Contents
- General information of the project.
- Target groups.
- Eligibility criteria for students.
- Eligibility criteria for academic and administrative staff
- Types and duration of scholarships.
- Eligible institutions.
- Fields of study.
- Application to the Project.
- Preparing the application.
- Online submission.
- Documents to be submitted by the applicants.
- Evaluation and selection of applications.
- Implementation of Mobility.
- Obligations of the coordination and the scholarship holders’ home and host institutions.
- Obligations of the scholarship holders.
- Monitoring of mobility and project’s quality.
The Intra AFRICA Programme
The Intra AFRICA Academic Mobility Scholarship Programme is a cooperation and mobility programme in the area of Higher Education, implemented by the Education, Audio-visual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA).
It aims to promote African higher education, to help to improve and enhance the career prospects of students and to promote intercultural understanding through cooperation in accordance with EU external policy objectives, in order to contribute to the sustainable development of third world countries in the field of higher education. It includes exchange and mobility at all levels of higher education, including a scholarship scheme. This means support for mobility for students (in the case of the AFRICOM Project only doctorate, master and staff – academic and administrative).
The specific objectives of the Academic Mobility Programme are:
- To contribute to the mutual enrichment of societies by developing the qualifications of men and women so that they possess appropriate skills, particularly regarding the labour market, and are open-minded and internationally experienced;
- To promote mobility both for students, researchers and academics from third countries, including from vulnerable groups, selected on the basis of academic excellence, to obtain qualifications and/or experience in the African countries;
- To contribute towards the development of human resources and the international co-operation capacity of higher education institutions through increased mobility streams in Africa in accordance with the principles of equal opportunities and non-discrimination.
The AFRICOM project
It is in this context, the University of Yaoundé I coordinates the AFRICOM project “Reinforcing Coherence Relevance and Partnership in Computer Engineering Education in Africa”, a partnership of Higher Education Institutions from African Countries, within which students, researchers and academic and administrative staff from the AFRICAN Countries will be selected and will receive financial support to develop masters, mobility within doctoral programmes, research, teaching and administrative activities in Africa.
The AFRICOM project is a mobility project with an innovative approach to higher education and in line with the strategy of the African Union and the European Union.
This project focuses on training and research, involving the five regions of Africa, 6 partner universities and covering four working languages (Arabic, French, English and Portuguese) and under the supervision of one technical partner from Europe, Spain (EU).
The project aims to exchange students and scientists in various scientific fields using a multidisciplinary approach to accommodate the concept of the HIGH TECH COMPUTING platform activities related to construction and sustainability. This approach allows partners to integrate effectively the four thematic areas of this call for proposals.
Starting from the fields of intersection between the computer sciences, information science, digital science and traditional disciplines such as mathematics, the idea to work on HIGH TECH COMPUTING emerges: as a base for sustainable development. In this way the higher education institutions (HEIs) will quickly understand that approaches to development need to be multidisciplinary, cross cutting and holistic. In the meantime, the collaboration and co-supervision of students must be able to unite the once widely separated institutions and lead them to achieve common goals.
AFRICOM aims to contribute to human resource development and international cooperation capacity of higher education institutions (HEIs) by highlighting a mobility of 110 people (students, academic and administrative staff) that will impact in mutual enrichment of societies by developing international experience and qualified women and men.
Expected results related to the objectives outlined in the call for Proposals are many: These include:
– Amplification of the reform initiatives of Higher Education by existing inter-regional harmonization of HE systems in Africa,
– Scientific exchange in multidisciplinary fields,
– Strengthening the quality of training,
– Educational innovations by designing modules for easy cross employability and student success,
– Improving competitiveness and entrepreneurship among students,
– Sharing and disseminating good practices in the organization of this mobility,
– Sustainable development of networks at the continental, regional and bilateral levels,
– Training of academic and administrative staff,
– Involvement of institutional leaders and policy-makers in order to develop cooperation in the overall strategy of institutional internationalization.
