Call for the Cambridge-Africa ALBORADA Research Fund is now open!!
The Cambridge-Africa Programme originated from grassroots initiatives, marked by individual, mutually-beneficial collaborations between researchers from Cambridge and Africa. Professor David Dunne, a parasitologist from the Department of Pathology, was the founding Director of Cambridge-Africa, serving from 2008 until his retirement in 2018. His motivation for establishing Cambridge-Africa came from his collaborative research on neglected tropical diseases across Africa with many talented African colleagues. Dunne noted that these brilliant researchers often lacked the facilities and resources necessary to tackle Africa’s challenges and contribute significantly to global knowledge. Even the best African universities faced a shortage of well-resourced, internationally competitive academics needed to mentor the next generation of researchers essential for Africa’s economic progress and future well-being. Recognizing that research-intensive universities like Cambridge possessed the required resources and expertise, Dunne envisioned that they could and should help bridge this mentorship gap. This vision led to the creation of Cambridge-Africa.
Get the Youth Opportunities iOS App here for the fully-funded opportunities.
In 2012, the Cambridge-Africa ALBORADA Research Fund was established with generous support from The ALBORADA Trust. The Fund supports pairs of researchers, from post-doctoral level and above, from the University of Cambridge (or affiliated institutions such as the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, NIAB, and British Antarctic Survey) and African institutions across all disciplines. To date, 332 awards have been made, enabling Cambridge researchers to collaborate with colleagues from 35 African countries. Many awardees have leveraged preliminary results from their seed funds to secure significant funding from sources like the Royal Society/Leverhulme Awards and the Global Challenges Research Fund.
The ALBORADA Research Fund competitively awards grants ranging from £1,000 to £20,000 for research costs, travel between Cambridge and Africa, and research training activities in Africa, such as setting up courses and workshops. However, the Fund does not cover overheads, PI salaries, administration costs, bench fees, or conference attendance. Award letters outlining the terms must be signed by both Cambridge and African principal investigators.
Youth Opportunities invites you to join your preferred channel to get the latest updates directly to your messenger inbox.
- Youth Opportunities: https://m.me/j/AbZTmgEzD1UchDte/
- Fully Funded Conferences: https://m.me/j/AbZTfhFTiPCnXf2D/
- Full Scholarships: https://m.me/j/AbbrjbkOMM6I68Cs/
- Paid Internships/Jobs: https://m.me/j/AbaAskb6jFFnRser/
- Circle: https://m.me/j/AbY0vVKSPJULUnE4/
Location:
OnlineBenefits
- Fosters research, training, and engagement activities between Cambridge and African institutions through co-created projects.
- Acts as a catalyst for new research activity and further joint funding applications.
- Projects are ideally aimed at strengthening the research capacity of African researchers and institutions.
- Provides funding for travel awards, workshops, research training courses, equipment, and research projects.
- Offers grants ranging from £1,000 to £20,000 for various research-related costs.
- Supports research and training activities that enhance the relationship between Cambridge and African PIs.
- Provides a structured process for the administration of grants, including required documentation and collaboration agreements.
- Encourages acknowledgment of the Cambridge-Africa ALBORADA Research Fund in publications and presentations.
Eligibilities
- The purpose of the Cambridge-Africa ALBORADA Research Fund is to encourage research, training and engagement activities between Cambridge and Africa. Applicants from Cambridge apply jointly with applicants from universities/institutes in Africa and co-create the projects. It is important that the funding is not simply used to provide services that will be carried out at one institution on behalf of the other, and that true collaboration is demonstrated in the application.
- An important function of the Cambridge-Africa ALBORADA Research Fund is to act as a seed fund/catalyst to enable the development of new research activity and further joint funding applications. Priority will be given to applications that build new partnerships (or expand existing ones) with the potential for long-term collaboration. Projects should also ideally strengthen research capacity of the African researcher and/or the African research institution/university.
- Both applicants must be at post-doctoral level or above, and by completing an application, it is understood that they are both doing so with support from their Head of Department or equivalent. Both applicants should have a formal link to a research group/department/faculty in their home institution. It is also expected that both applicants remain employed beyond the end date of their ALBORADA awards. The awards are not intended to support post- graduate students, however, limited support for students (e.g. as part of a research project or training visit) will be considered when there is a clear demonstration that this will enhance the relationship between the Cambridge and African Principal Investigators (PIs).
- The Cambridge applicant must be either working at the University of Cambridge, or at a Research Institute affiliated with the University. Previous successful Cambridge applicants have included those from Wellcome-Trust Sanger Institute, National Institute of Agricultural Botany (NIAB) and British Antarctic Survey. The Cambridge applicants will act as the lead applicants, for administrative purposes, as the awards have to be paid to their Cambridge Departments/Faculties/Institutes.
- The African applicant must be based in an African Research Institution or University.
Application Process
- The online application form has been designed to allow both applicants (Cambridge- and Africa-based) to log in, update, save and eventually submit electronically.
- To access the form, the Cambridge based applicant must register from the given link in the official website. Only applicants with @cam.ac.uk, @sanger.ac.uk, @babraham.ac.uk, @bas.ac.uk and @niab.com email addresses can register.
- The Cambridge-based applicant must then log in to the Cambridge-Africa ALBORADA Research Fund application form, where they will see the words “Invite a 2nd applicant to view/edit this submission”. Click on this link in order to invite the Africa-based applicant to register and edit the forms.
- If you are eligible to apply, but are unable to register on the page above, then please contact [email protected].
- If you have already registered, please log in from the official website to access the form.
- The deadline to submit an application for collaborative research funding is 12th September 2024
Application Deadline: September 12, 2024 (4 Days Remaining)
Apply nowOfficial link
