Increasing Brain Circulation Between Institutions and Academics in Africa and North America
NEW YORK, May 8, 2019 – The Carnegie African Diaspora Fellowship Program (CADFP) announces the selection of 12 fellows who will take part in joint academic projects with host institutions in Africa. The CADFP has funded 397 fellowships for African-born scholars from the United States and Canada to collaborate with over 100 institutions of higher learning in Ghana, Nigeria, Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya and South Africa in the areas of collaborative research, curriculum co-development and graduate student teaching and mentoring. The CADFP is an innovative collaboration between the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Institute of International Education (IIE), an Advisory Council of prominent African academics and the United States International University-Africa.
CADFP fellows traveling to Africa will collaborate with academics at their host institutions on a variety of projects. Selected initiatives include advancing HIV/AIDS research skills by training South African postgraduate students at Stellenbosch University in qualitative research methods, and enabling greater access to persons with disabilities in education at Jaramogi Oginga Oginga University of Science and Technology in Kenya. A full list of the most current projects can be found here. Through these initiatives, CADFP aims to find solutions to some of the most pressing challenges facing Africa and the world.
Enabling diaspora-born scholars to engage in collaborative and creative capacity-building projects, the overarching program goal is to facilitate sustainable connections and strengthen the academic capacity at African Institutions. Results from a recent alumni impact survey administered by the Research, Evaluation, and Learning (REL) team at IIE has demonstrated the sustainability of alumni engagement with hosts and a preliminary snapshot of the results of capacity-building collaborations and programs’ success in achieving the goals. Up to 5 years after the program, over 85 percent of survey respondents continued to collaborate with host institutions on capacity building projects. Both initial fellowship opportunities and sustained engagements have produced new research and curricula, and strengthened their academic networks, through CADFP. In addition, CADFP alumni are finding innovative solutions and accessing significant grant funding to support their continued work with host institutions.
How the Projects and Fellowships Work:
Fellowships match host universities with African-born scholars from Canada or the United States, individually or in groups, and cover the expenses for project visits of up to three months. All scholar and project proposals are evaluated by a review committee and must be approved by the Advisory Council. Public and private higher education institutions in Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda are invited to submit a project request to host a scholar for 21 to 90 days. Prospective hosts are eligible but not required to name a proposed scholar in their request. Many African institutions and prospective Fellows collaborate on ideas for a project that is then submitted by the institution. IIE maintains a scholar roster to facilitate matches, according to the discipline specializations, expertise, activities and objectives described in a project request. Candidates are required to have a terminal degree in their field and can hold any academic rank. When a scholar is successfully matched with a selected project, he or she is awarded a Fellowship to conduct a project visit to the host institution.
See a full list of projects, hosts, and scholars and their universities.
The Carnegie Corporation of New York funds the program, and IIE provides fellowship management as well as administrative and logistical support for the fellows and the host universities. An Advisory Council of prominent African academics led by Paul Tiyambe Zeleza provides strategic direction, and the United States International University-Africa serves as the program’s Secretariat.
Please direct all questions related to AfricanDiaspora@iie.org.
About IIE:
The Institute of International Education (IIE) is a world leader in international education, creating more peaceful and equitable societies by advancing scholarship, building economies, and promoting access to opportunity. As a not-for-profit organization with 18 offices and affiliates worldwide, IIE collaborates with a range of corporate, government, and foundation partners across the globe to design and manage scholarship, study abroad, workforce training, and leadership development programs. To learn more, visit www.iie.org.
About United States International University-Africa (USIU-Africa):
United States International University-Africa (USIU-Africa) was founded in 1969 as the Africa campus of United States International University in San Diego, California. Today, the University operates as an independent, not-for-profit institution serving over 6000 students representing 73 nationalities. It offers 24 degree programs from undergraduate to doctoral level, all of which are accredited in Kenya and the United States of America with the Commission for University Education and Senior Colleges and Universities Commission, WASC respectively.
About Carnegie Corporation of New York:
Carnegie Corporation of New York was established by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 “to promote the advancement and diffusion of knowledge and understanding.” In keeping with this mandate, the Corporation’s work focuses on the issues that Andrew Carnegie considered of paramount importance: international peace, the advancement of education and knowledge and the strength of our democracy.
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