Guidelines for applicants 2014

Mobility to Enhance Training of Engineering Graduates in Africa (METEGA)

Intra-ACP Academic Mobility Scheme LOT1 – Africa

Launch website and start of applications: 15th of March 2014 Deadline: 30th of April 2014

This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This communication reflects the views only of the author. The Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

INDEX

ABOUT INTRA-ACP

ABOUT METEGA

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

1. Target groups STUDENTS ACADEMIC OR ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF 2. Categories of scholarschips 3. What the scholarship covers MASTER AND DOCTORAL PROGRAMMES

APPLICATION PROCESS

EVALUATION AND SELECTION PROCESS

1. Eligibility criteria 2. Administrative criteria SELECTION OF THE CANDIDATES COMMUNICATION OF THE SELECTION RESULTS SUPPORT

1. Academic support 2. Administrative support TRAVEL INSURANCE SCHOLARSHIPS WORKING CONDITIONS RECOGNITION MANAGEMENT OF SCHOLARSHIP FUNDS INFORMATION AND SUPPORT

ABOUT INTRA-ACP

The Intra-ACP academic mobility scheme promotes co-operation between higher education institutions (HEIs) and supports mobility in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific (ACP) regions. The programme aims to increase access to quality education that will encourage and enable ACP students to undertake postgraduate studies, and to promote student retention in the region along with mobility of staff (academic and administrative), while increasing the competitiveness and attractiveness of the institutions themselves. This programme builds on the African Union’s Mwalimu Nyerere programme for Africa.

The intra-ACP academic mobility scheme is a cooperation and mobility programme in the field of higher education to:

• provide access to higher education for students including those from disadvantaged groups; • contribute to the improvement of the quality of higher education through the promotion of internationalisation, and harmonisation of programmes and curricula within participating institutions; • enhance the international cooperation capacity of HEIs in ACP countries; • enable students, academics and staff to benefit linguistically, culturally and professionally from the experience gained in the context of mobility to another country; • enhance, in the medium-term, the political, cultural, educational and economical • links between the participating countries.

ABOUT METEGA

Mobility to Enhance Training of Engineering Graduates in Africa (METEGA) is one of the Intra-ACP Mobility Scheme supported projects with 12 partner universities in Eastern, Central, Southern and Western Africa. Applications are invited for METEGA mobility scholarships. METEGA is designed to provide resources and opportunities for students mobility from four regions of Africa, offering support for Master and Doctoral studies as well as staff exchange among the consortium partners.

The partners are:

 University of Botswana – Botswana  Makerere University – Uganda  Gulu University – Uganda  Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology – Kenya  Moi University – Kenya  University of Zambia – Zambia  Eduardo Mondlane University – Mozambique  Ains Shams University – Egypt  University of Cape Coast – Ghana  University of Mali and Polytechnique – Mali

 RUFORUM – Uganda (Associated partner)  Ghent University (Technical partner)

METEGA will offer a total of 72 mobility opportunities: 44 at Masters level, 20 at Doctorate level and 8 staff mobility opportunities.

The objectives of METEGA are to increase the number of qualified postgraduates in the selected fields while combating brain drain and creating mechanisms for brain circulation on the continent. Researcher mobility and administrative staff mobility are intended to broaden the professional and research networks of the awardees, creating a sustainable framework of relationships which will continue to support future academic endeavors. An important sub-goal of the consortium is to develop a better mutual understanding of credit recognition and to work towards a single credit system, as well as towards developing joint / dual / sandwich postgraduate degrees (where national legislation allows).

Another planned outcome of the METEGA project is closer cooperation between consortium members in various fields, as well as the provision of training and development opportunities to members through conferences and meetings planned to increase expertise in the internationalisation of higher education. These multiplier effects will outlive the duration of the METEGA programme and position participants for ongoing success and engagement in similar future programmes.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

1. Target groups

Countries Target Botswana, Uganda, Kenya, Egypt, Zambia, Group 1 Mozambique, Ghana, Mali, Benin, Ghana Target Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, Group 2 Burundi, Rwanda, South Sudan, Zimbabwe

STUDENTS

There are two target groups for students. To be eligible, master students as well as doctoral candidates referred as “students” must:

a) Be a national and resident in any of the eligible countries, covered by the relevant lot; b) Be registered/admitted at one of the HEIs within the Partnership at the time of the application for a scholarship; or be registered/admitted in a HEI (not included in the partnership) of a country of the lot or having obtained a HEI degree (or equivalent) by an institution of a country concerned by the lot; and c) Have sufficient knowledge of the language of the courses in the host countries.

