Deadline: September 20, 2023
Applications are open for the Queen Elizabeth Scholarship 2023-2024 for Early-career Women Scholars from West Africa. The program Wurin ta na yin rubutu – Her own room to write, which runs until October 2024, is open to West African women in the final stage of their PhD program, postdoctoral researchers, and early career academics affiliated to institutions, to participate in a research acceleration experience.
This next round of the awards will run between April and October 2024 and is subject to the acquisition of visas by the awardees. The scholars can choose from two award lengths, namely, short-term awards 35-60 days to, and mid-term 61-180 days. Scholars must be registered for their PhD at a West African university; postdoctoral fellows/researchers or early career PhD scholars must be working at a West African university.
As part of the award, successful candidates will be granted access to Carleton’s library resources. The scholars are expected to participate in workshops designed to augment research skills including writing, publishing, data analysis, and grant applications. Scholars will also benefit from joint research projects with their mentors and the many talks and lectures hosted by the Institute of African Studies (IAS) as well as by other departments and community partners.
Areas of Research
The research of successful applicants will fall into one of the following areas:
- Climate-Resilient Food Systems
- Education and Science
- Ethics in Development Research
- Global Health
- Democratic and Inclusive Governance
- Sustainable Inclusive Economies
Cost
- The scholarship funds cover mobility expenses, accommodation, research placement expenses, and travel and health insurance.
Eligibility
- Only open to women applicants.
- Successful applicants will fit into one of the following defining categories:
- Doctoral Researcher – An individual who has completed all course work and is at the dissertation stage of their PhD.
- Post-doctoral Researcher – An individual, who is conducting research after the completion of their PhD, who usually works under the mentorship of a lead researcher or a principal investigator.
- Early Career Researcher – An individual with a PhD, who has demonstrated strong evidence of work as an independent researcher, has led his/her own laboratory or research project for 4-6 years or is in a tenure-track position at a degree-granting institution.
- The applicants must be a citizen from one of the following West African countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo.
Requirements
- Upon completion of the research, the QE Scholar will be expected to share the knowledge they have gained with their home institution and community. They are also required to write a Scholar Narrative Report and to join the QES-AS network through Universities Canada. Publications resulting from the QES-AS will be also hosted on the IDRC’s institutional digital library. Scholars will also be required to stay in touch and to contribute to building a growing network of QE Scholars.
- Each scholarship is premised on a mandatory period of 30% of the time for research placement to give the candidate the experience of applying their research skills towards the research needs of the partner organizations. Successful candidates will demonstrate that they have aligned their research with the research areas of the IDRC and that their research proposals relate to the research focus of their mentors and placement partners. All applicants must be fluent in either English or French. The majority of placements are English. However, there are certain opportunities for placements and mentorship in French. Carleton faculty members involved in this scholarship as mentors have expertise across various disciplines and access to professional networks. They are thus able to match selected candidates’ research need for supervision by leveraging available expertise and placement partnership. The applicants are required to demonstrate their best matches for mentors and placement partners.
Application
Submit your application by Wednesday, September 20, 2023.
For more information, visit Queen Elizabeth Scholarship.
