Seed Grant for New African Principal Investigators

Deadline: 20-Apr-23

With the support of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), UNESCO- The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) launched a new programme to strengthen the capacity of African countries lagging in science and technology.

The programme is aimed at young scientists who are getting established in their country or are about to return home to an academic position. Grants are awarded to promising high-level research projects in Agriculture, Biology, Chemistry, Earth sciences, Engineering, Information Computer Technology, Mathematics, Medical Sciences and Physics carried out in African countries lagging in science and technology identified by TWAS.

Areas

Scientists working in the following research areas can apply for an SG-NAPI award:

• Agriculture
• Biology
• Chemistry
• Earth Sciences
• Engineering
• Information Computer Technology
• Mathematics
• Medical Sciences
• Physics

Components of the Programme

• Scientists can apply for several or all of the following components of the programme:
  • Equipment start-up grant: up to USD 20,000; allowing scientists to equip their laboratories. Purchase of fuel, fees for experts or consultants, laptops, tablets, drones and laboratory animals is not accepted and not covered.
  • Consumables grant: up to USD 15,000; allowing scientists to acquire consumables for specific research projects. Purchase of fuel, fees for experts or consultants, laptops, tablets, drones and laboratory animals is not accepted and not covered.
  • MSc. training grant: up to USD 10,000; allowing scientists to train and teach M.Sc. students within their research group. For this component, the M.Sc. form must be filled and uploaded on the application portal.
  • International conference grant: successful candidates will be provided with up to USD 3,000; for participation in an international conference.
  • Industrial link grant: up to USD 4,000; to cover travel and incidental expenses as well as laboratory bench costs of scientists who cooperate with industrial partners. The industrial partner must be either in Africa or Germany. An acceptance letter from the industrial partner must be uploaded on the application portal. Should you not have an identified a partner at the time of application, you may do so by submitting a request and justification to TWAS after receiving the award, if your application is successful.
  • South-South and South-North collaborative mobility grant: worth up to USD 10,000; to cover travel to the collaborative laboratory, accommodation during the visit and laboratory bench costs.
  • Open access international publication grant: each successful candidate will be provided up to USD 2,000 to cover fees for publication in reputable open access journals.
  • Skills-building workshop grant: each successful candidate will be provided with an opportunity to participate in a workshop which provides advice and guidance on a range of soft skills, such as: writing research proposals, presentation and communication, sustainable development, plagiarism, etc.
• The programme has an additional component which seeks to enhance the productivity of female scientists returning to academia after a maternity leave:
  • Female “scientist-after-child” grant: support for a research assistant (up to 12 months) may be offered to women scientists in the following cases: a) Scientist with a child up to 12 months of age; b) Scientist going through a pregnancy at the time of the application.

Eligibility Criteria

In order to apply in year 2023, candidates must fulfill the following criteria:

• Be 40 years or below;
• Obtained their Ph.D. within the last 5 years;
• Returned to their home country within the last 36 months;
• Hold, be offered or be in the process of accepting a position at an academic and/or research institution (including international research centers) in their home country;
• Applications from women scientists are especially encouraged.
• Be nationals of an eligible African country that is lagging in science and technology, as follows:
  • Western Africa
    • Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo.
  • Eastern Africa
    • Burundi, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mauritius, Reunion, Rwanda, Sudan, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda.
  • Central Africa
    • Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, São Tomé, Principe.
  • Southern Africa
    • Angola, Botswana, Comoros, Eswatini (Swaziland), Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

For more information, visit TWAS.