Deadline: September 8, 2026
Applications are open for the AREF Towards Leadership Programme 2026/2027. The Africa Research Excellence Fund (AREF) Towards Leadership programme aims to empower talented, emerging scientists in Africa to compete successfully for UKRI MRC and other major funding opportunities in global health research. Together they are investing in talented African scientists in Africa, enhancing their global health research and leadership potential.
The programme will run in March 2027 consisting of two residential workshops (opening and closing) and one virtual workshop.
The curriculum is designed to support engage and enhance the participants’ capabilities and to empower talented, emerging scientists in Africa to compete successfully on a level playing field for UKRI MRC and other major funding opportunities in global health research. The programme is directed towards to winning grant funding, empowering effective teams, collaborating internationally, influencing stakeholders, and building rewarding research careers.
Programme Outline
The Programme comprises the following elements:
- Three inspiring and practical blended workshops at six-monthly intervals
- Supplementary webinars, tutorials, and online resources
- Baseline and end-of-programme assessments and evaluation
- Collaboration between participating individuals
The Programme has the following themes tailored to meet the needs of each cohort:
- The Researcher as a Leader focusing on learning & leading in a complex world; raising the cohorts’ self-awareness, and mindfulness while also building their coaching, influence, and leadership capabilities.
- The Effective Researcher develops the individual’s ability to envision, plan and action career goals and development trajectory through personal development planning, time management, and mentorship.
- The Researcher as a Communicator augmenting the individual’s leadership, authorship & authority skills through the use of effective presentations, storytelling and messaging while refining their engagement with research users.
- The Compelling Applicant: Understanding funders. Proposal development and writing skills: formulating a research question; justifying the design/strategy; concept notes and full proposals. Data sharing. Understanding peer review. Fellowship interviews.
- The Researcher as a Manager: Building a great team. Effective collaboration. Implementation planning. Working with Research Support and Finance departments. Managing a budget. Managing intellectual property.
The five themes will be integrated across the three workshops. The balance of the curriculum will be determined by the participant’s needs.
Costs
- The costs of the workshops and associated accommodation and travel of selected nominees will be met by MRC and AREF.
Eligibility
- You are a citizen of a country in Africa.
- You are currently employed in Africa by a recognised university and/or specialist research institution.
- You are an early career researcher, having completed your research education and are now at the early stages of leading your own research group.
- You will hold a research doctorate (PhD/DPhil/MD) from a recognised academic institution OR you have a medical/clinical qualification PLUS a research-relevant Master’s degree, both usually within the last 10 years. If it has been longer than 10 years since your last degree, please explain in your application why you should still be considered an early career researcher (i.e. caring responsibilities or career break/change impacting your research career).
- You are currently responsible for managing/supervising one or more research students and/or research staff members and are involved in building research collaborations.
- You demonstrate evidence of being at the early stages of leading a research team or being an active member of a research team conducting Global Health Research.
- A significant part of your current employee role is to develop and conduct health research.
- You already have experience in obtaining research funding (typically more than £50,000 but must be less than the combined value of £500,000).
Application
For more information, visit AREF Towards Leadership Programme.
