Friday, August 31, 2012

Guest PhD Scholarships in Sweden for Developing Countries

Country and Sponsor: Sweden, Swedish Government
Programme and Deadline: PhD, 1 March every year. Course starts: September every year
Brief description:
Sponsored Ad
The Guest Scholarship Program provides PhD candidates and Postdoctoral researchers with an excellent opportunity to conduct a study or research visit to a Swedish university within all academic fields. As a Guest Scholarship Program candidate you can choose to apply for a study/research visit to Sweden according to the following models:
1. Post-doctoral research: a long-term postdoctoral research visit of 6, 12 or 18 months.
2. PhD studies: a long-term PhD research visit of 6 or 12 months.
Host Institution(s):
Accredited academic institutions and universities in Sweden
Field of study:
Any research program in all academic fields
Number of Awards:
In category one the Swedish Institute has the opportunity to offer approximately 20 scholarships.  In category two the Swedish Institute has the opportunity to offer approximately 5-10 scholarships.  The final number of scholarships depends on how many candidates in the final selection that have applied for a PhD or Postdoctoral stay in Sweden, and for how long.
Target group:
The program is open to candidates from two different categories of countries that determine certain aspects of the program:
Category 1:  Candidates coming from countries on the Development Assistance Committee list of recipients of Official Development Assistance, the so-called ODA recipients.
Category 2: Candidates coming from the following countries:  Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, Japan, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates and the United States.
Scholarship value/inclusions:
Stipend: The scholarship amounts to SEK 12,000 per month for PhD students and SEK 15,000 for post-doctoral studies. Scholarship periods are fixed for 6, 12 or 18 months.
Travel Grants: Scholarship holders from ODA countries will receive travel support in connection with the scholarship. The travel grant is a lump sum, given only once. Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia (FYROM), Montenegro, Moldova, Serbia, Turkey and receive SEK 5,000. Citizens from remaining ODA countries receive SEK 15,000. PhD students on a sandwich set-up from ODA countries will be given only one travel grant per calendar year.
Insurance: Scholarship holders are insured by the Swedish State Group Insurance against illness and accident during the scholarship period. For citizens of EU member states and other Convention countries the insurance applies with certain limitations.
Eligibility:
The scholarships are intended for guest students or researchers belonging to any of the above mentioned countries and target groups, applying for full-time studies/research in Sweden. There is no age limit for the scholarship holders.
Please note that to be eligible for a scholarship at PhD level you must be enrolled in ongoing PhD studies at a university outside Sweden.
Please also note that to be eligible for a scholarship at Postdoctoral level you must be holder of a PhD degree, preferably from 2007 or later. You can still apply if you expect to get your PhD degree shortly. However, you must be able to show that you successfully defended your PhD thesis no later than April 15, 2012.
You are not eligible for this scholarship if any of the following is true:
•  You have already lived in Sweden for two years or more when the scholarship period is due to begin.
•  You have a Swedish permanent residence permit.
•  You have a Swedish work permit and you are not an EU citizen.
•  You are applying for a scholarship at Postdoctoral level, but you do not hold any PhD degree, and will not be able to defend your PhD thesis before April 15, 2012.
•  You are applying for a scholarship at PhD level, but you are not enrolled in ongoing PhD studies at a university outside Sweden.
Application instructions:
Read the application instructions here. The deadline for applications is 1 March annually. It is important to visit the official website (link found below) for detailed information on how to apply for this scholarship.
Website:

Friday, August 17, 2012

Web 2.0 and Social Media Learning Opportunity 15-19 October 2012


Venue: Moi University, Town Campus, School of Aerospace Science (Rivatex), Eldoret, Kenya,
Dates12 - 16 November 2012 (formerly scheduled October 15-19, 2012)
Technological innovation is taking place at a breath-taking pace. Simple, open source internet-based applications and services designed to enhance on-line collaboration are now available to the wider public at little or no cost at all. These new online technologies known as Web 2.0 and Social Media applications enable people to collaborate to create, share and publish information.
The Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation EU-ACP (CTA) has a mandate to facilitate access to and dissemination of information in the fields of agriculture and rural development in 78 countries in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific (ACP). Supporting the adoption of Web 2.0 applications and Social Media represents a great opportunity for meeting it.

