Jobs and Announcements

The Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA), with support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York has recently launched a program that seeks to encourage and facilitate African Diaspora support to African universities. As part of this initiative, CODESRIA intends to constitute a ‘college of mentors’, a grouping of senior academics from the African academic diaspora who are willing to devote some time to mentoring students enrolled in post-graduate (masters’ and doctoral) programs in African universities. Mentors will be put in touch with one or several students who they would guide by reading draft chapters of their theses and dissertations, and journal article manuscripts; suggesting relevant reading material; and exposing them to scholarly debates they need to be aware of. Mentors might also be called upon to provide academic leadership in some of the initiatives that will be undertaken under the program. Interested mentors should send in a detailed current CV and a 5 page concept/ expression of interest note outlining their areas of interest and their vision in the program.

The University of Cape Town (UCT) Graduate School of Business is now inviting applications to its pioneering MPhil specialising in Inclusive Innovation in 2016 – a hands-on postgraduate degree that aims to generate practical and scalable sustainable solutions to African challenges. Inclusive innovators who take this learning journey will travel through a rigorous academic curriculum right through to practical prototyping of new business models, processes, services or products that will help create a more inclusive economy and society at large. You will work together in a “living lab” environment, where expertise, life experience, passion and innovation all converge to support new possibilities and ideas. In this rich, integrative space, commercial, technological and social innovations all combine to further Africa’s future. You will also be exposed to some of the most exciting thinkers and practitioners working in the field of social innovation and entrepreneurship at this time. Applicants should be passionate and creative individuals who have a postgraduate degree, work experience, and a passion for a better, more inclusive future.

This course seeks to help those who lack confidence using evidence in their work and facing external or internal pressure to justify the evidence that they produce. In this course delivered online participants will have the opportunity to develop their knowledge and understanding of evidence. With a practical focus, they will learn the skills to identify sources of evidence, assess the quality of evidence, and integrate the use of evidence into their own work and organisation so that it is of high quality and can be used with confidence. At the end of the course, participants will be familiar with definitions of, and approaches to, evidence in international development and the wider implications for practitioners; be able to identify and work with existing sources of evidence, addressing relevance and purposes for different activities and audiences; be able to understand different approaches to, and have built skills in, assessing the quality of evidence; be able to plan for the use of better evidence in their work; have applied their learning and have explored the challenges and how to overcome them. During the practical component of the course, participants will apply their learning to a particular area of work where they use evidence, such as advocacy, monitoring and evaluation, or programming. The course takes place over four weeks and includes self-directed learning and one-to-one coaching tailored to the needs of the participant. It is aimed at technical staff in NGOs who need to engage with evidence in their work, for example in programme, planning, monitoring and evaluation, or advocacy. Participants will have some exposure to using research evidence through academic training or work experience, but need to gain a better understanding of core concepts.

HEARD is calling for applications for up to four full-time PhD Research Scholarships in any of the following key areas of strategic focus Sexual and Reproductive Health; Health Systems Strengthening and Economics of Critical Enablers in HIV Programming. Award of the HEARD PhD Research Scholarship is conditional on candidates meeting the requirements for PhD registration at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, and on participating in a compulsory training component during the first year of study. The training component will be conducted over four two-week blocks during the first year of study. Candidates will produce a thesis related to one of HEARDs priority research nodes, as detailed above. The Scholarship programme emphasises the mastery of quantitative and qualitative methods for understanding policy problems and for devising, evaluating and/or implementing policy solutions. The intention of providing PhD scholarships is to produce expertly qualified graduates to advise or to be part of influential policy making organisations in Africa. During their PhD, students will be strongly encouraged to present their work at international meetings. Successful candidates will be based in Durban, South Africa, for the duration of the scholarship, with the exception of the time during which they may undertake field research elsewhere. Applications are invited from citizens of all African countries. Female candidates and, in the case of South Africa, those from previously disadvantaged backgrounds, are especially encouraged to apply.