The Irish Government 2025/2026 Frank Ferguson Fellowship in Engineering for Young Zambians (Fully Funded Study in Ireland)

Application Deadline: July 30, 2024

Applications are now open for the 2025/2026 Irish Government Frank Ferguson Fellowship. The Ireland Fellows Programme enables early to mid-career professionals from eligible countries, with leadership potential, to benefit from a prestigious, world-class, quality education contributing to capacity building. It offers selected students the opportunity to undertake a fully funded one-year master’s level programme at a higher education institution (HEI) in Ireland. The award covers programme fees, flights, accommodation and living costs. Eligible master’s level programmes in Ireland commence in August or September each year and, depending on the programme, will run for between 10 and 16 months.

The Irish Government, in partnership with the Engineering Institution of Zambia and the University of Galway, have established a Frank Ferguson Fellowship award that will fund one successful Zambian candidate each year to study on a master’s level engineering programme in Ireland. The Engineering School at the University of Galway is ranked in the top 1% globally and boasts strong research support in one of the world’s most welcoming cities.

This Fellowship award is in recognition of the achievements, and in memory of Frank Ferguson, who was an engineer and innovator who dedicated fifty years of his life to promoting development in Zambia through numerous high-quality infrastructure projects.

Eligible Countries:  Zambia

Eligible Courses: 

Applicants must select from the following list of courses offered by the University of Galway:

1. Master of Civil Engineering (1MEC1) 
2. ME in Energy Systems Engineering (1MEES1)
3. MSc in Mechanical Engineering (1MSME1)
4. ME in Electrical & Electronic Engineering (1MEEE1)
5. MSc in Marine and Freshwater Resources: Management (1MFR1)

Eligibility

To be eligible for an Ireland Fellows Programme – Frank Ferguson Fellowship award commencing at the beginning of the academic year 2024, applicants must:

• Be a resident national of Zambia.
• Have a minimum of three years’ substantial work experience that is directly relevant to your proposed programme(s) of study.
• Be a member of the Engineering Institution of Zambia.
• Hold a Degree in Engineering or related discipline with Merit or higher from an accredited and government-recognised higher education institution.
• Have achieved the necessary academic standard to be accepted onto a Master’s level programme of studying in Engineering at the University of Galway.
• Not already hold a qualification at master’s level or higher. Not currently undertaking a programme at master’s level or higher, or be due to start a programme at master’s level or higher in the academic year 2023/24.
• Be applying to commence a new programme at master’s level in Ireland no sooner than August 2024.
• Be able to demonstrate the following: leadership abilities and aspirations; a commitment to the achievement of the SDGs within your own country; and a commitment to contribute to building positive relationships with Ireland.
• Have identified and selected two programmes relevant to your academic and professional background from the list of engineering programmes at the University of Galway (see page 7).
• Have a clear understanding of the academic and English language proficiencies required for all programmes chosen.
• Must not have applied to the Ireland Fellows Programme on more than one previous occasion.
• Be in a position to take up the Fellowship in the academic year 2024/2025.

Benefits

• The award covers programme fees, flights, accommodation and living costs.

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the Frank Ferguson Fellowship in Engineering