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

Published: 01 Jan 1970 4,959 views

The African Center for Technology Studies has received a grant from the International Development Research Center (IDRC) and Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) to support the training of PhD students in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) as well as the research work of Early Career Academics or Scholars (Early Career and Post-Doc) in AI & ML. The research work within this program must be within AI and centered around STEM disciplines that attempt to address any of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Category 1 -Registered PhD students: Invitation will target candidates who are already registered for PhD, have finished course work as well as research proposals. This will be open to all universities offering PhD in AI (or any of its derivatives). Eight in-country scholarships (4 female and 4 male) will be given for a period of two years. Selection will be based purely on the quality of the candidates and proposals. This call will be done twice, 4 admitted in Year 1 (Cohort 1) and 4 admitted in year 2 (Cohort 2).

Category 3 – Early Career Academics: Under the ECA scholarship, 8 Early Career Academics will be supported. This will mainly target those ECA who have capacity to supervise PhD and MSc students.

Category 4 – Post-doctoral researchers: It is assumed that there may be challenge getting suitable female ECA. Therefore, the (AI4D) Africa Scholarships will also support 4 post-doctoral positions for female candidates and those from disadvantaged countries to build capacities for AI research and training in their universities. The program will support each successful post-doctoral candidate with 4 MSc positions.

IDRC/SIDA Artificial Intelligence for Development (AI4D) Early Career Academics

Benefits of IDRC/SIDA Artificial Intelligence for Development (AI4D) Early Career Academics

Each successful ECA will receive a scholarship of US$ 68,000. This will cover:

• Tuition fees for one PhD student for two years (US$ 4000)
• Tuition fees for two MSc students (US$4000)
• Research costs (US$ 25,000)
• Research infrastructure (US$ 30,000)
• Traveling costs (US$ 5,000)

Requirements for IDRC/SIDA Artificial Intelligence for Development (AI4D) Early Career Academics

• Each applicant must have held a PhD in AI and ML, for the last 3 – 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 any sub-Saharan country.

Apply here

Application Deadline

How to Apply