About the ACTS Pathways Academy

The ACTS Pathways Academy is a unique academy established in 2023, building on 35 years of experience of the African Centre for Technology Studies (ACTS) to provide individuals with access to flexible, informative training that fosters skills, knowledge, and collaborations related to science, technology, and innovation (STI). This aligns with ACTS's mission to strengthen the capacity and policies of African countries and institutions to utilize STI for sustainable development and its vision of knowledge for better livelihoods. In addition to offering training programs, the academy also hosts summer schools in partnership with relevant institutions. The platform will convene dialogues (during and after the assignment) to review the capacity-building initiatives and update them to meet the apparent needs over time.

About the ACTS Sustainability Fellowship Programme

In the recent years, the global south has made commendable progress in aligning research policy and action with the principles of sustainable development. Governments, academic institutions, and non-governmental organizations in these regions have increasingly recognized the importance of addressing environmental, social, and economic challenges through research initiatives. This shift reflects a growing awareness of the interconnectedness between research outcomes and the well-being of communities, ecosystems, and economies. Collaborative efforts, both regionally and internationally, have emerged to tackle shared challenges, such as climate change, poverty, and public health crises. These initiatives often involve interdisciplinary research approaches, recognizing the complexity of sustainable development issues and the need for comprehensive solutions.

However, the translation of the existing research into impactful policy interventions and action remains weak due to the limited avenues for sustained dialogue, collaborative learning, and capacity building. Additionally, traditional fellowship programs often fall short in addressing the unique needs and opportunities within the African research and policy context and addressing the evolving dynamics of the global research landscape, particularly in fostering cross-learning between early career researchers and their established counterparts from both the global south and north.

Recognizing this gap, our unique fellowship program is designed to be an inclusive, globally collaborative initiative that transcends geographical and career-stage boundaries. The program places a strong emphasis on creating a diverse community of practice that brings together the fresh perspectives of early career researchers and the wealth of experience from established researchers. In this way, the fellowship program represents a transformative step towards building a more equitable, inclusive, and impactful global research community.

The Fellowship therefore supports, mentors, trains, connects and celebrates thought leaders in transforming research, policy and action trains and to help advance progress on Sustainable Development Goals.

Benefits of the Fellowship Programme

• Specialized courses and Trainings - The purpose is to provide fellows with key principles in sustainability from a transdisciplinary lens to be applied during the fellowship. The courses will consist of a series of pre-recorded lectures, learning through games, readings, quizzes and discussion forums.
• The ACTS Pathways webinar series delivered by our partners such as IDRC CS Hub among others, will provide an insight into the various topical issues. These sessions will also give you an opportunity for the fellows as panelists, present case studies as well as ask questions and help approach some of the most challenging aspects of their respective projects. In addition, these webinars aim to expand fellow’s professional network with experts in the different fields.
• Engaging with the network of fellows to share knowledge and resources, collaborate and peer review each other’s work.
• Monthly Case Study Simulations
• Mentor/ Mentee sessions: Fellows will be paired with strategic mentors to support them on various areas including research methods, proposal writing among others.
• The Mentorship Program: The mentorship program is designed to connect former Fellows with current fellows for knowledge sharing and networking purposes. The mentor will engage with the assigned fellow on a one on one basis and provide feedback at every stage of the program. Additionally, through matchmaking
• Small Grants: Selected fellows will be awarded small grants on various thematic areas. The aim of the research grants will be to enhance evidence based research across Africa.
• Engage in the Resilient futures podcast hosted under the Climate Resilient Programme: The Resilient futures podcast aims to explore and promote understanding of Climate Resilience Economies (CRE) through expert interviews, explored case studies, and discussions on current and emerging technologies. Fellows will be given an opportunity to discuss topical issues and give expert opinions.
• Participate in ACTS Summer School: The Annual Summer School which brings together diverse stakeholders from academic and research organizations, researchers, policy makers, governments, international organizations, think tanks, NGOs, civil society, indigenous communities and others to discuss on topical issues.
• Publications: The fellowship programme will inspire publications through journals, blogs, special issues and working papers on various topical issues among the fellows. Through a dedicated platform under the ACTS Pathways academy, fellows will be able to publish a joint working paper bringing together researchers from the Global South and the Global North. Fellows will be trained on publishing and research writing
• Submission of Joint Proposals: Through the fellowship, fellows will be able to submit joint proposals across ACTS thematic areas and are able to implement through a consultancy model with the ACTS staff. Additionally, leveraging on ACTS expertise, fellows will be trained to writing bankable proposals and resource mobilization.

Mentors

Seasoned researchers will act as mentors under the programme based on their strategic expertise and mentorship support they could offer to the other fellows.

