Home » Africa Scholarships » 25 Future Leaders–African Independent Research (FLAIR) Fellowships for African Researchers, 2019

25 Future Leaders–African Independent Research (FLAIR) Fellowships for African Researchers, 2019

­The African Academy of Sciences and the Royal Society is jointly offering Future Leaders – African Independent Research (FLAIR) Fellowships supported by the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF). Fellowships will start from 1 April 2019.

The FLAIR Fellowships Programme will produce Africa’s next generation of independent research leaders undertaking cutting-edge research that will address global challenges facing Africa. The fellowships are aimed at talented African early career researchers with the potential to become leaders in their field and provide the opportunity to build an independent research career in an African institution.

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The Royal Society is an independent scientific academy of the UK and the Commonwealth, dedicated to promoting excellence in science.

Scholarship Description: 

  • Applications Deadline: May 15, 2019
  • Course Level: Fellowships are available to pursue a Postdoctoral research programme.
  • Study Subject: Proposals must seek to address the GCRF research agenda for enabling change and focusing on one or more of the following areas:

Equitable Access to Sustainable Development – creating new knowledge and drive innovation that helps to ensure that everyone across the globe has access to:

  1. Secure and resilient food systems supported by sustainable marine resources and agriculture
  2. Sustainable health and well being
  3. Inclusive and equitable quality education
  4. Clean air, water and sanitation
  5. Affordable, reliable, sustainable energy

Sustainable Economies and Societies – encouraging research that for the longer-term builds:

  1. Sustainable livelihoods supported by strong foundations for inclusive economic growth and innovation
  2. Resilience and action on short-term environmental shocks and long-term environmental change
  3. Sustainable cities and communities
  4. Sustainable production and consumption of materials and other resources

Human Rights, Good Governance and Social Justice – supporting research that enables us to:

  1. Understand and respond effectively to forced displacement and multiple refugee crises
  2. Reduce conflict and promote peace, justice and humanitarian action
  3. Reduce poverty and inequality, including gender inequalities.

Subjects Covered:

All activities must be on a subject within the natural sciences, including: physics, chemistry, mathematics, computer science, engineering, agricultural, biological and medical research (excluding clinical and patient-orientated research), and the scientific aspects of archaeology, geography and experimental psychology but excluding economics, social science and humanities research.

  • Scholarship Award: Each FLAIR Fellowship will be for two years initially and will offer up to £150,000 per year, alongside a programme of support to develop fellows as independent research leaders including training and mentoring, and opportunities to network both regionally and with the UK and to develop international collaborations. This scheme provides:
    An award of up to £150,000 per year to include funding for research fellow’s salary, research expenses, research support (excluding PhD studentships and full-time technician support), equipment, training, travel and subsistence, and institutional overhead.
  • In addition, the scheme will provide a wider programme of support to develop research rellows as independent research leaders including training and mentoring, and opportunities to network both regionally and with the UK to develop international collaborations.
    The programme will provide two years of funding and support in the first instance; subject to progress during the first two years (and continued funding from the Global Challenges Research Fund) holders may have the opportunity to apply for a renewal for an additional three years.
  • Nationality: This fellowship is available to African Early Career researchers.
  • Number of Scholarships: Approximately 25 fellowships are available.
  • Scholarshipcan be taken in the UK

Eligibility for the Scholarship: 

Eligible Countries: This fellowship is available to African Early Career researchers:

Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Ivory Coast, Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Western Sahara, Zambia and  Zimbabwe.

Entrance Requirements: Applicants must meet the following criteria:

Applications should be within the remit of natural sciences. This includes physics, chemistry, mathematics, computer science, engineering, agricultural, biological and medical research (excluding clinical and patient-orientated research), and the scientific aspects of archaeology, geography and experimental psychology but excluding economics, social science and humanities research.

You can apply for this scheme if you:

  • Are a national of a sub-Saharan African country and wish to work in a sub-Saharan African country in a research position, or a national of a sub-Saharan African country in the diaspora and wish to return to a sub-Saharan African research position.
  • Hold a PhD by the time you apply.
  • Are an early career researcher and have no more than 10 years of research experience since completing your PhD by the time of application. Where applicants have taken formal periods of maternity, paternity, adoptive leave of extended sick leave, assessment will not only take into account the actual period of leave take (e.g. three months), but will also allow an additional six months for each period of leave (e.g. three months plus six months = nine months) when assessing research experience eligibility.
  • Wish to hold the fellowship in a research institution in an ODA eligible sub-Saharan African country. Please see the scheme notes for a full list of eligible host countries.
  • Have a clearly defined scientific research proposal focusing on one or more of the Global Challenge areas outlined in the scheme notes.
  • Applicants are not permitted to submit more than one application per round.

Before applying, please ensure that you meet all the eligibility requirements, which are explained in the scheme notes.

English Language Requirements: Applicants whose first language is not English are usually required to provide evidence of proficiency in English at the higher level required by the University.

Africa Scholarships

Application Procedure: 

How to Apply: Applications should be made through the Royal Society’s grant management system Flexi-Grant®. Applications will initially be reviewed and then shortlisted by members of the FLAIR Appointments Panels which are split by subject group into one Biological Sciences Panel and one Physical Sciences Panel.

Shortlisted proposals will be subject to high quality independent peer review, and once complete these proposals will then be re-assessed by the initial panel members before a final shortlist for interview is drawn up.

Applicants who have reached the final shortlisting stage will be invited for interview at the AAS offices in Nairobi where travel and accommodation expenses will be arranged by the AAS.

Results will be made available six months after the application closing date, in December 2018.

Scholarship Link