ACADEMIC OR ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF

In order to be eligible, academic and administrative staff, hereafter referred to as “staff”, must:

a) Be a national and a resident in any of the eligible countries covered by the relevant lot; b) Work in or be associated with an HEI within the partnership. In addition mobility assignments must be based on agreements between the members the partnership. The home and host HEIs and the individual staff must agree on the programme of the lectures to be delivered by the visiting staff (in the case of academic staff), on the research activities, on the type of training to be followed or on type of administrative cooperation to develop.

METEGA will offer 72 scholarships divided according to the following criteria:

Masters Doctorates Staff TOTAL Percentage Target Group 1 28 13 8 49 68,06%

(TG1) Target Group 2 16 7 NA 23 31,94%

(TG2) TOTAL 44 20 8 72 Distribution Per 61,11% 27,78% 11,11% mobility type

2. Categories of scholarship

The METEGA programme is a student and staff mobility programme intended to ensure an increase in Masters and PhD African graduates in the selected academic fields of Engineering Sciences by providing funded academic opportunities to qualified applicants, and to support both academic and administrative staff mobility.

The categories of scholarship can thus be defined as:

Full degree scholarships for Masters students

The reason for selecting full degree Masters level mobilities is that not all of the METEGA Programme partner countries are currently permitted, in terms of national legislation, to offer joint degrees. The consortium partners agree that, in cases where joint degrees are legally permitted and where the curriculum can be co-designed to produce coherent and desired learning outcomes achieved, to work towards joint qualifications at the Masters level between consortium partners.

Sandwich PhD mobilities

These will require a high level of co-curricular development between the sending institution and the hosting partner, as candidates will be required to be previously enrolled for the PhD degree at their home university, prior to undertaking an 11 month period of supervised research at the host university. A detailed learning agreement will be provided as part of the application, and the cooperation of sending and host supervisor will be a pre-requisite for the successful candidates. This is designed to enhance the mutual knowledge of the 2 supervisors, and ideally will lead to joint research paper publication, conference attendance and enhanced academic cooperation between both the partner universities and Target Group 2 sending institutions. These are intended to be mutliplier effects of the PhD student mobilities. The sandwich PhD degree will be awarded by the home institution, or, in cases where national legislation allows, jointly by the home and host institution.

Academic and administrative staff mobilities

These will be offered to address the need for professional development of university staff. Staff opportunities are limited to staff employed by the project partner universities, and as such, a multiplier effect of these mobilities will be enhanced mutual institutional knowledge, leading to the development of cooperative projects. Benchmarking exercises and sabbatical research periods are included in this type of mobility. Guest lecturing, curriculum development, sharing of knowledge and academic resources such as libraries and infrastructure, is planned. Individual projects will require strong support of the sending institutions and a matching host mentor / academic colleague will be found to support all staff during their mobility period.

3. What the scholarship covers

The scholarship covers tuition, subsistence, medical insurance, settling in allowance and travel expenses. It is recommended that applicants read the conditions and financial arrangements on the METEGA website carefully before applying. Scholarships are awarded based on merit, relevance and meeting the specified requirements and subject to admission by the host institution. The METEGA program encourages the submission of applications by women and marginalized individuals.

Please not that:

a. The scholarships are for full time degree training and do not cover costs of accompanying family members b. Candidates can only apply to institutions outside their home countries c. Egyptian students are not eligible for the scholarships

Monthly scholarship allowances:

o Full Master: 600€/month o Full Doctorate: 900€/month o Academic and Administrative Staff: 1000€

MASTER AND DOCTORAL PROGRAMMES

The METEGA Consortium only supports applications in the thematic areas of engineering.