6 AFRICAN Partners:
UYI | Université de Yaoundé I | Cameroun |
UK | Université Kairouan, Tunisie | Tunisie |
UNN | University Of Nigeria Nsukka | Nigeria |
UCAD | Université Cheik Anta Diop, Dakar | Sénégal |
UM5 | Université de Mohammed V ENSIAS | Maroc |
UCT | University of Cape Town | South Africa |
Technical Partner:
UD | University of Deusto | Spain |
How to use this guide
Reading this Guide is crucial for a successful application procedure.
This guide is divided in three sections:
A. General information of the project |
B. Application to the project |
C. Implementation of mobility |
You should bookmark the AFRICOM webpage and read it together with this guide: http://www.afri-com.org
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The first part includes general information of the AFRICOM project, namely the eligibility criteria for applying to scholarships, the types of scholarships available, the partner institutions and the eligible fields of study for this project. In the second part, it is explained in detail how to fill in and submit the Application Form. Finally, a general overview is given about the procedures for the implementation of mobility in case of selection, as well as the contact details of the coordinating institution for any additional information or clarification of doubts.
General Information of the Project
1. Target groups
There are two Target Groups for the individual mobility flows for students and academic and administrative staff. This structure includes the possibility of providing mobility opportunities to nationals of the AFRICAN Countries working in public administration or in public and private enterprises.
Target Groups | Beneficiaries | Eligible types of mobility |
Target Group
I |
Should be enrolled, associated or working (fulltime) in one of the partner institutions of the AFRICOM project, at the time of application. | Master mobility
Doctorate mobility Academic and administrative staff |
Target Group
II |
Nationals of the AFRICAN Countries that had obtained an academic degree or equivalent from an institution of the AFRICAN Countries, which is not partner in the project. They can be enrolled in the associated partners. | Doctorate (full and mobility)
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2. Eligibility criteria for Students
In order to be eligible for an Intra AFRICA scholarship under this project, applicants from the AFRICAN Countries applying to a mobility scholarship must:
- be nationals of one of the AFRICAN Countries
AFRICAN Countries:
Central Africa | Eastern and Southern Africa | Southern Africa | West Africa | Northern Arica |
· Cameroon
· Central African Republic · Chad · Equatorial Guinea · Gabon · Republic of Congo · São Tomé and Príncipe
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· Burundi
· Comoros · Democratic Republic of Congo · Djibouti · Eritrea · Ethiopia · Kenya · Madagascar · Malawi · Mauritius · Rwanda · Seychelles · Somalia · Sudan · Uganda · Zambia · Zimbabwe |
· Angola
· Botswana · Lesotho · Mozambique · Namibia · Swaziland · Tanzania
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· Benin
· Burkina Faso · Cape Verde · Gambia · Ghana · Guinea · Guinea-Bissau · Ivory Coast · Liberia · Mali · Mauritania · Niger · Nigeria · Senegal · Sierra Leone · Togo
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· Algeria
· Egypt · Libya · Tunisia · Morocco |
- have not lived, nor developed their main activity (study, work, etc.), over more than 12 months, in the last 5 years, in one of the African countries
- have not benefited in the past from an Intra AFRICA scholarship for the same type of mobility.
- have sufficient knowledge of the language of the courses or of one of the languages currently spoken in the hosting countries.
- for Target Group I:
- be associated with a partner HEI from the AFRICAN Countries – in case of master students – (please refer to page 4 for AFRICAN partner institutions’ list)
- be dully registered at a doctoral programme at an AFRICAN partner University – in case of doctorate students applications – (please refer to page 4 for AFRICAN partner institutions’ list)
In either case, applicants must have obtained a university degree from an AFRICAN partner institution (please refer to A.5 for AFRICAN partner institutions).
In order to be considered eligible for TG1, applicants have to receive the formal support of a partner institution. This is a mandatory document to be uploaded in section 10 of the application form (please refer to A.5 for AFRICAN partner institutions’ list).
In addition to these criteria there may be other defined internally by each partner institution of the project, so it is strongly recommended that the TG I applicants prepare their application together with the contact person of their home institution, getting information about the eligibility criteria for mobility established internally in their home institution, if applicable.