The fellowship programme, will see mentors benefit through;

• Certificates or awards for outstanding mentorship.
• Collaboration with the mentor on grant proposals or joint funding applications.
• An annual award recognizing outstanding mentors with accompanying rewards.
• Public acknowledgment of their contributions to the success of the fellowship.
• Opportunities to showcase their mentorship success stories through interviews, articles, or webinars.
• Access to resources or courses that align with their professional growth.

Membership

The Sustainability Fellowship Programme targets both Early Career and seasoned researchers from the Global South and the Global North drawn from diverse sectors to contribute towards evidence based research, policy and action. Fellows are recruited for a period of 12 Months after which they become alumni to inspire sustained mentorship and cross learning.

The Sustainability Fellowship Programme is open to;

• Hold a Masters or PhD in environmental science, sustainable development, public policy, or a related discipline and research interest in any of the ACTS thematic areas.
• Demonstrate a strong research focus and interest in sustainability issues, particularly those related to the interconnectedness of environmental, social, and economic challenges.
• Demonstrated ability to contribute to academic and policy-oriented publications, such as journals, blogs, and working papers.
• Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively across disciplines, acknowledging the complexity of sustainable development issues.
• Senior Researchers will be invited to the fellowship based on their strategic expertise and mentorship support they could offer.
• Able to commit to a 12-month programme requiring weekly engagement.

Compensation

The Fellowship is a voluntary commitment and the fellows will not be compensated monetarily.

Based on the fellow’s performance and degree of engagement, the Fellowship Programme will support and recognize their accomplishments in the following way:

• Connect the Fellows with relevant organizations when strategic opportunities
• Provide small grants to fellows for strategic case studies and
• Celebrate, promote and showcase fellows’ achievements, unique stories, experiences, and the projects through its networks, social media channels, website and presentations at global conferences and events.

Time commitment

The estimated time commitment on planned activities is 2-5 hours per week (8-20 hours per month) and will depend heavily on the fellow’s level of engagement.

How to apply

To apply fill in this form and upload all the necessary documents.

 Timeline for selection

The 2024 ACTS Pathways Fellowship applications will be accepted from 28 February until March 24, 2024, at 11:59 pm (EAT). The selected fellows will be notified by April 5, 2024, and the Fellowship begins on April 15, 2022.

For more inquiries, please contact ‍Maureen Kabasa, Project Coordinator, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The African Centre for Technology Studies (ACTS) is a pioneering development research think tank, established in 1988 and mandated to support African countries and institutions to harness science, technology, and innovation (STI) for sustainable development in Africa. Currently, ACTS is delivering on this mandate through five programs – Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Security (AFNS), Climate Resilient Economies (CRE), Science, Technology, Innovation, Knowledge and Society (STIKS), Digital Economy (DE) as well as Gender, Youth and Inclusive Development (GYID).

ACTS is a partner of the Africa Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Cooling and Cold-Chain (ACES). ACES, which is based in Kigali, Rwanda, is a consortium of several partners and is a first-of-its-kind Centre dedicated to sustainable, smart cold-chain, cooling, and post-harvest management (PHM). ACTS is partnering with ACES to develop the first Community Cooling Hub (CCH) in Kenya to demonstrate sustainable cold chain solutions in the agricultural sector.

ACTS hereby invites eligible bidders to submit bids for the procurement of the following items which shall be used during the implementation of the project.

1. Supply of One (1) Double Cabin Pick-Up Truck.
2. Supply of Two (2) Refrigerated Trucks.
3. Supply & Maintenance of Two (2) Mobile Cold Storage.

Bidders should request for tender documents for each item separately.

The detailed tender documents are available upon request from the Procurement Officer via email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Download

• Tender Notice

Background

There are growing debates on the decolonisation of knowledge and learning systems in academia, research and policy appraisal, and an increasing call for the recognition and integration of alternative forms of knowledge originating from diverse ontologies and epistemologies. Yet, ‘decolonisation’ has many facets and ideas given its growing literature. On the one hand, it is argued that decolonisation initiatives should go beyond usual critique of epistemology and methodologies, and on the other hand develop alternative visions for transforming the current system toward inclusion, creating social justice, dismantling fossil capitalism, and colonial legacies. Currently, there are global efforts to promote research and practices on decolonisation. These developments within the scientific community have provided entry points to ask questions about how knowledge is produced and used and how learning occurs in the global South. To this ends, the African Centre for Technology Studies (ACTS), in collaboration with University of Innsbruck (UIBK), and University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU) have launched a book project to provide a platform for learning opportunities through critical pedagogies, scholarly activism, and transdisciplinary training. Part of the process is a monthly seminar series from June to December 2022, designed as knowledge sharing platforms where academics, researchers, practitioners and policy makers engage in open discourses on decolonisation of knowledge and learning systems relevant to the global South and beyond globally.

