Grants

The Association of African Universities is pleased to announce the 2008/2009 edition of its Academic Staff Exchange Programme which aims at facilitating academic mobility and encouraging networking among AAU member institutions , as well as contributing to improvements in the quality of training and research in African higher education institutions.

Under the Exchange Programme academic staff from universities in Africa, or African academics in the Diaspora, are sponsored to undertake visits to universities in Africa to offer services such as teaching, graduate theses supervision, serving as external examiners or engaging in joint research.

For the purposes of this project 'Diaspora' refers to members of communities formed due to diferent waves of migration: internal and external migration over hundreds of years from Africa to the Americas; recent migration from African indigenous communities; and migration of groups which were originally diasporas from Asia and Europe in Africa, now emigrants from Africa(Paul Timbaye Zeleza).

Advantages

Staff Exchange missions allow academic staff to get acquainted with different work environments, mentor young scholars or researchers and meet their colleagues involved in the same research areas and in the long term help build cooperation between home and host institutions.

The Visit

Duration: 4 - 12 weeks

The visit to the host institution under the AAU Staff Exchange Programme involves participation of the visiting lecturer in any of the following:

• teaching assignment

• research collaboration

• graduate supervision; or

• external examination.

For research collaboration, preference will be given to (but not restricted to) work in the following areas:

1. The role of higher education in promoting sustainable development in Africa

2. Agriculture, Food Security and related disciplines;

3. Economics and related disciplines, especially entrepreneurship in Africa;

4. Medicine and Medical Sciences;

5. Engineering and information technology; and

6. Gender and HIV & AIDS.

Please note that except in unforeseen or exceptional circumstances, an exchange mission cannot be postponed to the following year. For this edition of the Programme, all exchange missions have to be undertaken by end December 2009.

AAU Financial Support

The AAU supports about ten exchange missions a year. Financial support for exchange fellows includes the following:

• Up to US$2000 to cover economy class air ticket or the equivalent; (where airfare exceeds US$2000 the Host Institution would be expected to top up the amount)

• US$5,000 honorarium for a teaching or research mission

• US$2,500 honorarium for an external examiner

• US$150 per week - up to a maximum of US$1000 - to cover incidental expenses (paid once the dates of the mission are agreed between the visiting lecturer and the Host Institution)

Home/Host Institution Obligations

The Home Institution of the visiting professor/lecturer shall maintain the payment of his/her salary and benefits for the duration of his/her absence from the institution for the purpose of the exchange mission.

The Host Institution shall cater for the local expenses of the visiting professor/lecturer including lodging, board, local transportation, and medical care during his/her stay at the institution.

Who Can Apply?

AAU member institutions in good standing on the payment of subscriptions are invited to request in writing, the services of a visiting professor/lecturer.

How to Apply

Prospective Exchange Fellows must be nominated by an AAU member institution that needs their services. The Head of the Host Institution shall ask for the services of a visiting professor/lecturer in writing. The application must also include the following:

a. Information on the prospective Exchange Fellow's teaching/examiner experience (relevant aspects of Curriculum vitae); and publications.

b. A letter of release from the Home institution of the Exchange Fellow.

c. A duly completed and endorsed application form.

For more information on application procedures, selection criteria and other details please refer to the documents below.

• Application Form

• Application Guideline

• List of Past Beneficiaries

Women are especially encouraged to participate in the Programme. Heads of institutions are therefore requested to give priority to the nomination of women.

Through a program of fellowship competitions, regional workshops, and peer networking, the African Humanities Program provides support to the humanities in five African countries, including Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda. The program is supported by a grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

The centerpiece of the program is the distribution of fellowships to African scholars in these countries for work on dissertations, research projects, and scholarly manuscripts. The African Humanities Program will award approximately 40 such fellowships in its 2008-2009 competition. In future years, funding will be available to subsidize the publication of manuscripts completed with fellowships of the African Humanities Program.

In coordination with African scholars, ACLS hosts a series of annual meetings in the five African countries participating in the program. These meetings provide opportunities for senior African scholars from a variety of disciplines to collaborate with ACLS representatives in the local design of programs, while giving younger scholars a means to learn about the application process and gain feedback on their project proposals. Through the activities of the African Humanities Program, ACLS promotes local and transnational cooperation among humanities scholars at all stages of their careers, working towards the development of a self-sustaining network of African humanities scholars.

The African Humanities Program is inspired by a commitment to the humanities as a core component of higher education in Africa, essential to progress and development. The ACLS defines the humanities as those disciplines that study human cultures, languages, and histories through the use of qualitative methods. Among the disciplines contributing to humanities scholarship are anthropology, history, literature, religion, philosophy and studies of the fine and performing arts.

Application forms may be downloaded or requested by email. ACLS encourages the submission of applications via email.

• Instructions and Application Form (Doc)
• Instructions and Application Form (PDF)

For further information, please email or check The African Humanities Program