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- As for Target Group II, have graduated (obtained a university degree) from a higher education institution of the eligible AFRICAN countries (please refer to table 1). Applicants must need to justify how this study period abroad will benefit them and their direct socio-economic environment and include at least one (mandatory) letter of support from a University from an AFRICAN eligible country (please refer to table 1 for eligible countries) in their individual application. Such document must be uploaded in section 10 of the application form.
- For this Target Group II, a priority will be given to the students enrolled in one of our associate partners in this partnership (see list of associated partners).
- Specific Group, some grants will be kept in a particularly vulnerable situation for social and political reasons, for instance: refugee status, asylum beneficiary, victim of unjustified expulsion from university on racial, ethnic, religious, political, gender or sexual orientation or to belong to an indigenous population. In all cases applicants must also have obtained a university degree by an AFRICAN institution and justify his/her vulnerable situation.
3. Eligibility criteria for academic and administrative staff
The staff mobility, academic and administrative staff, offers additional opportunities of personal and professional development, through the possibility of doing practical training, researching and teaching in a partner institution. This type of mobility always involves the active participation in teaching, research and in the daily life of office activities. By submitting his/her application the applicant must be aware not only of the eligibility criteria but also of the tasks that the mobility will demand.
In order to be eligible for an Intra AFRICA scholarship under this project, the academic and administrative staff applying to a mobility scholarship must:
- be a national of one of the eligible countries (see table 1) ; Applicants can be as well be from the North Regions of Africa, unlike in the past.
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Applicants from the AFRICAN Countries must have not lived, nor developed their main activity (study, work, etc.), over more than 12 months, in the last 5 years, in one of the African countries where the mobility is expected. |
- have not benefited in the past from an Intra AFRICA scholarship for the same type of mobility;
- have sufficient knowledge of the language of the courses or of one of the languages currently spoken in the hosting countries;
- work for full time in a partner University;
- base the mobility assignments on the partnership agreements and the sustainability strategy defined by the consortium members;
- agree together with the home and host universities on the programme of activities, namely: lectures or administrative work to be delivered by the visiting staff; the research activities to be carried out; the type of training to be followed; etc.
- consider the mobility as a possible post-per-post exchange or a one-way visitor flow to or from an AFRICAN Country.
In general terms, in the selection process it will be given priority to mobility flows that:
- promote the implementation of new cooperation activities such as bilateral agreements for mobility implementation;
- foresee the participation of the staff in seminars, workshops on relevant topics for the cooperation of both Universities;
- allow the expansion/creation of local and regional management and organizational structures, namely IOs, research groups (…);
- lead to the implementation of tools to allow a more dynamic academic structure of AFRICAN HEIs benefiting from the Harmonisation Process in Africa;
- contribute to the strengthening of the international cooperation capacity of Higher Education institutions involved in the partnership;
- can be used to consolidate and extend links between departments and faculties;
- prepare future cooperation projects between institutions,
- create synergies among in AFRICA through the use of credits, Diploma Supplement, among others.
- allow progresses in the application of credit or other systems of study recognition between partner institutions;
In the case of academic staff mobility:
- ensure that the visiting academic will actively participate in the teaching of the host institution’s official educational programmes;
- lead to the production of new teaching materials;
- development of joint curricula (e.g. creation of double or joint degrees);
- encourage institutions to expand and enrich the range and content of offered courses;
- promote the skills and experience exchange in teaching methods;
- provide students with knowledge and practices of staff from partner institutions.
- stimulate joint teaching activities, namely co-tutelle agreements, joint supervision of master/PhD thesis(…);
- propose research activities that may evolve in joint research projects;
- support the sustainability strategy of the AFRICOM partnership allowing the establishment of long-lasting links between the partners.
In the case of administrative staff:
- strengthen the management capability of the involved institutions in the mobility process;
- help to create/develop/strengthen the international cooperation departments in partner institutions;
- identification of good-practices in the management of international cooperation and in particular of new procedures towards the smoother preparation and implementation of mobility flows;
- develop/create international offices, academic services, financial departments and other management structures to support the re-organization of partner institutions;
- lead to the production of new working and management materials (e.g. flyers, posters, other dissemination documents, working documents, etc.);
4. Types and durations of scholarships
The mobility scheme of the project determines that the applicants of the AFRICAN Countries can only apply to the AFRICAN Countries. This mobility flow scheme aims to the reinforcement of regional cooperation between the AFRICAN Countries and the European Union Higher Education Institutions.
