Google Africa PhD and Public Policy Fellowship for African Students

Google Africa PhD Fellowship Program Details and FAQs

Nurturing and maintaining strong relations with the academic community is a top priority at Google. The Google Africa PhD Fellowship Program has been created to support and recognize outstanding students pursuing or looking to pursue PhD level studies in computer science and related areas. The Google Africa PhD Fellowship program for 2019 is now open for application.

When is the application deadline?

4th February 2019 at 11:59:59 PM GMT

Which countries are eligible for the scholarship?

African countries

What are the eligible courses and fields of study?

Computer science and related areas

What is the category of this opportunity?

Fellowship

How do I know if I’m eligible for the scholarship?

For current PhD Students

• Applicants must be enrolled into a full-time PhD program at a university in Africa. Applicants who are currently in their first year of a part-time PhD program and transferring to full-time positions are also welcome to apply.
• Students should be early stage PhD students, i.e., should not have been into more than 1 year of their PhD. Applicants for the 2018 Fellowship must have started their program on or after 1 January 2017.
• Students must remain enrolled in the PhD program for the duration of the Fellowship or forfeit the award.
• Applicants must be pursuing a PhD in Computer Science or related areas.
• Google employees and family members of Google employees are not eligible.
• Students who are already receiving another corporate fellowship are not eligible.

For current Undergraduate/Masters students and Professionals

Grant of the fellowship to this category of applicants is contingent on them joining a full-time PhD program at a university in Africa within the calendar year of the award.

• Student applicants must be current full-time Undergraduate or Masters students enrolled at an African university. Professionals must be employed/affiliated with an organization registered in Africa.
• The Google Fellowship award shall be contingent on the awardee registering for the full-time PhD program of an African university, in Computer Science or related areas, within the calendar year 2018, or the award shall be forfeited.
• Grant of the Google Fellowship does not mean admission to the PhD program of a university. The awardee must also complete the PhD admission process of the respective institute/university where he/she wishes to register for a PhD.
• Grant of the Google Fellowship will be subject to the rules and guidelines applicable in the institute/university where the awardee registers for the PhD program.
• Google employees and family members of Google employees are not eligible.
• Applicants who are already receiving another corporate fellowship are not eligible.

Details of Award

• Successful students receive named Fellowships, which include a $10,000 award per year over 3 years.
• The funds are given directly to the university to be distributed to cover the student’s expenses and stipend as appropriate.
• The funds are given as an unrestricted gift, and it is Google’s policy not to pay for overhead on unrestricted gifts.
• In addition, the student will be matched with a Google Research Mentor who we hope will become a valuable resource to the student.
• There is no employee relationship between the student and Google as a result of receiving the fellowship.
• Fellowship recipients are not subject to intellectual property restrictions unless they complete an internship at Google.
• Fellowship recipients serving an internship are subject to the same intellectual property and other contractual obligations as any other Google intern.
• If a Fellowship student is interested, an internship at Google is encouraged, but not guaranteed or required.

How to Apply for the Google Africa PhD Fellowship

• Applications are accepted directly from students. There is no limit to the number of students who may apply from each university.
• Applicant’s areas of research interest must be one of the areas listed at https://research.google.com/.
• Awardees will be announced on the Google Research blog by mid-March 2019

Instructions for Applicants

• Gather the following documents:

• 1. Applicant’s resume with links to publications (if available).
  2. One-page resume of the student’s PhD program advisor.
  3. Available transcripts (mark sheets) starting from first year/semester of Bachelor’s degree to date.
  4. Research proposal (maximum two pages).
  5. Three letters of recommendation from those familiar with the applicant’s work (at least one coming from the thesis adviser in case of current PhD students). If the recommendation writers want to send the letter separately, they can mail it directly to [email protected] with the subject “Recommendation for ”.

Application Webpage

For any questions, please email [email protected].

Program Webpage

Google Public Policy Fellowship Details and FAQs

Successful applicants to the program will have the opportunity to work at public interest organizations at the forefront of debates on internet policy issues. They will be assigned a mentor at their host organizations and will have the opportunity to work with senior staff members. Fellows will be expected to make substantive contributions to the work of their organization, including conducting policy research and analysis, drafting reports and white papers, attending government and industry meetings and conferences, and participating in other advocacy activities.

The work of the fellows is decided between the individuals and the organizations. Google provides a small stipend during the period of the fellowship, but is not involved in defining or conducting the research.