The language of instructions will be English for all scholarship opportunities mentioned below.

Host Programme Number of Website and contact Institution fellowships person

University of PhD Engineering 4 www.ub.bw Botswana Prof. Joseph Chuma [email protected] Tel: +267 3554221 Makerere University PhD Software 8 www.mak.ac.ug Engineering Dr. Julianne Sansa Otim [email protected]; [email protected] Tel: +256 772310038 Ain Shams University PhD Environmental 8 www.asu.edu.eg Engineering Dr. Sherien Elagroudy [email protected] Tel: +201 006070032 University of M.Sc. Agricultural 4 www.ub.bw Botswana Engineering Prof. Joseph Chuma [email protected] Tel: +267 3554221 University of M.Sc. Mechanical 4 www.ub.bw Botswana Engineering Prof. Joseph Chuma [email protected] Tel: +267 3554221 Makerere University M.Sc. Agricultural 6 www.mak.ac.ug Engineering Prof. Noble Banadda [email protected] Tel: +256 774046689

Makerere University Masters of Data 4 www.mak.ac.ug Communication and Dr. Julianne Sansa Otim Software Engineering [email protected]; [email protected] Tel: +256 772310038 Jomo Kenyatta M.Sc. Mechanical 5 www.jkuat.ac.ke University of Engineering Dr. Hiram Ndiritu Agriculture and [email protected] Technology Tel: +254 722421672 University of Zambia M.Sc. Agricultural 6 www.unza.zm Engineering Dr. Edward Lusambo [email protected] Tel: +260 211293792 Moi University M.Sc. Textile and 6 www.mu.ac.ke Industrial Engineering Dr. Josphat Mwasiagi [email protected] Tel: +254 725868329 Ain Shams University M.Sc. Environmental 2 www.asu.edu.eg Engineering Dr. Sherien Elagroudy [email protected] Tel: +201 006070032 Ain Shams University M.Sc. Irrigation and 2 www.asu.edu.eg Hydraulics Engineering Dr. Sherien Elagroudy [email protected] Tel: +201 006070032 University of Cape MPhil Post Harvest 5 www.ucc.edu.gh Coast Technology Prof. Paa Kobina Turkson [email protected] Tel: +233 332132709

APPLICATION PROCESS

Completed application forms should consist of the following data: a. Personal contact information of the candidate b. Curriculum Vitae c. Proof of nationality d. Fulfillment of relevant requirements for different target groups and mobility e. Proof of sufficient knowledge of the tuition language at the host university (for students only) f. Choice of study programme g. Preferred METEGA host institution h. Details regarding application processing and results notification timetable.

Applications should be submitted electronically onto the online application base on the METEGA website: http://www.metega.com. Once submitted it will be distributed to all members of the METEGA partnership. Applications should be submitted electronically onto the online application base on the ARISE website: http://intra-acp-arise.org. Once submitted it will be distributed to all members of the METEGA partnership. EVALUATION AND SELECTION PROCESS

After the application deadline, the consortium will review all received applications. Only complete applications will be considered for selection. Your application is complete if you have uploaded all the requested documents. If you have given incorrect or misguiding information in your application, this will be a reason to withdraw your grant.

1. Eligibility criteria

Eligibility check for TG1 will be conducted by the HEI in the country of origin while that of TG2 will be conducted by the METEGA Secretariat. The criteria for eligibility will include:

a) Proof that the candidate is from a legible country b) The candidate fulfills the Target Group requirements c) The application deadline is respected d) The application form is complete e) All required documents are provided and are legible f) Academic merit g) Motivation for the mobility period h) Sufficient knowledge of the tuition language at the host University i) Learning Agreement or Study Plan (for master's students) j) Research/Teaching Plan (for PhD and academic staff)

2. Administrative criteria a) Relevance of the mobility for both the host university and the home university b) Equal geographic representation of the partner universities in the mobility scheme c) Equity considerations for designated groups

3. Evaluation of the applications

A committee comprising of representatives of all the partner institutions will evaluate the applications. A panel of three members selected from the committee will assess and score each application independently based on the criteria outlined in the table below. Members of the panel for each candidate exclude the home/sending HEI and include a member from the host HEI. The institution in the country of origin will independently assess the applications from their respective countries (for TG1 only) and make recommendations to the selection committee. However, the committee is not obliged to follow the recommendations of the HEI in the country of origin.