The students from the Northern countries are not allowed to move but the staff is allowed.
The AFRICOM project supports 120 SCHOLARSHIPS divided according to the following:
77 Masters; 25 PhD; 18 Staff
- Master Mobility scholarships to undertake studies in Africa, in one of the partner institutions of the project, from 5 months to a maximum duration of 22 months (full training at the host institution and the corresponding Diploma). The mobility from the Northern countries is not allowed.
- Mobility within a doctoral programme’s scholarships to undertake a mobility period in one of the partner institutions of the project, under the doctoral programme in which the applicant is enrolled in the home country, from 6 months to a maximum duration of 46 months. This mobility period must be fully recognized by the partner AFRICAN UNIVERSITY. The mobility from the Northern countries is not allowed.
- Academic and administrative mobility scholarships for the development of activities to share knowledge, skills and experience, with duration of 1 month of effective work. The mobility from the Northern countries is allowed.
The indicative number of mobility flows under the different types of scholarships is 120 and will be distributed according to the following table:
Target Group I, places available
These are indicative figures, and the AFRICOM partnership is able to change the distribution of the available scholarships so as to achieve a better implementation of the project and the fulfilment of the objectives regarding the most important cross-cutting issues such as: gender balance, regional balance, priority areas for the AFRICAN countries, partner’s expertise, etc.
Target Group II, places available
These are indicative figures, since the AFRICOM partnership is able to change the distribution of the available scholarships so as to achieve a better implementation of the project and the fulfilment of the objectives regarding the most important cross-cutting issues such as: gender balance, regional balance, priority areas for the AFRICAN countries, partner’s expertise, etc.
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5. Eligible institutions
Partner institutions of the AFRICOM project (please refer to page 4 for the complete list of partners):
10 AFRICAN partners:
UYI, Université de Yaoundé I | Cameroun |
UK, Universite de KairouanTunis | Tunisia |
UNN, University of Nigeria Nsukka | Nigeria |
UCAD, Cheik Anta Diop University, Dakar | Senegal |
UM, Université Mohammed V | Morocco |
UCT, University of Cape Town | Republic of South Africa |
6. Fields of study
Considering the priorities defined for the AFRICOM project, scholarships may be granted in the following fields of study:
Selected students will be motivated to apply for these new disciplines merge. It will take into account existing scientific subjects, taking into account the needs of growing company. These are information sciences, computer sciences and electronic engineering.
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To ensure a high level of implementation, partners were asked to indicate their thematic areas of excellence. This definition of excellence areas should be taken into consideration by the applicants at the time of submitting their applications. The project only supports applications in the existing areas of the host institutions chosen by the candidate.
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1. Preparing the application
In the phase of preparing the application, the candidate should follow the subsequent steps:
- Verify the eligibility criteria previously indicated (if a candidate does not fulfil a specific eligibility criteria, even if is just one, he/she should not submit an application);
- Identify the Target Group to which (s)he belongs and the available scholarships;
- Select at least one host institution among the set of institutions of the project. It is highly recommended that the applicants select up to 3 different host institutions of the available options but always in respect of the language and background requirements defined by each host institution.
- Read attentively the Guidelines for Applicants, the FAQs and the Application Form;
- Collect all necessary information and documents to fill in the Application form
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Several documents are mandatory, if not uploaded in section 10 of the application form the application cannot be submitted. In case of unreadable documents the application will be considered invalid and will not be evaluated. |
- Select the host institution(s) having into consideration the following:
- Ensure that you master the language of tuition or that the host institution provides support for applicants without the needed language skills for the country/course;
- Consider the identified areas of excellence in each partner institution;
- Ensure that you have the necessary academic background in terms of study areas/degree to apply to the type of scholarship and to the selected activity;
- Be aware of the real cost of living at each partner institution and analyse it considering the monthly amount of the scholarship, in case of selection;
- Consider the need to adapt to different cultural realities and also to different climate conditions, in case of selection.
