Deadline: April 30, 2019.

The International Support Network for African Development (ISNAD-Africa) is a pan-African initiative raising global and multi-stakeholder support for clean energy transition and climate resilience Africa through a multidisciplinary network of various stakeholders active in sustainable energy, environment, and climate change fields across the globe.

In 2017, ISNAD-Africa launched the Mentoring for Research Programme (MRP) to establish technical and thematic mentoring relationships between students in African Universities, and, experienced researchers and professionals across the globe. Students selected for the programme are those who are undergoing master’s and doctoral degree programmes in any discipline and are conducting the research for their thesis on sustainable energy, environment and climate change topics in their respective disciplines. The programme currently has, as mentors, researchers and professionals from various institutions and organisations such as the World Bank, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Harvard University, University College London  among other world-class institutions and international organisations. The 2018 cohort of the programme currently has 40 mentors who are supporting 37 graduate (24 PhD and 13 Master’s) students (mentees) in 26 universities across 13 African countries selected from 278 applicants in 108 universities across 22 African countries, through a collaborative and multi-stage process.

ELIGIBILITY

• Applicants should be registered postgraduate students in universities in Africa
  • Doctoral students
  • Master’s students should have made a minimum of Second Class (Upper Division) or equivalent from their undergraduate programmes
• Successful applicants will be those who possess excellent research ideas aimed at solving a problem or an innovative approach on sustainable energy, environment or climate change
• Applicants should be carrying out their research in 2019. (Please note that the research may be a new or ongoing research, however, priority will be given to research projects that are at their early stages). Also note that students whose research programme extend beyond 2019 are also eligible to apply and could be considered for extension till the completion of their research.
• Applications are welcome from students in any discipline (Technology, Sciences, Arts, Law, Social Sciences, Environmental Design and Management, Agriculture, Health Sciences, ICT, among others) provided their research are on sustainable energy, environment or climate change-based topics.

BENEFITS

• Participation in a six (6)-session webinar training, on sustainable energy, environment and climate change (including soft skills), to be hosted by the Copenhagen Centre on Energy Efficiency (C2E2), a joint initiative of the Danish Government, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Technical University of Denmark (DTU).
• admission into a one-year one-to-one mentoring relationship on your research with an experienced researcher or professional (with expertise in your area of research) from world-class organisations such as the World Bank, Harvard University, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Chatham House, and International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) among other international institutions and organisations.
• Support by a mentor to structure your research to be innovative, problem-solving, practice-oriented, and carried out to meet global standards
• Support by ISNAD-Africa to communicate your research findings to relevant stakeholders in the global community, hence, creating more visibility for your research work and career opportunities
• Support (including funding) to implement a self-proposed Environmental Education Outreach in your locality

OFFICIAL LINK

ISNAD-Africa Mentoring for Research Programme