With the goal of turning the continent's "brain drain" into "brain circulation," the Carnegie African Diaspora Fellowship Program will bring 100 African-born scholars currently based in the United States and Canada together with host universities in Africa to collaborate on teaching, curriculum, research, and graduate training and mentoring over the next two years.
The fellowship program, managed by the Institute of International Education (IIE) in partnership with Quinnipiac University and supported by the Carnegie Corporation of New York, is now accepting applications from African Diaspora academics to join a roster of available candidates for fellowships at African universities. The Fellows will engage in capacity building educational projects proposed and hosted by faculty at higher education institutions in six Carnegie partner countries in sub-Saharan Africa.
Public and private higher education institutions in Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa and Uganda, accredited by the national agency in their respective countries, are now invited to submit an online project request to host a scholar. For the first round of fellowships, interested scholars and potential host universities should apply online by March 17, 2014. The first round of scholars will be selected in May 2014, for project visits of 14 to 90 days to begin as early as June 2014.
The new program will help meet the needs identified by host universities by bringing short-term faculty exchange fellows to Africa to co-develop curriculum, collaborate on research, and train, teach and mentor graduate students. IIE manages and administers the program, including the application process, project requests, and fellowships. Quinnipiac University, through Dr. Paul Tiyambe Zeleza, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Professor of History, provides strategic direction and chairs an expert Advisory Council, comprised of prominent African scholars and university administrators, to guide the program.
“The Carnegie African Diaspora Fellows Program exemplifies Carnegie Corporation’s enduring commitment to higher education in Africa. It brings together Dr. Zeleza’s expertise and vision with IIE’s long history of managing global scholarships and our ongoing work to develop talent and help build capacity to address the challenges and harness the opportunities emerging on the African continent,” said IIE’s President and CEO, Allan E. Goodman.
The new Fellowships were inspired by Dr. Zeleza’s report, “Engagements between African Diaspora Academics in the U.S. and Canada and African Institutions of Higher Education: Perspectives from North America and Africa.” Developed in consultation with African institutions, particularly the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA), the program’s goal is to facilitate equitable, effective and mutually beneficial international higher education engagements between scholars in Africa and African Diaspora academics in Canada and the United States. Multifaceted, innovative projects are encouraged, attuned to the transformations taking place in contemporary systems of higher education within the landscape of internationalization.
The prospective African host institutions must submit the project request, but prospective Fellows can collaborate with a host university to design a mutually beneficial project. An institution may, but is not required to, name a proposed scholar in a project request. If a scholar is not named, IIE will match institutional needs identified in the project request with a qualified diaspora scholar. Both the proposed scholar and the project request will be evaluated by a review committee and are subject to approval by the program Advisory Council.
Scholars with any academic rank who hold a terminal degree in their field may apply online to be considered for the roster. The Institute of International Education (IIE) will maintain and search the roster for possible matches that fit the discipline specializations, expertise, activities, and objectives described in a project request.
Projects can be conducted in the African host country for periods of time ranging from two weeks to one semester. The African Diaspora Fellow will receive a daily stipend plus health insurance coverage and money for transportation and visa expenses. Host institutions are encouraged to contribute to the Fellow’s meals, lodging and in-country transportation during the project.
About the Institute of International Education
The Institute of International Education is a world leader in the international exchange of people and ideas. An independent, not-for-profit organization founded in 1919, IIE has a network of 19 offices and affiliates worldwide and over 1,200 member institutions. IIE designs and implements programs of study and training for students, educators, young professionals and trainees from all sectors with funding from government agencies, foundations, and corporations. IIE also conducts policy research and program evaluations, and provides advising and counseling on international education and opportunities abroad.
IIE’s presence in Sub-Saharan Africa has spanned over 30 years. From 1979-2001, the USAID-funded South Africa Education Program opened the doors for black South Africans to obtain the knowledge, skills and professional credentials required to succeed in a post-apartheid government. In 2008, IIE established an office in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia where it implements a strong set of programs in leadership development, organizational effectiveness, and higher education scholarship administration. By creating and administering exchange and training programs, IIE helps develop the talent and human resources needed to address the challenges and harness the opportunities emerging on the African continent.
About Quinnipiac University
Quinnipiac is a private, coeducational, nonsectarian institution located 90 minutes north of New York City and two hours from Boston. The university enrolls 6,400 full-time undergraduate and 2,300 graduate students in 58 undergraduate and more than 20 graduate programs of study in its School of Business and Engineering, School of Communications, School of Education, School of Health Sciences, School of Law,Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine, School of Nursing and College of Arts and Sciences. Quinnipiac consistently ranks among the top regional universities in the North in U.S. News & World Report’s America’s Best Colleges issue. The 2014 issue of U.S. News & World Report’s America’s Best Colleges named Quinnipiac as the top up-and-coming school with master’s programs in the Northern Region. Quinnipiac also is recognized in Princeton Review’s “The Best 377 Colleges.” The Chronicle of Higher Education has named Quinnipiac among the “Great Colleges to Work For.” For more information, please visit quinnipiac.edu.