- Prepare an education/training project describing the aims, activities and foreseen study/working plan and having into consideration the objectives and goals of the programme;
- Ensure that the project proposal is objective and specific concerning its methodology and viability, impact and benefit, as well as the capacity of attaining the project’s purposes within the timeframe established by the duration of the scholarship. The lack of detailed information or objectivity will reduce the chances of success during the process of application’s evaluation;
- Make sure that the motivation presented in the application concerning the mobility’s benefits and expected outcomes is comprehensive and reflects each one of the options selected (maximum of 3 host Universities);
Once all the information is gathered and compiled in a teaching/training project, the applicant should create a log in and password to be granted access to the Application Form available on the project’s website www.AFRICOM-acp.org.
2. Online submission
To fill in the Application Form, the following steps must be considered:
- The applicants should have a valid e-mail address and an internet connection.
- As a way to access the form, the applicants should create a new login in the “APPLY NOW” section, selecting the type of scholarship they want to apply to (ex: Master student).
- The form will open with a set of questions regarding:
- general eligibility criteria;
- identification of Target Group;
The applicants must answer truthfully to all questions so as to ensure the fulfilment to all general eligibility criteria. In case one eligibility criteria is not fulfilled the system will immediately inform the applicant through the following message: “Sorry, you are not eligible”
- The applicants should then fill in the online Application Form available on the project’s website. The system will save a draft of the application every time the “Save” button is pressed, allowing it to be revised, edited and completed. The applicants should carefully prepare and revise the application before pressing the “Submit”
After selecting the “Submit” button, it is not possible to make any additional change to the already submitted proposal. Accordingly, if you would like to make any valid changes, you must create a new register and fill in another application form. |
- The Application Form can be filled in English or French. However, before starting to fill in the Application Form, the applicant must be sure of having all the certificates and language skills required to attend the sought programme(s) and the Institution(s). The language used to fill in the application form must agree with the Institution(s) and programme(s) chosen by the applicant. Being so, if, for instance, the applicant intends to apply only to French speaking institutions, (s)he may fill in the Application Form in French and attach all the required documents in French. Nevertheless, in case the applicant intends to apply to institutions from 3 different countries (where different languages are used), we strongly recommend the use of the English language to fill in the form, as well as in all the attached documents, so that all the host institutions may be able to analyse the submitted proposal.
- The deadline for the submission of the online applications for the Call is on the website, as indicated on the webpage of the project (www.AFRICOM-acp.org). The Coordination Office will do everything possible to avoid system failures, but cannot assume any responsibility if it is not possible to submit the application in the very last minutes before the deadline. Applicants must avoid the last minute applications so as to guarantee there will be no problems in the submission of the application form. It is reminded to all candidates that applications sent by mail, fax or e-mail will NOT be accepted.
- By pressing the “Submit” button, the application is closed and sent to the Coordination Office, which gives it a code. A digital certificate that contains the date and hour of the submission is issued and sent to the applicant as well as a full copy of the application. This digital certificate does not constitute a confirmation of eligibility or of selection; it just confirms the submission of the application.
- Please include a valid e-mail address in your application for communication purposes. Do not include in the application form the e-mail of another colleague or friend that is also applying as the communication of results will be done exclusively by e-mail and this could generate problems in interpreting the selection results.
- The applicants should only have one valid application at the beginning of the selection procedure. Being so, if the same applicant submits several online forms, the informatics system will automatically consider the last one as the only valid and will disregard the other applications.
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In the case of applications to doctorate scholarships, we recommend the applicants to request the cooperation of a home institution’s teacher who supports them in the preparation of the application. Such support will allow an easier selection of the host institution where the research can be carried out and the mobility project is more feasible. Simultaneously, the home institution’s contact will help the applicants to ensure the quality of the working/study plan, guaranteeing a well-structured project that puts together the applicants interests and the priorities of scientific research and local technologies. |
The articulation of the application procedure should always count with the support of the home institution’s contact person responsible for providing the information about the local eligibility criteria that should be made available to the applicant.
