cput.ac.za DAAD-NRF Joint In-Country Doctoral Scholarship Programme : National Research Foundation

Organisation : National Research Foundation
Announcement : DAAD-NRF Joint In-Country Doctoral Scholarship Programme
Applicable for : South African citizens

Website : https://www.cput.ac.za
Guideline : https://www.southafricain.com/uploads/1558-daad.pdf

DAAD-NRF Joint In-Country Doctoral Scholarship

Background :
** The core mandate of the National Research Foundation (NRF) of South Africa, is to promote and support research through funding, human capital development and the provision of the necessary facilities in order to facilitate the creation of knowledge, innovation and development in all fields of research.

Related : South African Medical Research Council National Health Scholars Programme : www.southafricain.com/1570.html

Objectives :
** The NRF lauds this contribution of the German government as being of invaluable support to its own efforts.

The objectives of this funding instrument are to :
** significantly increase the number of post-graduate candidates receiving quality education and training;

** contribute significantly to our national efforts of human capital development, especially at our tertiary institutions but also for the public and private sectors; and to
** engage in the South African PhD Project and, thereby, fulfilling one of the key strategic objectives of the NRF VISION 2020.

Application Process :
** The NRF online process for call for proposals will apply with this grant.
** All documentation related to the call is obtainable from the NRF website.

** To apply, use the NRF Online Submission system.
** Please consult the DAAD-NRF Application Guide for 2017 for further instructions about the application process.

Eligibility :
In selecting applicants for consideration for the Master’s and Doctoral scholarships, the following criteria will apply :
** Applicants must be South African citizens or hold permanent residence status in South Africa in the latter case, certified proof of residency must be provided.
** Female candidates and those belonging to designated groups are particularly encouraged to apply.

** Generally an age limit of 36 years at the time of application applies. However, excellent applications from slightly older candidates will be considered on an ad-hoc basis based on a strong motivation from the applicant.

** Applicants’ last qualification should not be obtained longer than six (6) years prior to year of application.

** Applicants may come from all those fields of study that have a strong relevance to the national development of the country (including the applied social sciences, environmental and other special areas of law but excluding the humanities and fine arts).

** Applicants who already hold a qualification for the level of funding they are applying for are not eligible.

The qualifications eligibility criteria is as follows :
** persons having an Honours degree may apply for funding for a Master’s degree;
** persons having a Master’s degree may apply for funding for a doctoral degree; and

** persons having a 4-year Bachelor’s degree qualified at least as second class upper or an aggregate academic performance of at least 60% for postgraduate studies.
** Scholarships-holders are allowed to hold supplementary bursaries, grants or emoluments which may be capped in line with NRF and university policies.

** The scholarship must not be held simultaneously with a bursary/scholarship from any other NRF source, NRF administered source, and DAAD administered source or other government sources without prior NRF / DAAD permission.

** If the applicant does receive any supplementary funding during the duration of the scholarship, this has to be declared to the NRF/ DAAD.
** Scholarship-holders must not hold full-time salaried employment during the duration of the scholarship.

** They will be allowed to undertake a maximum of 12 hours of employment which includes teaching, tutorials, and assistance or demonstration duties per week on average.

Selection Criteria :
** Applications will be adjudicated by an independent selection panel consisting of South African and German experts in the various fields, which may include representatives of the DAAD and the NRF, as well as South African and German academics and a representative of the German Embassy – Cultural or Research Division.

** Applications are assessed based on academic merit, research motivation and potential.

Scholarship Details :
Value of Awards :
** The scholarships are designed for students enrolled in full-time two-year Master’s courses or three-year Doctoral degree studies.

Note :
** The period of support is calculated from the date of initial registration for the degree.
** Students upgrading from a Master’s degree to a PhD are expected to complete an annual progress report, stating clearly that they have upgraded their studies.
** Upgrades will be included in the DAAD/NRF Joint In-Country Scholarship Programme.

Short-term research scholarships :
** The scholarship-holder may apply for a short-term research fellowship (duration 2-6 months) in Germany where parts of the thesis-related research would significantly gain from this research visit because of required equipment, co-supervision or similar reasons.

** The applicant will have to present a current invitation by a German professor who is willing to supervise the research during the envisaged stay in Germany.
** A convincing letter of motivation and a clearly defined time schedule for the research stay must be attached.

** Application forms for these short-term research fellowships and further information can be obtained from: daad AT wits.ac.za.

NRF Contacts :
For funding instrument related queries, please contact :
Mr Teuns Phahlamohlaka
Professional Officer : International Relations and Cooperation (IRC)
Tel: +27 12 481 4385
Email: teuns.phahlam AT nrf.ac.za

For NRF online application and grants management related enquiries, please contact :
Mrs Melissa Govender
Professional Officer: Grants Management and Systems Administration (GMSA)
Tel: +27 12 481 4311
Email: melissa.govender AT nrf.ac.za