About the Book

This book will explore knowledge and learning systems and the current efforts to decolonize these systems in the global South and beyond. The book calls for a re-focus on how knowledge production occurs arguing for resistance of eurocentrism that pervades academics, theory and the development of concepts, deconstruction of what is considered as ‘true knowledge’; a diversification of knowledges particularly by focusing on the producers of this knowledge prioritising global South knowledges and content to feed global learnings; embracing of different methodologies for knowledge production to inform policy decisions and wider political debates to enable learning, enhance practice and nurture more emancipative outcomes in the Global South. With current struggles to decolonise education, the book re-examines and reorients the language of knowledge production and consumption, curricula design and delivery and lastly explores new and alternative approaches emerging to support learning in a ‘context-sensitive’ way.

Individual chapters will centre on the core objectives of topics listed with the broader aim of contributing to decolonising efforts in knowledge and learning systems in the global South.  

Book Sections and themes

Chapter submissions are invited from various themes, categorised into three sections of the book.

Section 1: Introduction

Theme 1: A state-of-the-art review on knowledge and learning systems in the global South

Theme 2: Key aspects covering decoloniality of knowledge and learning systems

Theme 3: Emerging areas in decolonising knowledge and learning systems in the global South

Section 2: Decolonizing knowledge systems

Knowledge production and use requires a need-based approach to meet demands and prioritize knowledge that is relevant and context-sensitive. Knowledge and learning systems will benefit globally from alternative perspectives originating from the global South with the ability to advance science and research in general. We propose five themes to unpack debates and discussion on decolonizing knowledge systems

Theme 4: Knowledge production, hegemony in publication practices and non-differentiated funding systems

Theme 5: Dichotomy of knowledge system contexts: privilege, elitisms, inequalities and power

Theme 6: Alternative epistemologies originating from the global South

Theme 7: Alternative methodologies originating from the global South

Theme 8: Institutionalization of alternative theories and methods

Section 3: Decolonizing Education and Learning Systems

(Higher) Educational institutions in the global South are often shaped by role models from the global North. This manifests itself in borrowed curricula, teaching content, teaching materials, teaching languages and teachers trained abroad. E.g. researchers, practitioners, and policy makers have often used foreign languages that limit dialogue and information sharing and are critical in knowledge delivery. This is an area that is often overlooked but very crucial to develop and deliver knowledge. Two themes are proposed;

Theme 9: Contextualizing curricula, learning materials and languages for learning

Theme 10: Pedagogies, teaching practices and their alternatives and emerging (digital) techniques in higher learning systems from the global South

Submission guidelines

We invite extended abstracts which should give a clear outline of the proposed book chapter providing a brief introduction, research question(s), theoretical background, methods, findings, discussions, and conclusions at least highlighting the key arguments for the contribution. In particular, we encourage submissions about best practices and pitfalls in decolonisation initiatives. Please submit abstracts online following this link

If you experience challenges uploading please contact Joel Onyango on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Address any general inquiries to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Important deadlines and other information:

For enquiries email;

Editors

Onyango, Joel

Müller Kmet, Bernadette

Exenberger, Andreas

Ndege, Nora

Melcher, Andreas

Kabasa, Maureen

Mahlert, Bettina

Burton, Eric

Atela, Joanes

Publication

Routledge

Africa Centre for Technology Studies (ACTS) in collaboration with Kenyatta University (KU), Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute (KMFRI), Kenya Industrial Research and Development Institute (KIRDI), Bahari CBO Network and C-Weed Corporation Ltd are implementing an IDRC funded Blue Empowerment Project entitled “Aquaculture of Seaweeds and Fish: Opportunities for Blue Economic Empowerment and Covid-19 Resilience of Fisher Women in Kenya”. We are pleased to announce two master’s scholarships eligible to master’s students who have completed first year course work.

About the Blue Empowerment Project

The Blue empowerment project is a low-carbon, gender transformative initiative in coastal Kenya, with the aim of contributing to tackling barriers for the empowerment of fisher women through adoption of climate-smart Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture (IMTA) of seaweeds and fish for improved livelihoods and resilience. Anchored in Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5 on the crucial role of gender equality in development processes, SDG 13 on climate action for sustainability, as well as in the Kenya Vision 2030, the expected main beneficiaries of the results of this project are women. The project is running in Kwale county and will be scaled to Kilifi County.

