60 Open Masters Scholarship for Women in Agriculture and Food Systems Under the ACE II AF

The World Bank is partnering with the Republics of Malawi and Mozambique to implement the additional financing of the Eastern and Southern Africa Higher Education Centers of Excellence Project (ACE II). The ACE II project has made significant contributions to building the region’s capacity in a range of priority economic sectors. However, given the large needs for highly skilled labor, there continue to be significant shortages in workers with high-level (postgraduate level) skills, especially in the agriculture sector which need to be met urgently. There also remain limitations in human resource capacity for undertaking applied research to increase agriculture productivity and food security in the region. With enrolment stagnation in agricultural higher education, the ACE II AF Project provides incentives to participating institutions to focus on expanding outreach and information to prospective students and potential employers with the goal of driving demand for study places and graduates.

As the Regional Facilitation Unit (RFU) for the ACE II AF Project, the Inter-University Council for East Africa (IUCEA) leads the implementation of key elements of Component 2 of the project. Component 2 aims at building strong and sustainable regional partnerships and collaborations to produce competent Masters and PhD holders for the regional market and improve the quality of teaching in higher education and quality of production and services in public and private sectors. To encourage the participation of young African female students at postgraduate level, IUCEA wishes to implement a two-year Fellowship Program to provide competitive Masters Scholarships to academically deserving future talents to promote regional female student mobility. Eligible female applicants who can demonstrate interest to undertake postgraduate training in agriculture and related sciences are encouraged to apply for the 60 Fellowships available for the 2023/2024 academic year.

For more about ACE II visit the project’s digital platforms