3. Documents to be submitted by the applicants
The applicants should submit in section 10, together with the online application, a digital copy of several documents. In case a document is considered mandatory by the host institution it must be included online. If a candidate fails to do so the application will be immediately excluded without any possibility of appeal.
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All documents abovementioned must be attached to the Application Form. It is important to highlight the fact that incomplete applications or with blank or unreadable documents will not be considered eligible and will immediately be disregarded.
4. Evaluation and selection of applications
All valid applications received will be included as read-only documents in a protected database. All the legal requisites concerning the manipulation of personal data will be observed and it will always be kept confidentiality of the information submitted online. The database will only be accessed and revised by authorized persons in the home and host institutions who have an access code. This is also the case of the offices of the Coordination Office, the technical experts that will participate in the evaluation process and the members of the Steering and Scientific Committees.
1st Step: VALIDATION PROCESS
In case of Target Group I, before proceeding to the technical/scientific evaluation of applications, the contact person and/or responsible for the implementation of the project in the applicant’s home institution will verify all applications and will invalidate those that do not comply with the eligibility criteria established by the programme, the partnership and by the home institution (see section A, 2 and 3). A direct contact between the applicant and the contact person at the home institution is crucial, to determine the eligibility criteria that are defined locally.
In case of Target Group II, the host institution selected by the applicant as 1ST option will be responsible for the verification of all uploaded documents and information provided.
2nd Step: EVALUATION PROCESS
The applications that comply with the demands to be evaluated in technical terms will be considered by the host institutions indicated by the applicant. The evaluation panels composed by experienced academics, researchers and experts selected by each institution will have the responsibility to assess the applications and give a grade to the proposed mobility. Once all applications are assessed and graded, the host institution will then make a list with the position of the selected applicants. This list will be based on the academic quality, which constitutes the most relevant aspect of the applications’ assessment, but will also respect the cross-cutting issues such as the geographic and the gender balance, the physical disabilities and the socio-economic situation of the applicants providing a more equal and fair selection process. Keep in mind that depending on the number of applications received, some partner institutions may decide not to evaluate applications which have chosen those institutions as a third option. This is an internal decision of each partner and is fully respected by the project’s coordination
According to the type of scholarship, the evaluation of applications will comply with the following criteria and weighting factors (WF):
- Master students: Academic merit (WF 2); Motivation (WF 1), Language skills (WF2).
- Mobility within a doctoral programme’s students: Academic merit (WF 3); Research project (WF 2); Motivation (WF 1), Language skills (WF2).
- Academic and administrative staff: Previous experience/Scientific Production (WF 3); Teaching/Working Plan (WF 2); Motivation (WF 1), Language skills (WF2).
Each institution’s evaluation panel will have experts of all thematic areas, according to the level and nature of the programme. These experts will assess and rank the applications. This ranking will be the basis for granting the scholarships, trying to respect the available mobility flows.
3rd Step: SELECTION PROCESS
The Scientific Committee, acting as advisor of the Steering Committee, will supervise the evaluation activities. This supervision aims at validating the assessment procedures, as a way to ensure impartiality and transparency through a random sample and similar techniques. This Committee will also elaborate a proposal of the applicants to be selected, according to the established distribution of mobility flows, assuring that the criteria based on academic success were considered. Preference will be given to very good/excellent applications that were graded 80% or higher in the evaluation phase by the host institution. Apart from these criteria, Applicants with physical disabilities will be favoured in case of very similar academic proficiency and evaluation by the host institution. Furthermore, the Committee will also take care into consideration the cross-cutting issues such as the gender and regional balance and the applicant’s socio economic situation, as well as the access conditions to Higher Education in the AFRICAN Countries and ethnical minorities. This selection proposal aims at a more fare distribution of the mobility opportunities and will be submitted to the Steering Committee for final approval.
4th Step: COMMUNICATION OF RESULTS
After the final selection of the applicants and its approval by the Steering Committee, the coordinating institution will send to the home and host institutions a list of the selected scholarship holders for participation in the AFRICOM mobility project. Immediately after, all applicants will be informed by e-mail of the application’s result and these will be published on the project’s website.