Typically, the fellows are young graduates who are in the early stage of their career. The organisations in the program are looking for individuals who are passionate about technology, and want to gain experience of working on public policy, irrespective of their course of study.

Google is pleased to announce the commencement of application for the Google Policy Fellowship for West Africa (Nigeria), Eastern Africa (Kenya, Tanzania), Southern Africa (South Africa, Zambia) and Francophone Africa.  

When is the application deadline?

1st November 2018

Is the scholarship/opportunity offered annually?

Yes

Which countries are eligible for the scholarship?

Sub-Saharan African countries

In which host country will the awardees be studying?

In Host Organizations (Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa, Zambia and Francophone Africa)

Beneath is a list of organization and locations for the fellowships.

Country: Nigeria

Name: Public and Private Development Centre

Description: PPDC has a mission to activate and sustain the emergence of empowered citizenship participation, through which good governance, sustainable development and a life of dignity can be attained by all. At the PPDC, we educate, empower, and mobilize for integrity in Governance. Our vision is a society with its people fully empowered, realizing their full potentials and readily asserting the full measure of their citizenship under the most transparent and accountable governance possible. The Public and Private Development Centre (PPDC) is a non-governmental organization created to increase citizens’ participation in governance processes in a way that improves the integrity of public and private sector processes.  We do this primarily through two main program areas: Procurement Monitoring and Nigeria Integrity Film Awards (Homevida).

Country: Nigeria

Name: Ventures Platform Foundation

Description

Ventures Platform Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation with a vision to create inclusive and sustainable wealth in Africa, by building the capacity of African Entrepreneurs and Innovators to create sustainable solutions to the most urgent problems on the continent, leveraging technology. It also supports entrepreneurship development by driving the formulation and implementation of policies that boosts innovation and entrepreneurship in Africa.

Country: South Africa

Name: ALT Advisory

Description: ALT Advisory is a dynamic legal advisory firm based in Johannesburg, South Africa that offers legal advisory, commissioned research, technology innovation, and training across four practice areas: (i) public law; (ii) emergent technology; (iii) media law; and (iv) data privacy. ALT Advisory explores the intersection of law and technology, and envisages a future in which fundamental rights are protected and promoted, both on- and offline, and rights-based technology innovation underlies inclusive information societies.

Country: South Africa

Name: ReCreateZA

Description: ReCreateZA exists to promote the interests of South African creatives with regards to copyright legislation. As much as we are creators, we are users of existing cultural products. Currently, our work can be blocked through censorship by those who claim to own our culture. Moreover, we often do not own the work we create. And many of us have been disadvantaged by an exploitative system which fails to pay us for our work. Growing the digital economy requires innovation. South Africa is at a disadvantage to other countries with flexible copyright laws that support creativity.

Country/Region: Eastern/Southern Africa & Francophone Africa

Name: Paradigm Initiative

Description: Paradigm Initiative is a social enterprise that builds an ICT-enabled support system and advocates digital rights in order to improve livelihoods for underserved youth. Our programs include digital inclusion programs – such as the Life Skills. ICT. Financial Readiness. Entrepreneurship (LIFE) training program and Tertiary program – and a digital rights program, Magoyi. Across our offices in Nigeria (Aba, Abuja, Ajegunle, Kano, Yaba), Cameroon and Kenya, we work to connect underserved youth with improved livelihoods through our digital inclusion and digital rights programs.

Country: Kenya

Name: ARTICLE 19

Description: Eastern Africa is a regional human rights organisation duly registered in 2007 as a non-governmental organisation in Kenya. It operates in 14 Eastern Africa countries (Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, Sudan, Djibouti, Seychelles, Madagascar and Comoros) and is affiliated to ARTICLE 19, a leading international NGO with 8 regional offices based around the world that advocates for freedom of expression collaboratively with over 90 partners worldwide.

What is the category of this opportunity?

Fellowship

How do I know if I’m eligible for the scholarship?

Applicants must possess:

• Excellent academic record, professional/extracurricular/volunteer activities, subject matter expertise
• First-rate analytical, communications, research, and writing skills Ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously and efficiently, and to work smartly and resourcefully in a fast-paced environment.

Duration of Fellowship

The program will run for six to twelve months, with exact duration varying by organization. Fellowship will commence by December 1, 2018.

Apply for the Google Public Policy Fellowship

Application Webpage

Fellowship Webpage