Application Deadline: 11.59 pm EAT on Friday, 26 January 2018. A
The Mawazo PhD Scholars programme is a one-year, non-residential fellowship aimed at women pursuing PhD studies focused on climate change and energy at Kenyan universities. The goal of this programme is to build a strong pipeline of future researchers who are prepared to ask insightful questions about African development, and effectively communicate their results to both government and industry leaders and the general public.
The goal of this programme is to build a strong pipeline of future researchers who can ask insightful questions about African development, and effectively communicate their results to government and industry leaders and to the public.
Eligibility
You should apply for the Mawazo PhD Scholars programme if you are:
- A woman under the age of 40 (as of 1 January 2018)
- A citizen of an African country
- Enrolled in a PhD programme at a Kenyan university
- In any department in the social sciences or a STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) field
- Studying a topic related to energy or climate change
- Working on or about to begin working on an academic research project which is intended for publication
- Currently living in Kenya, or otherwise able to travel to Nairobi at least two times per month for the rest of 2018
Programme Components
In 2018, the Mawazo PhD Scholars Programme will support up to six female PhD students at Kenyan universities. Mawazo PhD Scholars receive the following benefits:
- A research grant worth Ksh 500,000 on average (precise value will vary depending on the amount needed for each Scholar’s research)
- Training in research methods, academic writing, grant writing, public engagement, and the publication process
- Research and editorial support from the Mawazo staff
- Travel grants for participation in regional or international conferences
- Connections to mentors, and industry and government leaders, in their field
- A dedicated desk at Mawazo’s office at Ikigai, Spring Valley, Nairobi
Mawazo PhD Scholars are expected to achieve the following goals during their fellowship year:
- Make substantial progress in collecting data for and/or writing up their current research project
- Develop a plan for identifying suitable journals and submitting their article for publication once it’s complete
- Identify outside research grants or post-docs, and submit at least two grant applications
- Participate in at least one academic conference
- Regularly attend training sessions and networking events in Nairobi (travel funding is available for Scholars who are based outside Nairobi)
- Publicise their work by speaking at public lectures arranged by Mawazo, writing blog posts and op-eds, and (if possible) making radio or TV appearances
Application process
The application includes the following materials:
- A current CV, including at least two references
- A letter from the applicant’s university department confirming current enrollment in the PhD programme
- A letter of support from a supervisor at the PhD programme (emailed directly to the PhD Scholars contact address with the subject line “Letter of Support — [Applicant’s First and Last Name]”)
- A research proposal of 1000 words or less, including:
- Brief literature review
- Description of proposed research design and data collection methods
- Summary of work completed on the project to date
- List of next steps and estimated timeline to complete the project
- A budget for the project
- Applicants may request up to Ksh 500,000 from Mawazo
- Mawazo provides a conference travel grant on top of the research funding, so the project budget should not include any expenses related to conference travel
- Please use Mawazo’s budget template
All applications will be reviewed by the Mawazo Institute staff. Successful applicants will demonstrate that they can do the following:
- Identify a challenge related to energy or climate change which has important implications for African development
- Demonstrate that current academic research has not identified a suitable solution to this challenge
- Propose a research project on this topic which has an appropriate research design for the question being asked, and can be feasibly answered given the financial resources and time that the applicant can dedicate to the project
- Write a summary of their project which is clear, concrete, and accessible to scholars outside their own field
The Mawazo Institute is committed to non-discrimination in the application review process. There is no cost to submit an application to the PhD Scholars programme.
For More Information:
Visit the Official Webpage of the Mawazo PhD Scholars programme 2018
