100 PhDs for Africa – 2nd call for proposals

The UM6P/EPFL EXAF 100 PhDs for Africa programme is one of the three pillars of the Excellence in Africa initiative. It is designed to fund science and engineering graduates intending to complete a PhD at an African higher education institution.

Description

PhD candidates benefiting from a UM6P/EPFL EXAF 100 PhDs for Africa fellowship will be jointly supervised by a professor employed by their African home institution and by an EPFL professor. They may spend short time periods at the EPFL in the laboratory of their EPFL co-supervisor, but will chiefly conduct their doctoral studies and their thesis research in Africa. Their degree will be solely awarded by their home institution.

Main eligibility criteria
  • To be a national of an African country
  • To hold a Master’s degree awarded after the 1st of January 2020 or to be enrolled in the final year of the master study 
  • To have an outstanding academic track record
  • To be enrolled in an African academic institution when the fellowship will start, and to reside in an African country for the duration of the PhD
  • To have the endorsement of a professor of an African institution willing to supervise the doctoral thesis for its full duration
Funding

The programme awards funding of a maximum of 80’000 Swiss francs in total for a period of at most 54 months. Eligible costs include and are limited to:

A living allowance for the PhD fellow, which must be in line with the standard documented practices of the home institution

  • Tuition costs may be included in the budget if there is written confirmation from the home institution that tuition fees apply for all PhD candidates
  • Consumables and direct costs for the use of infrastructure at the home institution or at EPFL
  • Open science costs: costs for data storage and for granting access to data (open research data) and open access publication costs
  • Conference, summer school and workshop costs for the PhD fellow, namely travel (economy class airfares, public ground transportation), lodging, visa, vaccinations, meals, and (if applicable) conference registration fees
  • During the fellowship, the PhD fellow must participate in two summer schools organised by UM6P at Ben Guerir Campus in Morocco. Travel costs for these summer schools will also have to be included
  • Travel costs for the PhD fellow to and from EPFL (economy class airfares, public ground transportation)
  • A supplementary living allowance for stay(s) at EPFL
  • Travel costs to and from the African home institution and EPFL for the supervisor and co-supervisor of the PhD fellow (economy class airfares, public ground transportation, lodging, and meals)
  • Other costs incurred by the joint supervision (e.g., joint participation in a conference, other costs related to stays at EPFL)
How to apply

Applicants must submit their application with all required documents via the on-line submission platform.

Please read carefully the application guidelines.

Submission Deadline

Interested applicants must apply on the online submission platform by 18 April 2023 (17:00 UTC +2)

Selection Process

Applicants will be pre-selected by June 2023.

Interviews of pre-selected applicants by EPFL professors will be conducted in summer 2023.

Results are expected by October 2023.

Frequently Asked Questions

When you submit your application, you must have an endorsement letter from your potential PhD professor and from the home institution. If you are selected, then, you will have to be admitted into the home institution’s doctoral study programme before starting the 100 PhDs for Africa fellowship. If you are not admitted in your home institution’s doctoral study programme you cannot benefit from a 100 PhDs fellowship.

Please refer to the application guidelines, which contain the official and detailed eligibility criteria. In particular:

7. The applicants must have the endorsement of a professor of their home institution who is willing and entitled to supervise their doctoral thesis for its full duration. This professor must hold a PhD and have a strong record in research training and mentorship. 

8. The home institution of the applicants must certify that the proposed PhD supervisor is eligible to supervise the PhD thesis of the applicant for the full duration of the fellowship. 

(…)

12. Granted applicants must show documentary evidence that they have been admitted into the home institution’s doctoral study programme before any fellowship agreement is signed (see below for details on the fellowship agreement). 

The home institution endorsement letter can be signed by a Vice-President or by the Principal/Dean of a college/School/Faculty. Importantly, the person who signs this letter must write on behalf of the institution and on paper bearing the official letterhead and stamp of the institution.

According to the guidelines, the criteria are the following:

“The applicant Master’s degree must be awarded from a higher education institution in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) or in one of the disciplines that are taught as a subject of advanced research at EPFL.”

(…)

Your PhD project must be “in a discipline that is taught at EPFL within its doctoral school.”

You have to check this webpage and decide whether or not your application is eligible.

Contact

For more information:

Excellence in Africa


EPFL VPR ENT-R EXAF
CM 2 200 (Bâtiment CM)

Station 10

CH – 1015 Lausanne


Contact: [email protected]


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