CALL FOR APPLICATION - AFAS MASTER’S PROGRAM
Second Cohort for the AFAS scholarship program on Nature Based Solutions regarding Climate Change Adaptation and Biodiversity Conservation in African Savannas.
Application deadline: 30TH April 2023 (11:59 PM UTC)
Applications for the AFAS Master’s program should be should done electronically either at University of Nairobi or Université Félix Houphouët-Boigny (but not both).
PROGRAM SUMMARY
The African Climate and Environment Center – Future African Savannas (AFAS) part of the Global Centers for Climate and Environment program of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). AFAS is hosted conjointly at the University of Nairobi (UoN) with its Institute for Climate Change and Adaptation (ICCA) in Nairobi, Kenya and the Université Félix Houphouët-Boigny (UFHB) with its African Centre of Excellence on Climate Change, Biodiversity and Sustainable Agriculture (CEA-CCBAD) in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. AFAS aims to address climate change adaptation and biodiversity conservation in West and East Africa’s savannas. AFAS complements the already existing expertise in the regions with a new and innovative component on the science-policy-practice interfaces to co-produce capacity development and research outputs that are relevant to policy and practice and implementable for the public and private sectors. AFAS will establish synergistic South-South and South-North partnerships, building upon the long-standing collaboration of UFHB and UoN with the Universities of Bonn (UoB) and Cologne (UoC) in Germany. For this master’s program, AFAS through UoN and UFHB are inviting applications for a total of 20 fully funded fellowships for the second cohort starting in September 2023. Selected students will participate in specially curated master’s courses within the core focus of AFAS. The topic of the Masters thesis will be also related to the AFAS research scope on Climate, Ecosystem Services and NbS in African Savannas. The Masters thesis and all AFAS-related coursework will be conducted in English language.
AIMS OF THE SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM
This Program aims to create experts capable of engaging in science-policy-practice interfaces, specifically related to Climate, Ecosystem Services and NbS in African Savannas. The Program will specifically: • Provide the students with a general understanding of NbS and their relevance from disciplinary and interdisciplinary perspectives; 2 • Facilitate inter- and trans-disciplinary thinking to create and enable a new generation of scientists to tackle global environmental challenges in a participatory way; and • Provide tools to translate research findings into policy and practice relevant outcomes to support decision-making. WHAT WE OFFER UFHB/UoN and AFAS promises an academically challenging environment through highly qualified personnel, quality teaching and research infrastructures, access to online library and journal publications and strong connections to regional and international networks. Furthermore, the successful completion of this post-graduate Program qualifies the graduates to take up lead roles in biodiversity science-policy interfaces, opens opportunity to work in international non-governmental and governmental organisations and/or launch an academic or consultancy career. Scholarship and Research Support The Program offers full scholarship to all successful candidates. The scholarship covers the tuition fees of the two-year Master’s Program, and in addition provides a monthly stipend of €350 (paid out in equivalent local currency), as well as a valid health insurance for the duration of the Program. A laptop computer and research funds will also be made available to all students. The research funds will be disbursed only upon completion of all the course modules and the approval of the research proposal and associated budget by the Graduate School. Students are expected to submit regular progress updates. Any form of misconducts, failure to maintain satisfactory academic progress and non-compliance with the university’s regulation could result in the termination of the scholarship.
ELIGIBILITY
Applications to AFAS program at Université Félix Houphouët-Boigny (UFHB) Candidates willing to apply must have:
• Concluded a Bachelor’s or equivalent degree in environmental and/or agricultural sciences or biology, ecology and climate sciences, economics, sociology, or any other relevant discipline.
• Must not be older than age 26 years on the 2nd of October 2023.
• This is a fulltime assignment which requires physical presence and outside work is not permitted for the duration of the fellowship.
• Be willing to be resident on the campus of “Pôle Scientifique et d’Innovation de l’UFHB” for the duration of the Program.
• UFHB applicants should be from Western Africa, Cameroon and Democratic Republic of Congo.
3 • University Certified Diplomas/Bachelors/Masters certificates (if not in French, please provide official French translation from/or certified by the university).
Applications to AFAS program at the University of Nairobi (UoN) Candidates willing to apply must have:
• Concluded a Bachelor’s or equivalent degree in environmental and/or agricultural sciences or biology, ecology and climate sciences, economics, sociology, or any other relevant discipline.
• Must not be older than age 26 years on the 2 nd of October 2023.
• This is a fulltime assignment which requires physical presence and outside work is not permitted for the duration of the fellowship.
• Be willing to be resident on one of the campuses of the University of Nairobi for the duration of the Program.
• UoN applicants should be from the following Eastern African countries, (i.e. Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Eritrea, Somaliland, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan) and Tanzania and Chad
• University Certified Diplomas/Bachelors/Masters certificates (if not in English, please provide official English translation from/or certified by the university).
• Before application for the scholarship, applicants are expected to visit the University of Nairobi
website https://www.uonbi.ac.ke and the Department of Earth and Climate Sciences website http://earthclimatesciences.uonbi.ac.ke to confirm their eligibility for admission and get more details on the Program, respectively.
DOCUMENTS REQUIRED FOR ALL (UoN and UFHB)
1. Letter of motivation – max. 1-page, font 12pts, in English
2. Curriculum vitae (CV) with a photo (English language)
3. Birth certificate
4. Copy of passport biodata page
5. University Certified Diplomas/Bachelors/Masters certificates (see details above).
6. University Certified Transcripts of academic records.
7. English Language Certificate (if academic background is not English)
8. Two signed letters of recommendation (one at least from a staff member from the institution of last degree).
NB: All documents required should be submitted as one pdf and, in the order, listed above (1 to 8)
SELECTION AND ADMISSION PROCESS
Shortlisted applicants will be notified about their interview dates via email.
For details, contact us at afascenter@gmail.com University of Nairobi (UoN) -
Additional requirements for applicants
1. At UoN, selected candidates will immediately be required to seek admission to the University of Nairobi Master’s Program in Climate Change Adaptation through the University website https://application.uonbi.ac.ke/. An application fee (approximately USD 50) will be charged which is non-refundable.
2. Diploma and University Degrees • Holders of none University of Nairobi diplomas/ degrees with the exception of those of Kenyan Universities are required to provide equation for their certificates and qualifications. • The equation shall be done by the Commission for University Education (CUE). • Once you have uploaded your documents and completed your application, kindly do the following:
i. Send an email titled REQUEST FOR EQUATION and quoting your Application Reference number to reg-academic@uonbi.ac.ke
ii. Attach your diploma/degree certificates to the email.
iii. You will receive an introductory letter from the Academic Registrar to present to CUE to facilitate the equation of your documents.
iv. Once you receive the CUE equation, upload the same to your application portal.
3. Confirmation of the AFAS scholarship will be made once the applicant receives the formal admission letter from the University of Nairobi.
4. Confirmation of the AFAS scholarship requires a signed contract the host team and their selected applicants before proceeding further.
5. Only applications submitted through our online portal will be considered
Make your application through
https://www.afas.africa/afas-
