The Merian Institute for Advanced Studies in Africa (MIASA) seeks to provide Africa-based early career researchers working on the themes of governance, conflict resolution and climate change on the continent with the space and intellectual community to transform a draft paper into a publishable journal piece. The 5-day writing workshop is designed to provide early career scholars with the opportunity to contribute to knowledge production in one of the three fields of research focus for this workshop: governance, conflict resolution and climate change.
Objectives
➢ To strengthen the academic writing skills of African early career scholars, with particular attention to female scholars,
➢ To enhance the success rate of early career African scholars’ submissions to high quality journals,
➢ To build a network of Africa-based scholars working on the themes of governance, conflict resolution and climate change.
Programme
The 5-day programme will be organised as a writing retreat, with daily seminars and writing sessions. The seminars will include practical guidance on academic writing and publishing in high quality journals. The daily writing sessions will be supported by academic mentors and editors with research interests in governance, conflict resolution and climate change.
Funding
Successful applicants will be provided with funding to cover travel expenses to Ghana from Sub-Saharan Africa along with accommodation and subsistence costs for the duration of the workshop. If the ongoing pandemic will make an in-person workshop impossible, the writing retreat will be organised virtually instead.
Eligibility
Applications are welcomed from early career researchers who meet the following eligibility criteria:
➢ a doctorate which was awarded within 5 years of the application deadline, i.e. doctoral certificate awarded after January 2017 to date,
➢ employed at a recognised university or research institute in Sub-Saharan Africa,
➢ fluency in written and spoken English (there will be no translation services provided).
Application
The application should include the following:
➢ a motivation letter (1-page maximum) outlining reasons for wishing to attend the writing workshop and the benefits to be gained,
➢ a draft research paper (5,000-8,000 words in English) that contains original data and preliminary data analysis in the areas of governance, conflict resolution and climate change, and which is aimed at journal submission,
➢ an abstract of the paper (max. 500 words),
➢ a full CV,
➢ a PhD award certificate.
Applications should be filled using the following link: https://forms.gle/RF1DMgJrWniX7eTW9
All application documents should be sent in one pdf, thereby labelling the pdf with your surname, e.g. Name_application documents.pdf
Submission deadline: 23rd February 2022
Any enquiries should be directed to miasawritingschool@ug.edu.gh.
Selection
Applications will be assessed and selected through a strictly merit-based procedure. The main selection criteria are:
➢ A PhD certificate granted between January 2017 and January 2022,
➢ Employment at a university or research institute on the African continent,
➢ Excellence, relevance and originality of the draft research paper,
➢ Fit of the research with the themes of governance, conflict resolution and climate change.
For more information click on the link below:
