African and European continents, and beyond. It is located on the beautiful campus of the University of Ghana at Legon (Accra). 

The Institute offers time and space for supporting innovative academic projects in the Humanities and Social Sciences of top international quality. MIASA supports these projects via different kinds of fellowships: individual fellowships, tandem fellowships with one tandem partner from Germany and the other from West Africa, and fellowships as members of so-called Interdisciplinary Fellow Groups. From 2021 until 2026, MIASA will grant some 20 fellowships per year in total. 

The present call is for tandem fellowships in the calendar year 2021: To promote cross-continental dialogue and exchange, MIASA is accepting applications for two tandem fellowships (3-5 months) at the University of Ghana. They will allow the researchers who are teaming up to pursue a joint academic project. This project can be of an opening, continuing, or closing nature. Two researchers – one from West Africa and one from Germany – will work in a collaborative manner on a particular research topic in the Humanities and Social Sciences, addressing in one way or another MIASA’s overarching aims. Their joint application must highlight the additional academic value of their cooperation. The application should also define the objectives and anticipated outcomes of their collaboration.

The successful applicants will become MIASA Fellows for 3-5 months in 2021 with all the corresponding rights and obligations for the requested funding period. Key among the obligations is that MIASA fellows are required to spend the bulk of their fellowship in residence at MIASA at the University of Ghana. 

Fellowships will be awarded to researchers of top academic quality with an innovative and high quality research topic. The selection of fellows is undertaken by the distinguished international Academic Advisory Board of MIASA. 

Eligibility

• Eligible for application are early career researchers (1-6 years after having been awarded their PhD) and senior researchers (more than 6 years after completion of their PhD) from around the globe in a relevant discipline of the Humanities or the Social Sciences. Therefore, applicants for a junior fellowship must have been awarded their PhD on 31 March 2020 or earlier; applicants who completed their PhD on 31 March 2014 or earlier can only apply for a senior fellowship.
• Relevant is the date on the official PhD certificate. 

Benefits:

• The fellows’ salary costs will be met by MIASA for every full fellowship month on the principle of “no loss, no gain,” and paid directly to his/her home institution. Furthermore, fellows will receive a monthly allowance of 400 €. For fellows affiliated with an African institution at the commencement of the IFG, this monthly allowance will be 1.000 €. 
• Non-affiliated senior fellows receive a monthly grant of 2.000 € in total. Non-affiliated junior fellows will receive a monthly grant of 1.200 €.
• For all fellows, MIASA will provide accommodation and reimburse travel costs. To promote the joint research, a shared research cost contribution of 500€/fellow month can be granted upon application to the directorate, e.g. for conducting field research or organizing a small academic event, like a workshop. 
• The Institute provides its fellows with modern office space and an up-to-date infrastructure. Fellows have full access to all library services at the University of Ghana and, electronically, at the University of Freiburg, Germany. Note: A full-time presence of fellows at MIASA for the fellowship period is expected. Periods of leave need to be negotiated with the MIASA directors prior to the signing of the fellowship agreements, and must not exceed a total of four weeks. 

Selection

• The all-important selection criteria are the academic excellence of the applicant and the fellowship proposal. Additionally, what will be taken into account are the required experience and capability to conduct the fellowship project and to contribute to the activities at MIASA and, more broadly, to the academic life at the University of Ghana. 
• A highly distinguished international selection committee, MIASA’s Academic Advisory Board, will be responsible for the selection of the fellows.

For further details please contact us at MIASA under miasa@frias.uni-freiburg.de

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the German- West African Tandem Fellowships (Junior/Senior) at the University of Ghana