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Early Career Academics (ECAs) Scholarship by International Development Research Center (IDRC)

The African Centre for Technology Studies (ACTS) has received a grant from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) to support the scholarship of women candidates in sub-Saharan Africa. The funding will support the training of PhD students in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) as well as the research work of Early Career Academics in AI & ML. The research work within this program must be in AI that addresses any of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The award of the scholarships shall strive to achieve uniform distribution of beneficiaries across Francophone, Anglophone and Lusophone sub-Saharan Africa. There will also be an effort to achieve fair distribution in terms of region. The supported studies MUST adhere to responsible AI.


AI4D Early Career Academics (ECAs)

Application DeadlineMarch 14, 2025
TypePh.D
SponsorInternational Development Research Center (IDRC)
GenderMen and Women
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Benefits of AI4D Early Career Academics (ECAs)

  • Each successful ECA will receive a scholarship of up to US$ 41,500. This will cover:
  • Research costs up to $ 25,000
  • Research infrastructure up to $ 10,000.
  • Travel costs up to $ 2,500.
  • Tuition fees for 2 MSc students for two years up to $ 4,000 (@ $2,000 per stude nt)

Requirements for AI4D Early Career Academics (ECAs)

  • The applicant must be a woman.
  • Each applicant must have held a PhD in AI and ML, for not more than 5 years as at application.
  • All applicants should have competent academic credentials and demonstrate motivation and commitment to pursue an academic career.
  • All applicants must be nationals or permanent residents of an eligible sub-Saharan country (See the list of eligible countries above).
  • All applicants must have all necessary national or other approvals to conduct the proposed research. Please note, the approval process may be conducted in parallel with the grant application, if necessary.
  • All applicants must have the technical capacity – or the ability to create sustainable AI solutions addressing social challenges faced by user communities.

Selection Process

Capacity Strengthening
The following complementary activities will be provided to strengthen the capacity of beneficiaries of the scholarships (PhD candidates and their supervisors; ECA candidates and their MSc students);

  • SRAIS (Scaling of Responsible AI solutions) mentoring
  • Sensitization of responsible data collection framework.
  • Scaling of AI solutions.
  • AI policy brief development.
  • One regional research and development conference after 24 months.

Application Deadline

March 14, 2025

How to Apply

Interested and qualified? Go to International Development Research Center (IDRC) on ai4dafrica.submittable.com to apply

For more details,visit AI4D scholarship webpage

  • Registered PhD Students scholarship by AI4D

  • Subscribe for Scholarship Alert!
    Be among the first to know whenever new International Development Research Center scholarship is going on ↓
    Subscribe for Scholarship Alert!
    Be among the first to know whenever new International Development Research Center scholarship is going on ↓