The Dorcas Muthoni PhD Fellowship stands as a tribute to the esteemed Doctor Honoris Causa Dorcas Muthoni. Recognized as a Kenyan engineer and entrepreneur, and the CEO and founder of Openworld, Dorcas Muthoni received the highest recognition from the university on December 15, 2017. Her commendation was attributed to her significant contributions in promoting engineering studies among young African women, mentoring the youth, and her dedicated social commitment in combating poverty.
The PhD Fellowship, named in her honor, invites applications from talented African female students, considering only applicants with African nationality. The fellowship is specifically designed for individuals with strong research interests who are seeking doctoral positions. Eligible candidates for the PhD positions must possess an M.Sc degree or its equivalent.
Aligned with the university’s institutional commitment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Dorcas Muthoni PhD scholarship aims to make meaningful contributions to quality education and gender equality, focusing particularly on African women. The inaugural edition of this PhD Fellowship was launched in 2018, followed by the second edition in 2024. The university is delighted to announce the commencement of the third edition for the year 2024.
The main objectives of this fellowship are:
- To promote gender equality & contribute to reduce the gender gap in ICT; by facilitating more women pursuing scientific/technological/engineering careers and lowering the barriers women face when pursuing careers in STEM disciplines
- To share excellent research with African female researchers during their PhD Studies. Our ICT department consists of more than 20 research groups who are very active in international research projects and nationally we are the only Engineering university department in Spain to have been awarded for a second time the Spanish research excellence seal Maria de Maeztu. The Maria de Maeztu Strategic Research Program is a 4 year research initiative funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness to promote artificial and natural intelligence for ICT and beyond within not only our Engineering ICT department, but our university.
- To contribute to future social impact in African countries. The applicants are expected to return to their African home country after completion of their PhD studies in order to pursue a career related to ICT there.
Research Areas
Students will pursue doctoral studies in one of the ICT Research Areas of the department which includes: Cognition, Computation and Robotics, Artificial Intelligence and Theoretical Computer Science, Natural Language Processing, Ubiquitous Computing, Information Retrieval and Data Mining, Cognitive Multimedia Technologies, Image Processing and Computer Vision, Sound and Music Computing, Human-Computer Interaction, Graphics and Educational Technologies, Network Technologies and Strategies, Wireless Communications, Cybersecurity, Information Theory and Coding, Computational Neuroscience, Instrumentation and Biomedical Electronics, Computational Imaging and Computational Physiology, Analysis of Biomedical Data and Non-Linear Signal Analysis.
Benefits Of The Funded Dorcas Muthoni PhD Fellowship for Talented African Females
The university offers a predoctoral contract with a minimum gross monthly salary of 1.470,98€ for the 1st and 2nd year, and a gross monthly salary of 1.576,05€ for the 3rd year.
Teaching. PRC includes a teaching assistance load of 45 hours per academic year. These teaching hours are a compulsory pre-requisite to be able to enter the fellowship selection process.
Start-up Fund. The fellowship will also include a startup/Landing Fund to facilitate the fellow’s initial expenditure. The fund will be for the amount of 2500€.
Please note that the scholarship offered has been designed to support only one individual and we cannot assure financial, logistical or administrative support to cover for any family members.
Fees covered by the fellowship (PRC- Predoctoral Research Contract)
The “Dorcas Muthoni” fellowships/PRC include the annual tutorship fees, but neither the administrative fees nor the fees for validations of degrees issued by a university outside the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) without homologation. Check here for further information. Fees covered by the fellowship (PRC)
Application Period
- Applications to the Dorcas Muthoni Fellowship (see details in point 2 below) and to the UPF-ICT PhD programme (see details in point 1 below) are to be submitted by 2nd May 2024 at 23:59 hours CET (Central European Time).
- Dorcas Muthoni Fellowship Resolution: 4th July 2024
*The contracts of the people admitted on this period are envisaged to start at the beginning of October-November 2024. - Early applications are very much encouraged.
Method of Application
Please note that all needs to be submitted by the deadline:
1. Application to the UPF ICT PhD programme (including support letter from potential DTIC @ UPF supervisor)
- Please read carefully the Eligibility requirements in this link
- It is compulsory to submit in your application a support letter from your potential supervisor in DTIC.
- Please complete this application to the ICT PhD programme at UPF
2. Application to the Dorcas Muthoni PhD Fellowship
- Please complete this application form for the Dorcas Muthoni fellowship
3. Motivation letter
- The applicant should explain her motivation to apply to this fellowship and the expected impact after the end of her PhD studies in terms of the ICT gender equality and social impact in Africa.
4. Preferred Teaching subjects
- As the contract will include a teaching assistance load of 45 hours per academic year. Please download and complete the form in this link and select the subjects you prefer to teach based on this list of subjects included at the end of the form. Once the completed, please ensure the form is signed by your potential PhD Supervisor.
5. Digital copy of your Passport
Please send all the documents listed in points 3, 4 and 5 to this email address: phdprogram.ict@upf.edu
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