15 Scholarships are available for PhD candidates starting in 2018. Apply now before 20th November, 2017

SCHOLARSHIPS

The Centre for Research, Agricultural advancement, Teaching Excellence and Sustainability in Food and Nutritional Security (CREATES), hosted by the  School of Life Sciences and Bioengineering at the  Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and  Technology (NM-AIST) has opened  its PhD positions for suitable candidates to apply for specialties in the  four CREATES main streams, namely; Sustainable Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Sciences, Biodiversity Conservation and Eco - system Management, and Global Health and Biomedical Sciences. This newly established African Centre of Excellence, CREATES, is aimed at students who are gifted
, passionate, creative and free thinkers, innovative, and who will be job  creators rather than job - seekers in the  future. CREATES provides experiential teaching, a buzzing atmosphere of international and interdisciplinary research and education activities, novel technologies and private  public partnerships with the in-idustry and the community at large as well  as hands-on learning experience and evidence based problem solving projects.

CREATES encompasses novel curricula approaches, cutting-edge re- search facilities and highly skilled national, regional and international supervisors in various fields of Life Sciences. CREATES encompasses six main streams, i.e., "Sustainable Agriculture", "Food Biotechnology, Clinical Human Nutrition and dietetics", "Biodiversity Conservation and Ecosystem Management" aswell as"Global Health and Biomedical Sciences", which involves aspects of drug development and Nanoscience.

Applicants fort hese PhD position sshould have the following qualifications, knowledge and essential attributes:

• Have a MSc degree in Life Sciences or relevant discipline.

• The MScdegree should be recognized by NM-AIST senate and Tanzania Commission for Universities (TCU).

• Be able to draft and submit aresearch proposal concept note with the application documents (including atitle, brief introduction, methodology and expected results), showing that they are capable of carrying out original research inthe relevant field.

• Be below the age of 40 at application date.

• Be able to publish scientifically in high impact peer reviewed international journals (and preferably already have such as publication).

• Have interest in the above teaching and research approach and be able to work independently and in a team.

• Have excellent English oral and writing skills.

• Bewilling to specialize inone of the  6 CREATES pillars.

• Have ahigh degree of computer competence and familiarity with modern statistical software.

• Have the ability to work inmulti-disciplinary and international teams.

• Beself-motivated and be able to work under pressure to meet deadlines when required.

• Femalesand regional candidates are strongly and highly encouraged to apply

•Applicants must meet and fulfill minimum NM-AIST admission requirement to be considered for scholarship including filling application form and payment of application fees. As such if you do not have NM-AIST admission please apply for one simultaneously

• Applicants with NM-AIST provisional/admission letters and meeting call requirement are not subjected to fill application for admission. They are required to attach their provisional/admission letter together with other required documents.

Details of the position

The PhD scholarship programme will run for three years starting 151h January, 2018. All students will receive a partial scholarship over this time frame. The partial scholarship will cover university fees and direct student costs (i.e., a monthly stipend at the rate of US$200 per month to cover living expenses (meals and upkeep allowance) while in Tanzania. 

Accommodation fees are being paid directly to NM-AIST which provides student hostels. Support to attend prescribed courses and/or undertake research inpartner institutions will be covered aswill be determined by CREATES Management Team and the respective students and supervisors. Research costs are only covered by aminimum amount and all students are required to apply for additional funding to cover their research activities.

Mode of application

• Applicants are required to provide their Curriculum Vitae (CV)

• A one-page abstract of their MSc thesis

• Two recommendation letters, one from their latest employer and the other from previous supervisor/educator

• Certified copies of academic certificates. All applicants holding foreign qualifications must have their qualifications validated and equated by the respective regulatory bodies before being allowed for admissions asfollows:

• The Tanzania Commission for Universities in respect of University Qualification Framework
(UQF) Level 6to 9qualifications

• The National Council for Technical Education in respect of NTA Level 6to 9 qualifications

• The Vocational Education and Training Authority in respect of certificates invocational education and training

• The National Examination Council of Tanzania in respect of certificates secondary education and teacher education.

• Any publications they might have achieved

• A max. 2-page motivation letter why they think they should be selected for this CREATES programme

• A 3-page concept note on a proposed research topic including a title, brief introduction, methodology and expected results

• Successful candidates will be required to attend an oral interview

• Applicants must also meet the minimum NM-AIST requirements asstated on the webpage link below and must have filled the NM-AIST application form

Short listed applicants will be invited for an interview shortly after the deadline

Deadline for this application is November 20th 2017 and interviews will beheld n the week from Nov 28st until Dec1 st 2017. Recruitment will be in January 2018.

All application documents should be sent electronically to:createspostgrad@nm-aist.ac.tz

For more information see the following link:

www.nm-aist.ac.tzandhttp://www.nm-aist.ac.tz/pages/lisbe.php;www.creates.ac.tz