UM6P/EPFL EXAF 100 PhDs for Africa Programme 2023 (80,000 Swiss Francs)

Applications are currently being accepted for the UM6P/EPFL EXAF 100 PhDs for Africa Project 2023. One of the three pillars of the Excellence in Africa effort is the UM6P/EPFL EXAF 100 PhDs for Africa initiative. It is intended to provide funding for recent scientific and engineering graduates who want to pursue a PhD at a university in Africa.

A professor employed by their African home institution and a professor from EPFL will jointly supervise PhD applicants who receive a UM6P/EPFL EXAF 100 PhDs for Africa scholarship. Students may visit their EPFL co-lab supervisor’s for brief durations, but they will do the majority of their PhD work and thesis research in Africa. Their native institution will be the only one to provide them a degree.

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:

• A living allowance for the PhD fellow, which must be in line with the standard documented
  practices of the home institution
• 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:

• Open to nationals of an African country;
• Hold a Master’s degree awarded after January 1, 2020 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 when the fellowship will start, and to 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:

Applicants will be pre-selected by June 2023. Interviews of pre-selected applicants by EPFL professors will
be conducted in summer 2023. Results are expected by October 2023.
Interested applicants must apply on the online submission platform by April 18, 2023 (17:00 UTC +2).

Click here to apply