The Next Einstein Forum (NEF) – Africa’s global forum for science in Africa – today launched its second call for applications for its NEF Fellows Programme. The new class will join 15 of Africa’s top young scientists, the NEF’s first Fellows Class, and will present their research and innovations at the NEF Global Gathering 2018, to be held in Kigali, Rwanda, in March 2018.

The NEF, an African Institute for Mathematical Science (AIMS) initiative in partnership with the Robert Bosch Stiftung, is a global platform that connects science, society and policy in Africa and the rest of the world – with the goal to leverage science for human development globally. In March of this year, the NEF, in partnership with the Government of Senegal, hosted the NEF Global Gathering 2016, the first global forum for science on African soil with more than 1000 participants from research, academia, government, the private sector and civil society fields to discuss how science and technology can solve global challenges.

“After a successful NEF Global Gathering 2016, we are excited to launch the process to recruit the next class of Africa’s most brilliant young scientists. The first class, through their compelling presentations during the NEF Global Gathering in Dakar, demonstrated to the world that Africa is a source of cutting-edge research, life changing innovations and scientific leadership. The NEF Fellows are changing perceptions, breaking barriers and inviting global collaboration that is necessary for Africa’s and the world’s development trajectory. We are so confident that this year we have expanded the number of NEF Fellows from fifteen to twenty spots,” said Mr. Thierry Zomahoun, NEF Chair and President and CEO of AIMS.

Application to the NEF Fellows programme is open to Africans from around the world - including those who currently reside in the Diaspora – in all fields of science, including the social sciences, humanities and technology fields. Applicants must be under 42 years, hold a PhD and demonstrate a strong track record of research/findings that have a global impact.

Dr. Ingrid Wuenning Tschol, Senior Vice-President Strategy of the Robert Bosch Stiftung, which has partnered with AIMS to create the NEF, said: “As we saw in Senegal, the NEF Fellows are excellent representatives of their fields. They are doing brilliant research, mentoring the next generation of African scientists and they are showing the potential of Africa to the rest of the world, but also to the African leaders. As we open the new call for applications, we hope to ignite greater collaboration among scientists on the continent and globally. We also believe that strengthening research on the African continent will have sustained positive impact for the world. We encourage all who qualify to apply to the NEF Fellows programme.”

In addition to attending and presenting at the NEF Global Gathering 2018, NEF Fellows will participate in research tours and visiting scientist weeks with partners. NEF Fellows will be facilitated in speaking and publishing globally and supported in their research. The tenure of the NEF Fellows runs until 30 June 2019.

The applications to the NEF Fellows programme will run from 15 November 2016 to 27 January 2017 and applications can be accessed at http://NEF.org/nef-fellows. The selected NEF Fellows will be announced in June 2017. To meet some of the current NEF Fellows, watch the video.

•Photo shows NEF Chair Thierry Zomahoun.

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