Merian Institute for Advanced Studies in Africa (MIASA) 2023 Writing Workshop For Early Career Researchers

Published: 23 Dec 2022

The Merian Institute for Advanced Studies in Africa (MIASA) seeks to provide Africa-based early career researchers working on the themes of peace, democracy and climate change on the continent with the space and intellectual community to transform a draft paper into a publishable journal piece.

The 5-day writing workshop is designed to provide early career scholars with the opportunity to contribute to knowledge production in one of the three fields of research focus for this workshop: peace, democracy and climate change.

MIASA Writing Workshop

Application Deadline	January 20, 2023
Funding Type	Fully Funded
Country to study	Ghana
School to study	University of Ghana
Type	Postgraduate
Sponsor	German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)
Gender	Men and Women

Benefits of MIASA Writing Workshop

Aim

• To strengthen the academic writing skills of African early career scholars, with particular attention to female scholars,
• To enhance the success rate of early career African scholars’ submissions to high quality journals,
• To build a network of Africa-based scholars working on the themes of peace, democracy and climate change.

Benefits

• Successful applicants will be provided with funding to cover travel expenses to Ghana from Sub-Saharan Africa along with accommodation and subsistence costs for the duration of the workshop.
• If the ongoing pandemic will make an in-person workshop impossible, the writing retreat will be organised virtually instead.

Requirements for MIASA Writing Workshop

Applications are welcomed from early career researchers who meet the following eligibility criteria:

• A doctorate which was awarded within 5 years of the application deadline, i.e. doctoral certificate awarded after January 2018 to date,
• Employed at a recognised university or research institute in Sub-Saharan Africa,
• Fluency in written and spoken English (there will be no translation services provided).

Selection Process

Applications will be assessed and selected through a strictly merit-based procedure. The main selection criteria are: ?

• A PhD certificate granted between January 2018 and January 2023, 
• Employment at a university or research institute on the African continent, 
• Excellence, relevance and originality of the draft research paper, 
• Fit of the research with the themes of peace, democracy and climate change.

Application Documents

The application should include the following: 

• a motivation letter (1-page maximum) outlining reasons for wishing to attend the writing workshop and the benefits to be gained,
• a draft research paper (5,000-8,000 words in English) that contains original data and preliminary data analysis in the areas of peace, democracy and climate change, and which is aimed at journal submission,
• an abstract of the paper (max. 500 words),
• a full CV,
• a PhD award certificate.
• Applications should be filled using the following link: https://forms.gle/nVgxaFHQLZ3NXHuL8 
• Abstracts/Research Paper/CVs/Certificates should be sent in pdf format to email: [email protected] 

Application Deadline

January 20, 2023

How to Apply