African Academy of Sciences (AAS) Affiliates Membership Program 2021

Through the AAS Affiliates Membership Programme, up to 25 young scholars are selected every year to receive career development support and mentorship as well as support to their home institutions to provide an enabling environment for their development into research leaders in their respective fields.

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AAS Affiliates Membership Program

The African Academy of Sciences (AAS) Affiliates Membership Programme aims to stimulate and nurture the spirit of scientific discovery and technological innovation in Africa in order to promote sustainable development on the continent through research and development. It is intended to fill a gap in the professional growth of young and early-to-mid career professionals who intend to develop into research leaders in their home countries. Many countries and organisations are implementing PhD programmes to meet the teaching and research needs of higher education and research institutions.  Most of these scholars train in well-established northern institutions or a few relatively well set-up African PhD training centres, but when they return to their home institutions they face significant challenges in developing as independent thinkers and leaders. Supportive/nurturing research environments and opportunities that   enable them to generate new ideas, knowledge and innovative solutions to Africa’s problems are limited.

While African states and their sub-regional institutions have the responsibility to attract and retain well trained researchers, pan-African organisations like the AAS can play a catalytic and supportive role in inspiring and providing tangible support to such cohorts.

AAS Affiliates Membership Program Eligibility

  • Must be an African national
  • Must have obtained their PhD in the last 10 years
  • Must have substantial postdoctoral research experience
  • Must be aged 40 years and below by the 31st December of that year. Individual considerations will be made for female candidates above 40 years who have had career interruptions
  • Must be residing in or affiliated with an African higher education or research institution
  • Female candidates and candidates from under-represented disciplines and countries are especially encouraged to apply.

Selection Criteria:

  • Quality of scientific outputs
  • Evidence of good academic citizenship
  • The strength of the applicant’s statement of interest
  • Applicant’s range of scientific awards and other recognitions
  • Engagement in other relevant professional activities.

Value of Award:

  1. You will be recognised for your scientific excellence as an Affiliate of The AAS alongside The AAS Fellows
  2. You will receive individualised professional development planning support
  3. You will be enrolled into The AAS Mentorship Scheme during the five years
  4. You will benefit from a range of career development activities including but not limited to grant writing, publishing, science communication, ethical conduct of research, intellectual property issues, collaborative research, scientific entrepreneurship, etc
  5. You will join a platform for networking and collaborating early and mid-career researchers regionally and globally
  6. You will benefit from other AAS opportunities as they become available.

 What We Expect From The AAS Affiliates

  • The AAS Affiliates live out the Academy’s vision of transformed lives through sciences in their research and leadership excellence
  • They actively contribute to the programme activities while also motivating other young researchers to pursue scientific excellence
  • The programme accelerates their transition into independent researchers and enhances their contribution to innovations, policy engagement, mentorship, interdisciplinary collaboration and research management. Consequentially, Affiliates’ professional development contributes to strengthening their institution’s scientific capacity.

Duration of Programme: 5 years

How to Apply for AAS Affiliates Membership Program

  • Nominations are made online on the AAS Ishango Online System. 
  • Please follow the instructions given in Program Webpage Link below.

For more information, visit the AAS Affiliates Membership Program.

Application Deadline: 23rd, July 2021, 1800 Hrs East African Time.

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