IDRC/SIDA Artificial Intelligence for Development (AI4D) Africa Scholarships 2022 for PhD Students

AI4D Africa Scholarships: 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).

Application Deadline: 17^th February 2022

Eligible Countries: Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo (Kinshasa), Congo (Brazzaville), Côte d’Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Madagascar, Mali, Mozambique, Niger, Senegal, Togo.

About the AI4D Africa Scholarships: The AI4D scholarships has been designed to target the following three categories of beneficiaries;

• Category 1 -Registered PhD students
• Category 3 – Early Career Academics
• Category 4 – Post-doctoral Fellows

Please read detail of each category and click the link to the category of scholarship you wish to pursue and follow the subsequent application instructions.

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).

Eligibility:

• All applicants must be already registered in an AI study (machine learning, expert system, natural language processing, intelligent robotics etc.) under a supervisor, have finished coursework as well as research proposal. The applicant must attach a letter of support by their supervisor, and a copy of the PhD study admission letter.
• All applicants should have competent academic credentials and demonstrate motivation and commitment to pursue an academic career.
• All applicants should have thorough knowledge of the language of instruction within their host university of choice (English, French or Portuguese).
• All applicants must be nationals or permanent residents of any sub-Saharan country.

Each successful student will receive partial AI4D Africa Scholarships of up to $ 27,000 distributed as shown below

• Tuition fees for two years ($ 4000)
• Research activities ($ 17,000)
• Traveling support for the supervisors ($ 6,000)

Apply here

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.

Eligibility

• 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.

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)

Funding would be for 2 years.

Apply here

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.

Eligibility

• Each applicant must have held a PhD in AI and ML, for not more than 2 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.

Each successful candidate will receive a scholarship of US$ 63,000:

• Tuition fee for 4 MSc students = US$ 8,000
• Research activities = US$ 20,000
• Research infrastructure = US$ 30000
• Traveling cost = US$ 5,000

Funding would be for 2 years.

Apply here

Visit Program Webpage for Details