Moi University, School of Information Science in collaboration with CTA will host a second 5-day Web 2.0 Learning Opportunity on 15-19 October, 2012. Participants will be introduced to selected web 2.0 applications including social media and will learn how to use them hands-on.
The Learning Opportunity will cover advanced online searching, getting information served via alerts and RSS, collaborating remotely using wikis and Google Docs, using VoIP, online mapping and social networking. Participants will get a chance to see what others have done, get hands-on experience on how to use innovative applications, and assess how they could adopt these innovations within the context of their work and organisation.
This Learning Opportunity forms part of CTA initiatives that support development partners in networking, accessing and disseminating information more effectively.
Programme of the Learning Opportunity
  • Introduction to the participatory World Wide Web (Web 2.0)  and to social media;
  • Search Magic: How to conduct advanced multilingual online searches;
  • Information Self Service: How to get selected information served to you via alerts and RSS feeds;
  • Remote collaboration: How to develop content remotely using wikis and Google Docs;
  • Online mapping: How to locate your organisation and your projects on an online map;
·         How to communicate voice over the internet at no cost;
·         Online publishing (micro-blogging and blogging);
·         Professional / corporate social networking (LinkedIn and Facebook);
·         Web 2.0 self-instruction (introduction to IMARK)

Participants - Eligibility and responsibilities
Participation in the Learning Opportunity is free of charge, but subject to acceptance by the organisers. 25 participants will be accepted for the event.

Eligibility criteria
·         be computer literate and conversant with browsing the Internet;
·         have regular access to a computer (ownership of a computer is an advantage);
·         be in a position to take along a WIFI-enabled laptop to the training;
·         be competent in  the use of the English language;
·         have an active e-mail account;
·         be actively engaged in agriculture and rural development / natural resource management / biodiversity conservation in the domains of ICT for development (ICT4D), policies, markets; publishing, communication and media; and
·         be resident in Kenya;

Responsibilities
Accepted participants will be responsible for all costs related to their travel to and from the venue at Moi University, Town Campus, School of Aerospace Science (Rivatex), their accommodation, breakfast and supper, their daily subsistence allowances, and for bringing their own WIFI-enabled laptop to the event.

Entitlements
During each event, the organisers will provide lunch and refreshments and distribute copies of CTA publications and instructional material.

How to apply
If you are interested in applying, please click on this link to complete the online form.

Deadline for application: 9 September, 2012
Feedback
The organisers will inform successful applicants about the status of their application two week before the commencement of the course. Successful applicants will receive confirmation letters and others will also be duly informed of the results of their application.

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Kenya – DAAD Postgraduate Training Programme 2012-2013



The Kenya Vision 2030 policy document recommends investment in Science, Technology & Innovation (ST&I) in priority key sectors. One such area involves capacity building in the universities through advanced training of personnel. As part of this initiative, in June 2010, the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology (MOHEST) and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) signed a five (5) year Agreement for cooperation in Postgraduate Training open to all fields of study. The programme is administered by the National Council for Science and Technology (NCST) on behalf of MOHEST. The main objective of the programme is to train twenty (20) Ph.D research students teaching in universities in Kenya for forty two (42) months (inclusive six (6) months German language course) at a German university. Since the inception of the programme, thirty seven (37) Kenyans have been awarded scholarships and are currently pursuing their training in Germany.

