Press Release: Major scholarship opportunity for African scientists
PASET-RSIF, Africa’s first Pan African Fund to support doctoral training, research and innovation, announces a Call for PhD funding. This is the third RSIF Call for PhD Students
30 April 2020: Over 100 talented African scientists interested in pursuing doctoral training in applied sciences, engineering and technology, have a chance to access fully funded scholarships tenable in selected, outstanding African universities in collaboration with highly recognised international institutions.
This opportunity is provided by the Regional Scholarship and Innovation Fund (www.rsif-paset.org), the flagship programme of the Partnership for skills in Applied Sciences, Engineering and Technology (PASET). An initiative by African governments, PASET aims to address fundamental gaps in skills and knowledge necessary for long-term, sustained economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).
Within this context, the goal of RSIF is to support PhD training, research and innovation, to boost technical and scientific capacity for the advancement and use of transformative technologies to tackle the continent’s most pressing challenges.
RSIF is currently funded by contributions from African governments, the World Bank and the Government of Korea; with the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (www.icipe.org) serving as the Regional Coordination Unit (RCU).
“In Africa, and across the globe, the need to build a critical mass of skilled science and engineering leaders, innovators and entrepreneurs, has never been more urgent. In turn, this scenario calls for innovative and ambitious strategies that most effectively harness and utilize resources from the continent, and internationally. And RSIF is an outstanding platform for the realisation of this aspiration,” notes Dr Segenet Kelemu, Director General & CEO, icipe.
RSIF incorporates a network of 11 African Host Universities (AHUs); competitively and rigorously selected universities, research institutes or centres based in Africa that offer a PhD programme in any one of thematic areas identified by PASET as priority economic sectors for growth and development in Africa. These include: information communication technologies (ICTs), including big data and artificial intelligence; food security and agribusiness; minerals, mining and materials engineering; energy including renewables; and climate change. Moreover, RSIF gives priority to women applicants and young African faculty to build Africa’s capacity for capacity building.
For more information contact:
RSIF Regional Coordination Unit
rsif@icipe.org