Deadline: April 20, 2021
Applications for the UM6P/EPFL EXAF 100 PhDs for Africa Programme 2021 are now open. The UM6P/EPFL EXAF 100 PhDs for Africa Programme is one of the three pillars of the Excellence in Africa initiative. It is designed to fund science and engineering graduates intending to complete a PhD at an African higher education institution.
Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P) and École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) have launched the Excellence in Africa initiative (EXAF) to support the rise of the next generation of researchers in Africa. This ground-breaking initiative aims to enhance their research skills through collaboration with EPFL professors. It is based on the premise that it will contribute to building their career and enable them to heighten their economic and societal impact in Africa.
The PhD candidates benefiting from this programme will be jointly supervised by a professor of an African institution and by an EPFL professor. They will conduct their doctoral studies and their thesis research at their home institution, and they will spend short periods of time at EPFL and at UM6P (summer and spring schools, workshops, conferences). Their degree will be awarded by their institution in Africa.
Funding
The programme awards funding of a maximum of 80,000 Swiss Francs in total for a period of at most 54 months. Eligible costs include and are limited to:
- Living Allowance: A living allowance for the PhD fellow, which must be in line with the standard documented practices of the home institution.
- Tuition Cost: Tuition costs may be included in the budget if there is written confirmation from the home institution that tuition fees apply for all PhD candidates.
- Research Cost
- Consumables and direct costs for the use of infrastructure at the home institution or at EPFL.
- Open science costs: costs for data storage and for granting access to data (open research data) and open access publication costs.
- Colloquia
- Conference, summer school and workshop costs for the PhD fellow, namely travel (economy class airfares, public ground transportation), lodging, visa, vaccinations, meals, and (if applicable) conference registration fees.
- During the fellowship, the PhD fellow must participate in two summer schools organised by UM6P at Ben Guerir Campus in Morocco. Travel costs for these summer schools will also have to be included.
- Cost Related to Joint Supervision:
- Travel costs for the PhD fellow to and from EPFL (economy class airfares, public ground transportation).
- A supplementary living allowance for stay(s) at EPFL.
- Travel costs to and from the African home institution and EPFL for the supervisor and co-supervisor of the PhD fellow (economy class airfares, public ground transportation, lodging, and meals).
- Other costs incurred by the joint supervision (e.g., joint participation in a conference, other costs related to stays at EPFL).
Eligibility
- Applicant must be a national of an African country;
- Hold a Master’s degree awarded after January 1, 2018 or to be enrolled in the final year of the master study;
- Have an outstanding academic track record;
- Be enrolled in an African academic institution and reside in an African country for the duration of the PhD;
- Have the endorsement of a professor of an African institution willing to supervise the doctoral thesis for its full duration.
Application
The deadline for applications is April 20, 2021. Pre-selected applicants should be interviewed by their potential EPFL co-supervisor between June 22, 2021 and August 6, 2021. Results are expected by September 2021.
For more information, visit 100 PhDs for Africa.