General Conditions for the Scholarships

For eligibility to the Kenya -DAAD Ph.D Scholarship, candidates must meet the following conditions:
  • be citizen of the Republic of Kenya
  • be teaching (full or part time) in Kenyan universities
  • should have obtained the Master’s degree preferably within the past 6 years (date of graduation)
  •  be willing to undertake a six (6) months German language course
The following documents must be attached to the application form:
  • Cover sheet for DAAD Scholarship Application Form
  •  DAAD Application Form  for Research Grants and Study Scholarships
  • Hand-signed Curriculum Vitae  and list of publications (use the Europass specimen form at http://europass.cedefop.europa.eu)
  • Application letter indicating motivation to undertake Ph.D studies
  • Ph.D proposal (10 – 15 pages; 1,5 spacing; 2,5cm space left, 2cm right) including an abstract of the proposal on one page (please include name and title of the proposal) and a detailed work plan for 3 years including time schedule covering the whole period of the scholarship
  • Confirmation from a German Professor stating that he/she will supervise the applicant for his/her Ph.D thesis (in English) OR Admission letter from structured Ph.D Programme
  • Two (2) recommendation letters of academic referees (on particular recommendation forms, provided by DAAD office)
  • Certificates (each certified as true copy of the original certificate)
  • -          Master’s degree certificate and transcripts for each year
  • -          Bachelor’s degree certificate transcripts for each year
  • -          A/O-level or KCSE certificate
  • -          Copy of the national ID
  • A Letter of support from the university, indicating the prospective function of the applicant within the university after return to Kenya. 
For further information on the scholarship program, please check the following websites:

For research contacts in German check at the website: www.daad.de/research-explorer,

Applications (triplicate, hard copies) should be sent or delivered by Friday 28th September 2012 by 4:00pm at latest to:

The Coordinator, Kenya-DAAD Training Programme
National Council for Science and Technology
Utalii House 9th Floor Room 910
P.O. Box 30623-00100, NAIROBI
research@ncst.go.ke
Telephone no. +254 721434057 or +254 20-2242175

Thursday, August 2, 2012

The Rhodes Scholarships for Kenya

Kenyan Scholars Kingwa Kamencu (2009) and Diana Njuguna (2010)
Kenyan Scholars Kingwa Kamencu (2009) and Diana Njuguna (2010)

Each year, there are two Scholarships available in Kenya to enable outstanding students - chosen on the basis of exceptional intellect, character, leadership, and commitment to service - to study at the University of Oxford.
Rhodes Scholars from Kenya have pursued a variety of careers in public service, academia, business, law, and medicine, amongst others.  Many have achieved notable distinction, including:

  • Elchi Nowrojee (Kenya & St Antony’s 1992), who is Co-Head of Legal - Americas for the Asset Management division of Credit Suisse, where he has represented a number of clients investing in African companies, forming African investment funds and working with other Africa-related businesses.  He is also a member of the Sub-Committee on Africa of the Advisory Committee of the Cyrus R. Vance Centre for International Justice and former Chair of the Committee on African Affairs of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York.
  • Njonjo Mue (Kenya & Jesus 1991), who is Deputy Director of the Africa Program of the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ), an international non-profit organization which works to help societies in transition address legacies of massive human rights violations and build civic trust in state institutions as protectors of human rights. An advocate of the high court of Kenya, he previously served as the Head of ICTJ's Kenya office and the Head of Advocacy at the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights. He sits on the board of the Kenya Section of the International Commission of Jurists and is a member of the Kenya Rhodes Scholarship Selection Committee.
  • Adhiambo Odaga (Kenya & St Antony's 1986), who is the Ford Foundation’s Director, Pan African Program and Representative for West Africa based in Lagos, Nigeria.  In this capacity she oversees grant-making focused on building local capacity in the areas of economic development, human rights, governance, reproductive health and culture.   She is also a board member of TrustAfrica, an independent foundation that strives to secure the conditions for democratic governance and equitable development across Africa, and a member of the Policy and Monitoring Committee of Nigeria’s National Council of Privatisation.
Information about Rhodes Scholars elected for Kenya and around the world can be found in biographies of the Rhodes class of 2012 and the Rhodes class of 2011. You can also access video interviews with diverse Rhodes alumni.

Applications
Applications are now open for the Rhodes Scholarship for 2013 for Kenya.
For the online application form, please click here

Prospective applicants from Kenya should carefully review:
There are FAQs which are applicable to all applicants.

The Secretary for the Rhodes Scholarships in Kenya may be contacted at:
Mrs Janet Kabiru
National Secretary
The Rhodes Scholarships in Kenya
PO Box 2588-00202
Nairobi
Kenya
Telephone: +254 20 285 8000
Cell: +254 722 810044
Email: Rhodes.Selection.Kenya@gmail.com