Contact:

Professor Sunday Adewumi, Federal University Lokoja – Nigeria, [email protected]

Sharon Witherell, Institute of International Education, [email protected]

 

FEDERAL UNIVERSITY LOKOJA, NIGERIA SELECTED TO HOST CARNEGIE AFRICAN DIASPORA SCHOLAR

Collaborative Project will focus on Research Capacity Building

Carnegie African Diaspora Fellowships to support 60 Projects in Africa

New York, November, 2014 – Federal University Lokoja, Nigeria was selected by the Carnegie African Diaspora Fellowship Program to host an African Diaspora scholar from the United States to work with on a collaborative project on research capacity building that could lead to grant-winning proposal development by faculty members of the university. Professor Sunday Adewumi will lead the project, together with Dr. Adam Wanakaya from Missouri State University.  The collaborative project will centre on research capacity building for faculty members with the following goals: a) impact skills for conceptualizing and designing excellent grant-winning proposals; b) facilitate the development of multidisciplinary research; and c) provide a platform for promoting mentoring and partnerships.

 

The Federal University Lokoja project is one of 59 projects that will pair African Diaspora scholars with higher education institutions in Africa to collaborate on curriculum co-development, research, graduate teaching, training and mentoring activities.  Dr. Adam Wanakaya is one of sixty African Diaspora scholars who have been awarded Fellowships to travel to Africa beginning next month to conduct the projects, which span an impressive range of fields across the arts and humanities, social sciences, education, sciences, technology, engineering and mathematics.

 

The winning projects in this second round of awards were submitted by 47 institutions in Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda. 

Host universities include, Ghana: Central University College, Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, University of Education, Winneba, University of Energy and Natural Resources; Kenya: Daystar University, Kenyatta University, Kisii University, Moi University, The Technical University of Kenya, University of Kabianga, University of Nairobi, United States International University; Nigeria: Abia State University , Caleb University, Covenant University, Cross River University of Technology, Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta, Federal University Lokoja, Federal University for Technology Akure, Federal University of Technology Oweri, Kaduna State University, National Open University of Nigeria, Obafemi Awolowo University, University of Benin, University of Ibadan, University of Ilorin, University of Jos, University of Lagos, University of Nigeria Nsukka, University of Port Harcourt, University of Uyo; South Africa: Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Stellenbosch University, University of Cape Town, University of Johannesburg,  University of Pretoria, University of South Africa, University of the Western Cape, University of the Witwatersrand; Tanzania: Kilimanjaro Christian Medical College, Muslim University of Morogoro, The Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology; Uganda: LivingStone International University, Makerere University, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Uganda Technology and Management University.

 

This innovative Fellowship program facilitates engagement between scholars born in Africa who are now based in the United States or Canada and scholars in Africa on mutually beneficial academic activities. The program is managed by the Institute of International Education (IIE) in collaboration with Quinnipiac University, which chairs the Advisory Council, and is funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York. 

 

The Carnegie African Diaspora Fellowship (ADF) Program Advisory Council, comprised of academic leaders from Africa and prominent African Diaspora academics, has remarked on the quick growth, increased quality, impact, and uniqueness of the program, which allows African universities to take the lead in hosting African diaspora scholars at their institutions.

 

According to the program’s Advisory Council, “The program contributes to brain circulation and global networking of ideas creating new knowledge in a non-hierarchical empirical manner--the exchanges are grounded in equality. The pool represents the future of the U.S. and Africa with new talents who represent their fields and the future of their disciplines. Creating large constituencies across the Atlantic reinforces collaboration instead of domination, strategic partnership instead of academic distancing, and the various projects contribute to rethinking the epistemologies of knowledge.”

 

U.S. and Canada-based scholars can apply for Fellowships and African host institutions can submit project requests until December 8, 2014 to be considered in the third selection cycle. Project visits can begin as early as May 2015 and must be completed by August 2015. 

 

Scholars born in Africa who live in the United States or Canada and work in an accredited college or university in either of those two countries can apply to be on a roster of available candidates.  Candidates must have a terminal degree in their field and can hold any academic rank. For Fellows matched with a selected project, the Fellowship for the project visit includes a daily stipend, transportation and visa funds and health insurance coverage.

 

Public and private higher education institutions in Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda can submit a project request to host a scholar for 14 to 90 days. A prospective host may, but is not required to, name a proposed scholar in a project request. The proposed scholar and project request are each evaluated by a review committee and are subject to approval by the Advisory Council. African institutions and prospective Fellows (scholars) can collaborate on ideas for a project that the institution submits. IIE maintains the scholar roster to facilitate matches, according to the discipline specializations, expertise, activities and objectives described in a project request.

 

All of the fellows and host institutions for the first two rounds of Carnegie African Diaspora Fellowships, along with the selected fellows, are listed on the program website, along with highlights of projects and comments from the first round of Fellows and Hosts.