UNU-WIDER/SA-TIED Young Scholars programme 2019 for Master’s-level university students based in South Africa (Fully Funded)

Application Deadline: 3:59 UCT+3 27 September 2019.

The United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER), together with its partners, now invites interested participants to apply for the Southern Africa – Towards Inclusive Economic Development (SA-TIED) Young Scholars programme.

Expectations

The Young Scholars programme supports the research careers of promising current and future Master’s-level university students based in South Africa. You are expected to submit a research proposal as a part of your application based on your Master’s thesis research or an independent research project. Your proposal is expected to align thematically with at least one of the SA-TIED work streams. If accepted to the programme, you will work with top academics and policy officials in your field to develop and complete an original research project.

During the course of the programme, you will build a lasting network with local and international experts and officials and your work will become a part of the SA-TIED programme’s body of research on important, policy-relevant topics in inclusive economic development. Finally, your work will be published as a SA-TIED Young Scholars Working Paper, making an important contribution to your growing portfolio. 

As you complete your studies, SA-TIED will facilitate your ongoing dialogue with other students, academics, and government officials in South Africa and will provide exposure to the breadth and depth of public sector research and analytical work which is ongoing within government.

Proposal submission details

You should be a South Africa-based Master’s student or an individual with an intention to enrol in a Master’s degree in 2020 with a keen interest in conducting research on development economics topics relevant to Southern Africa and the scope of the SA-TIED programme.

To apply, please submit the following documents through the online portal which can be accessed here.

1 Maximum 2-page CV

2 Maximum 2-page research proposal and the name and contact details of your supervisor or another academic reference. You are expected to identify which of the thematic work streams of SA-TIED your project relates to in your application, so familiarize yourself with different work streams on the programme website.

Selected Young Scholars are expected to:

1 Attend the kick-off workshop in Pretoria on Saturday 7 December 2019, to present work-in-progress towards your final research paper or Master’s thesis to other young scholars and research experts in attendance.

2 Be available to present your thesis or final paper, in poster format, at a dissemination event tentatively planned for May 2020. You will receive a separate invitation to this event if you are selected to present.

3 Convert a main element of your thesis or final paper into a working paper (of about 8,000 words) by July 2020.

This working paper, which needs to satisfy a set of quality requirements, will be published as a part of the SA-TIED Young Scholars Working Paper Series and will be available open access on the SA-TIED website. For successful proposals:

1 Selected Young Scholars will sign a contract with UNU-WIDER.

2 The contract will include an honorarium of US$600 payable upon submission of the finalized working paper of sufficient quality to merit publication as a SA-TIED Young Scholars paper.

The costs for attending Young Scholars related meetings and activities will be borne by UNU-WIDER in accordance with the UNU travel policy and are subject to prior approval of the UNU-WIDER Director.

How to Apply:

Apply by reading the full invitation to apply and submitting your application materials through the online portal by 23:59 UCT+3 27 September 2019.

Please address questions to [email protected]

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the SA-TIED Young Scholars programme 2019