2023 Call for Applications (Supplementary Call)
Junior Research Grants (JRG) Programmes
(Supported by BMZ and AvH)
(Language of Application: All applications MUST be submitted in English)
(Closed)
Scope of Programmes:
AGNES is operating two Junior Research Grant programmes for which application may be submitted via NOMINATION ONLY:
- General AGNES Junior Researcher Grant (For MALE and FEMALE candidates)
- Special AGNES Junior Research Grant (For FEMALE candidates ONLY)
FEMALE candidates may be nominated for any or both (a and/or b) of the grants while MALE candidates can only be nominated for General AGNES Junior Researcher Grant (Generally for MALE and FEMALE candidates). AGNES encourages the nomination of candidates from all research fields, including ALL Sciences, Humanities, Law and Social Sciences.
SPECIAL NOTE:
There is no geographical quota for the award of AGNES Grant in sub-Saharan Africa. ALL eligible excellent candidates from all countries in sub-Saharan Africa are qualified to apply for these grants. However, for this supplementary call, AGNES is encouraging eligible candidates from the following under-represented countries to apply. For the avoidance doubt, such under-represented countries are Burkina Faso, Ghana, Guinea, Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia, Mali, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Angola, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo Brazzaville, Congo Kinshasa (DRC), Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Rwanda, Zambia, Uganda, Tanzania, Malawi, Lesotho, Botswana, Mozambique, Maurutius, Mauritania, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Cape Verde and Sao Tome and Principe.
I. Programmes
We are pleased to announce the “Supplementary Call for Applications” for our funding programmes: “AGNES Grant for Junior Researchers” as indicated above. This grant is funded by the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and with the support of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (AvH). The grant aims to strengthen scientific capacity in Sub-Saharan Africa by funding outstanding top male and female PhD holders and mentoring them to apply and succeed in the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation fellowship programmes. It further supports Humboldtians in their efforts towards mentoring high potential junior researchers, helping them to access international networks of scientific excellence (e.g. AvH).
II. Eligibility and Nomination
Consideration of recipients for the AGNES Junior Researchers Grant (JRG) is only by nomination of candidates and not through direct application. AGNES Members and African Humboldtians may nominate two excellent candidates who graduated with PhD from 2020 onwards. Excellent candidates who will graduate before the Selection Meeting in April 2024 (confirmation of PhD degree must be submitted before AGNES Selection Board meeting) may also be nominated.
The nominator should consider only candidates with outstanding academic records and with good publications in peer-reviewed international journals indexed in SCOPUS. The nominee must be a national of a sub-Saharan African country and be interested in carrying out a post-doctoral scientific research project in Germany under the auspices of the fellowship programmes of the AvH (https://www.humboldt-foundation.de/web/humboldt-fellowship-postdoc.html).
NB: It is the wish of the AvH and of AGNES to attract excellent candidates from all sub- Saharan countries. For the two grants, AGNES Governing Board will aspire to achieve 50% inclusion of female researchers on the basis of merit. Nominators are therefore requested to also contact colleagues from other sub-sahara African countries to identify excellent candidates for nomination. AGNES encourages the nomination of candidates from all research fields, including ALL Sciences, Humanities and Social Sciences (for the AGNES Junior Researchers Grant).
III. Amount and Use of the Grant
The one-off grant amounts to one thousand Euro only (EUR 1000.00 only). The recipient of the Grant must submit a signed letter of acceptance to the Governing Board of AGNES, co-signed by the AGNES nominator (mentor), within seven days of receipt of the offer. The Grant money will then be transferred into the bank account of the successful Junior Researcher. The Grant is awarded in recognition of the scientific achievements of the Grantee to date and his/her potential to compete for an AvH post-doc fellowship successfully. AGNES does not impose restrictions on the use of the Grant, but it is envisaged that the Grant may serve as support during the preparation of the application for postdoctoral funding from the AvH.
VI. Nomination
A complete nomination package MUST include the following:
- A nomination form (in AGNES template) with the name of the nominator, the name of the nominee, the reason for the nomination, the PhD graduation date of the nominee, the ranking of the nominee, the field of research, and the name and affiliation of a potential research partner in Germany (if already established).
- CV of the nominee in (AGNES Format) with a complete list of publications plus a digital copy of each publication (only the first-page showing Authorship, Title and Date of the publication, Abstract and Journal information).
- Academic transcripts and graduation certificates from the nominee’s University / Tertiary Institute(s).
- For the Humanities, an extended abstract (5 pages) of the doctoral thesis has to be submitted.
Download the Nomination form and CV Template here: Nomination Form, CV Template
Incomplete applications will be rejected. Nominators are therefore urged to check the completeness of the nomination package for each nominee before submission.
The total size of the application file by a nominator must not exceed 8 MB.
Please send the Nomination files via email to the AGNES Desk: info@agnes-h.org and rlvihotogbe@gmail.com
Nominations close at 12:00 GMT on March 31st, 2024.
V. Selection
A selection committee comprising the AGNES Governing Board and additional evaluators based on their academic discipline/research expertise will evaluate the nominations. The core ranking criteria are the publication record and the prospects for successful international scientific cooperation (contacts with German academic institutions are required for AvH programmes). The selection committee will meet in April, and candidates will be selected to receive a certificate and the once-off meritorious grant of EUR 1000. Successful candidates will be informed of the selection committee’s decision following the meeting. Nomination of candidates for the AGNES Grant for Junior Researchers is no guarantee of acceptance/selection into the post-doc funding programmes of the AvH and does not imply preferential treatment once an application is submitted.
For any questions, please, contact:
Olaitan Joel-Anthony (Programme manager). Email: info@agnes-h.org
Dr. Ir. Romaric Vihotogbé (Secretary of AGNES). Email: rlvihotogbe@gmail.com
Prof. Alexandra Muellner-Riehl (Co-Chair of AGNES). Email: muellner-riehl@uni-leipzig.de
Prof. Dr. Odunayo Clement Adebooye (President/Chair of AGNES). Email: ocadebooye@daad-alumni.de