Friday 22 May 2015

Call for applications - 2015 CARTA Graduate Workshop


Building on its goal to foster the career growth of its high-achieving fellows, the Consortium for Advanced Research Training in Africa (CARTA) will o­ffer up to 15 of its graduates the opportunity to attend a proposal development workshop.  CARTA’s Proposal Development Workshops   aim to support its graduates to develop skills in proposal writing. The workshops will provide hands-on support to fellows in proposal development and defense, budgeting, and grant management.
Eligibility
Applicants must be PhD graduates of the CARTA program who are full-time teaching or research staff of any of the participating African CARTA partner- institutions. They must demonstrable commitment to research capacity building at their institutions as well as potential for research leadership.

Evaluation criteria
Applications will be selected on the basis of candidate’s academic and research track record and quality of proposed research idea.

What is covered?
Support for participation in CARTA’s Proposal Development Workshops will cover travel, accommodation and a modest per diem.
How to apply
Applicants must submit the following documents
  • A completed application form, including a succinct description of the proposal idea
  • A statement by the host institution supporting the application

Application materials should be submitted to the CARTA Program Manager (carta@aphrc.org) by11:59PM (Nairobi Time) on 30 June 2015. The email should have the subject line: 2015 CARTA Graduate Workshop.


For more information about this call and to download the application instructions, please click below:


CARTA co-Director, Prof. Sharon Fonn, is a finalist for the National Science and Technology Forum 2014/2015 Awards



Prof. Sharon Fonn, CARTA co-Director, has been nominated as a finalist for the NSTF-BHP Billiton Awards 2014/2015. Prof. Fonn has been nominated in recognition of the work that she has been doing with the Consortium for Advanced Research Training in Africa (CARTA).

She is a finalist for the “Research Capacity Development” category that recognizes individuals and institutions that have done a brilliant work in this sector.
Prof. Fonn has been nominated by the Head School of Public Health at the University of Witwatersrand to appreciate the work that CARTA has done for the institution and the republic of South Africa as a whole. 

“I am pleased to see that CARTA has been recognized in the capacity building category. This is quite a competitive award and there were very many nominees – so even if CARTA is not the ultimate awardee even making the finalist category is a significant achievement,” said Prof. Fonn, when she learnt of the announcement of the finalists.

The highly-acclaimed National Science and Technology Forum (NSTF) Awards, hosted in partnership with BHP Billiton since 2011, is the flagship project of the largest and most represented multi-stakeholder non-profit forum in South Africa promoting science and technology through collaborative effort.  

The National Science and Technology Forum (NSTF) is the most representative and long-standing non-profit body of Science, Engineering, Technology and Innovation (SETI) stakeholders in South Africa with the following strategic objectives that promote science and technology collaboratively as follows:

  • Influence the development and implementation of public SETI policies 
  • Celebrate, recognize and reward excellence within the SETI sectors 
  • Contribute towards the renewal of SETI systems through youth interventions 
All finalists to this award will get a certificate form the Minister of Science and Technology and the winner in each category will be announced on the 9th of July 2015.


Congratulations to Prof. Fonn for making to the final list of nominees for this prestigious award.

Tuesday 19 May 2015

Funding for African Researchers



New Programme of Research Development Fellowships funded by the Medical Research Foundation’s Africa Research Excellence Fund

The Medical Research Foundation has recently established the Africa Research Excellence Fund (AREF) to nurture excellent health research by Africans, in Africa with impact for Africa. The AREF is pleased to announce its first programme of AREF Research Development Fellowships.

This is a new opportunity intended to benefit outstanding early-career African researchers. The Programme is designed to enable talented, African researchers who have been awarded their PhD in the last four years to develop their own research ideas and funding proposals. Each AREF Fellowship will support a placement of up to nine months in a leading research organisation in Europe or South Africa.

The deadline for receipt of applications is 1600 hours (GMT) on 8 July 2015.  Our first awards will be announced in November 2015.
Please read on for further information about the competition and how to apply.