The African Union Digital and Innovation Fellowship 2021 is now accepting applications. The fellowship is a robust programme that identifies and deploys highly competent tech innovators from across the African continent as ‘resident fellows’ to understand the system within the African Union Headquarters and Organs address systemic concerns and suggest solutions to these problems.
The fellows will be required to co-create and implement innovative, tailored products and processes to help the African Union fulfil its purpose, particularly in the areas of good governance and public engagement. In addition, the initiative will work to create favourable conditions for the long-term development of the host African Union organs’ internal capability.
Benefits of the African Union Digital and Innovation Fellowship 2021
- Participate in a variety of capacity-building workshops led by leading professionals from the African innovation ecosystem.
- Mentorship is available from AfriLabs’ community of experienced industry leaders.
- Make connections and take advantage of many peer-to-peer learning opportunities.
- Throughout the Fellowship, you will be paid a monthly stipend.
- Take part in a variety of all-expenses-paid ecosystem events, onboarding/offboarding, study/learning excursions, and other activities.
- Attend a big graduation ceremony when fellows will receive certificates.
- Become a member of the African Union Digital and Innovation Fellowship Program as a fellow or alumnus.
Fellowship for Digital and Innovation at the African Union Eligibility
- You must be based in Africa and a citizen of an African Union member state.
- Prior to the application, you must be under the age of 34;
- Have a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent in tertiary education;
- Have the ability to collect thorough knowledge about difficult problems or circumstances, as well as the ability to accurately evaluate and analyse data in order to identify important concerns and propose solutions;
- Design innovative technological products/solutions using experience and technical know-how;
- Be available to travel to Abuja, Nigeria in late October 2021 for an AfriLabs Annual Gathering introduction session;
- Be willing to commit to a 12-month period between November 2021 and September 2022. In November 2021, fellows will be forced to leave their existing responsibilities and migrate to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
- It is strongly recommended that applicants who speak more than one AU official language (Arabic, English, French, Portuguese, Spanish, and Swahili) apply.
How to Apply for an African Union Fellowship in Digital and Innovation
All qualified individuals are invited to apply for the African Union Digital and Innovation Fellowship, and the selection procedure is entirely merit-based.
Stage 1:
After the application window closes, independent reviewers will examine all qualifying applications, and the top 30 scorers will be chosen as finalists for the next stage of the selection process.
Stage 2:
Finalists will be interviewed by AU departments/organs in rounds, with the top 10 being confirmed as fellows. Selected fellows will be required to attend the 2021 AfriLabs Annual Gathering in Abuja, Nigeria in October, as well as a virtual pre-deployment training before going to Addis Ababa and being deployed to AU departments/organs in November.
For more information, visit the African Union official website.
Source: Nyscinfo