Criteria Max. points for Max. points for PhD MSc/MPhil (i) Academic merit 10 10 (ii) Quality of motivations statement 5 5 (iii) Language abilities 3 5 (iv) Work experience 2 5 (v) Qualtiy of the concept note - 10 (vi) Publications - 5 Total maximum points 20 40

SELECTION OF THE CANDIDATES

The committee will use scores of the independent assessment to award the scholarships. Where necessary the committee may consult the recommendations of HEIs in the country of origin.

COMMUNICATION OF THE SELECTIONS RESULTS

After the final selection of the applicants by the committee, the METEGA secretariat will communicate to all applicants by e-mail regarding the outcomes of the selection process. A candidate may be selected outright, put on the reserve list or rejected. The communications will also be copied to the respective HEIs in the countries of origin. Only the successful candidates will be published on the project website unless we receive an objection from the candidate. Please note that in case a selected applicant is afterwards identified as not eligible, the individual must reimburse the costs by the project until that moment.

• All applicants will be notified via e-mail • All applicants not selected for the programme are notified immediately after the selection decision has been made. Notification will include: o The results of the selection

o The procedure to follow for an appeal to the selection decision • For the selected candidates the notification will include: o Instructions for further steps (visa guidelines, etc.) o A model of the Student Agreement o As well as any other relevant information

SUPPORT

1. Academic support

Each partner institution will provide academic support to METEGA scholarship holders at their institution by:

1. Setting up agreements with students on an individual work programme and on the workload required to pass any examinations or other forms of assessment (i.e. student agreements, learning agreements). 2. Assuring METEGA scholarship holder (all types of mobility) benefits of the same working conditions and the same health and security protection levels similar to the local students and members of the academic community. 3. Providing mentoring for METEGA scholarship holders 4. Keeping student records of METEGA scholarship holders 5. Arranging supervisors for research students 6. Arranging field trips for research students where necessary 7. Providing counselling for future career and work placements 8. Providing linguistic support 9. Awarding degrees to METEGA scholarship holders upon successful completion of the degree programme.

2. Administrative support

TRAVEL

The coordinating institution will be responsible for booking and paying the grantees’ two- way travel ticket between the scholarship holder’s home university’s city and the host university city having as reference the maximum amounts foreseen by the EU for each travel. In case the home or host institutions are not located in a city with an international airport, the scholarship holders must keep the invoices of the local transportation, such as, for example, bus, subway, or train used to undertake the travel, so as to be able to submit a reimbursement request to the coordination.

This request should be made as soon as possible, in a proper form that will be available online in the Scholarship Holder’s Section and that should be accompanied by the scanned original invoices of payment. The original documents must be sent to the coordinating institution that will analyse the possibility of reimbursement. In cases of long stay (more than 10 months) it will

not be possible to buy the 2way ticket immediately. Therefore, all reimbursement requests should be put on hold until the coordinating institution can buy the return ticket and use the leftovers to reimburse other travel expenses. Taxi expenses are strongly discouraged. The coordinating institution will carefully analyse each expense, not considering eligible taxi expenses between cities if there is other less expensive means of transportation. All the reimbursements will be made considering the exchange rate of the day in which the expenses were done. In case the scholarship holders wants to change the flight dates for personal reasons this may be allowed as long as the return date is not before the foreseen ending date of the programme of activities/mobility. In this case, all changes should be paid by the scholarship holder and not by the project. Please note that it will not be possible to reimburse any further accommodation expenses or a vacation travel to the grantee’s home country.

INSURANCE

The coordinating institution will provide directly to each scholarship holder a comprehensive health, travel and personal accidents insurance valid in the host country, in line with the demands of the EACEA – Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency. This insurance will be valid from the moment and place of departure to the mobility period until the return, when the mobility period is over. Such insurance may not be valid in other countries/regions therefore the travelling during the mobility must take this into consideration.

SCHOLARSHIPS

A scholarship contract that defines all the conditions, benefits and responsibilities related with the project implementation as well as the schedule of payments covered by the scholarships will be signed by each institution, the scholarship holder and the coordinating institution. Only after this document is signed will the scholarship be valid. This will be done directly by the host institution: the grantee will receive the first two payments in the first installment to help in the installation procedures. The following monthly scholarships will be paid into the grantee’s bank account. Monthly subsistence allowance can only be paid as from the month of arrival and covers each full month of the mobility, based on academic grounds. If a portion of a month is more than 15 days a full month allowance is to be paid (for example: for academic reasons the mobility duration is 9 months and 15 days only 9 months allowance should be paid, If the duration is 9 months and 16 days then 10 months allowance should be paid.)

WORKING CONDITIONS

The host institution will assure that the scholarship holder (all types of mobility) benefits of the same working conditions and the same health and security protection levels than the local students and members of the academic community. The host institution must provide support to the scholarship holder, particularly regarding the resolution of any administrative procedures required by the host countries’ authorities. The scholarship holder should immediately inform the coordinating institution by e-mail in case there is lack of necessary support by the host institution.

RECOGNITION

It is mandatory that, in the cases of doctorate mobility all partner institutions consider the study period undertaken abroad as an integral part of the study/research programme developed in the home institution. The home higher education institution of the METEGA scholarship holder will guarantee the full academic recognition (including exams and other forms of evaluation) of the study/research period undertaken at the METEGA Consortium partner, through the METEGA MoU.

MANAGEMENT OF SCHOLARSHIP FUNDS

IN CASE OF INTERRUPTION

A scholarship can be put on hold if the student has to temporarily leave the host institution following duly justified and well documented reasons (i.e. illness etc.). In that case the scholarship payment must be interrupted until he/she has returned to the host institution and can actively participate in the activities. If despite the temporary absence the scholarship holder can catch up on the study/research without extending the originally agreed scholarship duration, the monthly allowances corresponding to the period of interruption could be paid to the candidate if agreed among the partners and notified to the agency.

If the reasons are due to force majeure, the absence of the scholarship holder would lead to an extension of the originally agreed eligibility period in order to finalize the mobility concerned. Hence, the coordinator must send to the Agency a duly substantiated request to extend the eligibility period of the Grant Agreement in question. This request will be treated as an official amendment.

If the interruption is due to academic reasons, such as students having to study or carry out research or other activities for a short period at the home country or at other countries which are not the ones of the institutions included in the partnership, the monthly allowance is not paid for this period. Mobility flows are not allowed between institutions placed in the country of origin/nationality of the individual(s) concerned. The interruption can take place only after 6 consecutive months of study at host institutions.

The mobility for staff can be split in several shorter periods for a minimum of one month each.

IN CASE OF DROP-OUT

If a scholarship holder decides to withdraw before or during the study period, the partnership has the possibility to replace her/him from the reserve list, provided that it is within the deadlines for start of the mobility of the respective cohort. If such replacement is not possible, the remaining monthly allowance and participation costs could be reallocated to another scholarship holder.

INFORMATION AND SUPPORT

Information on METEGA can be obtained from the Consortium’s website: www.metega.com. The Project has created the coordination office, responsible for the implementation of the tasks seeking the preparation and development of the METEGA scholarship programme, in strict cooperation with the EACEA and the European Commission.

Contact the coordinating office at: METEGA Programme - c/o International Academic Programmes Office University of Botswana Private Bag UB 0061 Samora Machel Drive Gaborone, Botswana

E-mail the METEGA coordinating team Manager: Prof. Joseph Chuma E-mail: [email protected] Tel: +267 355 4221 Fax: +267 3952309

All METEGA partner institutions have nominated a contact person responsible for assisting potential applicants of their institutions. The contact person at each institution can be accessed on the METEGA website: www.metega.com

The METEGA Consortium looks forward to receiving your application!