Royal Academy of Engineering Higher Education Partnerships in Sub-Saharan Africa Programme 2017 for Sub-Saharan African Universities ( GBP £140,000 Grant)

Application Deadline: 31 January 2017

The Higher Education Partnerships in Sub-Saharan Africa Programme – supported by the Anglo American Group Foundation and the UK Government through the Global Challenges Research Fund – was established by the Royal Academy of Engineering following the successful pilot scheme, Enriching Engineering Education Programme to help address the engineering skills shortage in sub-Saharan Africa and to showcase engineering’s role in driving economic development in the region.
By forming and strengthening relationships between academia and industry, the programme aims to ensure that the higher education system in sub-Saharan Africa produces engineers with the skills and knowledge required to meet the needs of industry and to tackle local challenges.
To maximise the impact of this collaboration, the programme is implemented through a ‘hub and spoke’ model. In the pilot phase of this programme, which ran between 2013 and 2015, the two Hub universities were the University of Zimbabwe (Southern Africa) and the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania (East Africa). The Hub universities were funded to undertake bilateral staff and industry work placements with local industry partners, and in turn, share their experiences with a larger number of Spoke universities through a series of workshops that they organised and funded. During the pilot ten Spoke universities across a further five countries in sub-Saharan Africa participated in the programme.

The Royal Academy of Engineering is delighted to this month launch a new call for additional hub institutions in sub-Saharan Africa. Academic Institutions are invited to bid to receive two years of grant funding totalling up to GBP £140,000. This will be expended in four equal payments.

Eligibility criteria
• The suggested project should clearly align with the overall aims and objectives of the scheme; however, original ideas and local solutions are actively encouraged.
• Project activities must include a budget of up to £140,000 delivered over a maximum of two years.
• Project activities must run between March 2017 and March 2019.
• Applicants must be a university in sub-Saharan Africa* and must not be currently receiving funding from the Royal Academy of Engineering.
• The university must propose a means of collaboration with at least one partner based in the UK. A partner may also be considered as the UK institution if it is headquartered in the UK.
• The lead applicant will be a university in sub-Saharan Africa and must propose a means of collaboration with at least one industry partner, one UK institution (academic or industry) and at least three Spoke universities nationally or regionally.
*For the purposes of the programme, the Academy considers the following 49 countries to be part of sub-Saharan Africa:
Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

How to apply

This scheme is open for applicants. The scheme will close on the 31 January 2017

All applications must be submitted via the online grants system. Applications can only be submitted by the Lead Applicant.

This programme is specifically for Sub-Saharan African Universities.

Application form (via our online grant system – you must first register with the system and create an account)

Guidance Notes (210.80 KB)

Budget Template (Excel) (12.27 KB)

For any questions concerning the application or the online applications system, please contact Sebastian Scott or the International Team.

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the Higher Education Partnerships in Sub-Saharan Africa Programme