Scope of work for the Master’s student

The student’s thesis should be aligned under work packages 2 and 3 of the Blue Empowerment Project as summarised below:

• Work package 2: Work package 2 of the Blue Empowerment Project focuses on socio-economic assessment of gaps, barriers and opportunities for women empowerment in fish-seaweed value chains. This will include baseline surveys using a gendered aquaculture value-chain analysis to generate knowledge on the baseline status on gendered empowerment challenges and opportunities in the selected fish-seaweed value chains in the target communities. Life histories methodologies will also be used for in-depth case studies of selected number of diverse fisherfolk women to document individual life histories to document knowledge of challenges and gender barriers as well as opportunities to empowerment. A rapid needs assessment among fishers in Kwale and Kilifi will be carried out to establish technical training needs and opportunities for adopting IMTA among fisher communities. The assessment will document knowledge gaps and available opportunities between men and women.
• Work package 3: Work package 3 of the Blue Empowerment Project focuses on policy and governance framework for IMTA adoption and women empowerment. A gendered policy and governance analysis of selected policies, strategies and governance structures at local, county and national level related to fisheries and aquaculture will be done to identify constraints, gaps and opportunities to support women’s economic empowerment. Stakeholders of value chains and policy processes will be mapped in order to identify key players in the seaweed-fish value chains. Other tools and approaches will be used to analyse stakeholder interests, positions and their power, auditing gender and social inclusion gaps in the processes. Key policy recommendations will be developed and validated through county and national multi-stakeholder engagement approaches.

Scholarship value and duration

Blue Empowerment Project is offering two Masters scholarships to eligible Kenyan university students to carry out their research aligned to either of the two work packages summarised above. The scholarship will cover school fees for the second year of study only, fieldwork related expenses and a stipend for a maximum of 12 months.

Supervision of students

The qualified candidates will be co-supervised by Blue Empowerment Project partners from Kenyatta University 

Duties and Responsibilities of qualified candidates

The main duties and responsibilities will include:

1. Familiarizing with the entire project with a focus on the work package the student will select.
2. Proposal development meeting the host University requirements.
3. Data collection using the tools designed and guided by the supervisors.
4. Data analysis, synthesis and writing of thesis.
5. Preparation of progress report every 3 months.
6. Prepare a manuscript targeting a peer reviewed journal.
7. Presentation of research findings during project meetings as and when required to do so.
   

Eligibility

To be eligible to receive the scholarship, the applicant should:

• Have a bachelor’s university degree or an equivalent in environmental sciences, aquatic sciences, social science, or any other relevant field.
• Have completed his/her first-year master’s course work and ready to start their research project
• Experience in working closely with the coastal communities
• Must be willing to carry out their project work in Kilifi and Kwale county.
• Excellent presentation, oral and written communications skills, problem solving abilities and great interpersonal skills.
• Ability to create and nurture effective working relationships with the project’s stakeholders.
• Knowledge of and active use of MS Office applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint)
• Experience with data collection applications such as ODK etc. will be an advantage.
• Ability to understand the local dialects in Kwale/Kilifi County is an added advantage.

How to apply

Individuals who meet the above requirements should submit their:

1. One-pager motivation letter indicating their interest and suitability for the position,
2. Updated curriculum vitae (CV),
3. Bachelor’s degree certificate and transcripts, and
4. Provisional master’s degree transcript or a certified letter from the university confirming the candidate has completed coursework

All submissions should be done through this link. Only shortlisted candidates shall be contacted. To report any challenges and inquiries, please reach out to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with subject line ‘Blue Empowerment Project Master’s Scholarships’.

The African Centre for Technology Studies (ACTS) is an equal opportunity employer and therefore encourages all interested parties to submit their applications. Women are encouraged to apply.

Applications must be submitted on or before 5PM 22^nd July 2022

Full application link: https://forms.gle/T7LrJzfieKmbGr869

Implementing partners

Funded by

Support for PhD Students

The African Network for the Economics of Learning, Innovation, and Competence Building Systems (AfricaLics) Secretariat is currently hosted by ACTS. AfricaLics has lined up a number of activities in order to achieve its objective of promoting the development of research capacity in Africa. These include regional based PhD Academies planned as part of the endevour to support the training of African Ph.D/Masters students engaged in research on Innovation and Technology Systems for Africa’s Development and stimulate their awareness of policy and management issues related to this field of research. These Academies aim to host students selected primarily from Africa and small number of students from the rest of the world.  It will be a regular event to take place each year in a different region in Africa. For more details about the next Academy and the call for students , please visit AfricaLics Website.  The facilitators of these Academies will be drawn from frontier researchers in innovation and development from around the world and will be expected to provide lectures and mentor the selected students.

The main objective of AfricaLics is to promote the development of research capacity in Africa with strong links to users – including policy makers and private sector. One long term aim is to enable Africa to become more self-sufficient in studying, monitoring and evaluating its innovation activities and systems through an evidence-based policy orientation for the betterment of society. The work of Africalics intends to complement the research and capacity building activities of other players in innovation studies both in the academic and policy arena.