Please note that in case a selected applicant is afterwards identified as not eligible, (s)he will have to reimburse the costs borne by the Coordination within the mobility flow until that moment.
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5th Step: PROCEDURE FOR APPEALS
All applicants that do not agree with the selection results will be granted access to the online system and to the reasons indicated by the institutions responsible for the validation and evaluation procedures. Further details on the appeals procedure will be given later on in the e-mail to be sent to all applicants with the selection results.
1. Obligations of the coordination and the scholarship holders’ home and host institutions
- TRAVEL – The project’s coordination will be responsible for booking and paying the grantees’ two-way travel ticket between the home University’s city and the host UNIVERSITY’s city having as reference the maximum amounts foreseen by the EACEA for each travel. In case the home or host institutions are not located in a city with an international airport, the scholarship holders must keep the invoices of the local transportation, such as, for example, bus or train used to undertake the travel, so as to be able to submit a reimbursement request to the coordination. This request should be made as soon as possible, in a proper form that will be available online in the Scholarship Holder’s Section and that should be accompanied by the scanned original invoices of payment. The original documents must be sent to the coordinating institution that will analyse the possibility of reimbursement. In case of long stays (more than 10 months) it will not be possible to buy the 2way ticket immediately. Therefore, all reimbursement requests should be put on hold until the coordinating institution can buy the return ticket and use the leftovers to reimburse other travel expenses. The coordination will carefully analyse each expense, not considering eligible taxi expenses between cities if there is other less expensive means of transportation. All the reimbursements will be made considering the exchange rate of the day in which the expenses were done. In case the scholarship holders wants to change the flight dates for individual purposes this may be allowed as long as the return date is not before the foreseen ending date of the programme of activities/mobility. In this case, all changes should be paid by the scholarship holder and not by the project. Please note that it will not be possible to reimburse neither any further accommodation expenses nor a vacation travel to the grantee’s home country.
- INSURANCE – The coordinating institution will provide directly to each scholarship holder a comprehensive health, travel and personal accidents insurance valid in the host country, in line with the demands of the EACEA – Education, Audio-visual and Culture Executive Agency. This insurance will be valid since the moment and place of departure to the mobility period until the return, when the mobility period is over. Such insurance may not be valid in other countries/regions therefore the travelling during the mobility must take this into consideration.
- SCHOLARSHIPS – A scholarship contract that defines all the conditions, benefits and responsibilities related with the project implementation as well as the schedule of payments covered by the scholarships will be signed by each institution, the scholarship holder and the Coordination Office. Only after this document is signed it will be possible to transfer the scholarships. This will be done directly by the host institution: the grantee will receive the first two payments in the first instalment to help in the installation procedures. The following monthly scholarships will be paid by the coordinating institution to the grantee bank account. Monthly subsistence allowance can only be paid as from the month of arrival and covers each full month of the mobility, based on academic grounds. If a portion of a month is more than 15 days a full month allowance is to be paid (for example: for academic reasons the mobility duration is 9 months and 15 days only 9 months allowance should be paid, If the duration is 9 months and 16 days then 10 months allowance should be paid.)
- WORKING CONDITIONS – The host institution will assure that the scholarship holder (all types of mobility) benefits of the same working conditions and the same health and security protection levels than the local students and members of the academic community. The host institution must provide support to the scholarship holder, particularly regarding the resolution of any administrative procedures required by the host countries’ authorities. The scholarship holder should inform timely and immediately by e-mail the Coordination’s Office through the AFRICOM Team in case there is lack of necessary support by the host institution.
- RECOGNITION – It is mandatory that, in the cases of doctorate mobility all partner institutions consider the study period undertaken abroad as an integral part of the study/research programme developed in the home institution (AFRICAN). The home Higher Education institution of the AFRICAN scholarship holder will guarantee the full academic recognition (including exams and other forms of evaluation) of the study/research period undertaken at the European Higher Education institution, through the signature of the Academic Recognition Agreement.
- Obligations of the Scholarship Holders:
The Coordinating Institution has the right to suspend the payment of the scholarship if:
– the scholarship holder withdraws from the project in case of force majeure;
– the scholarship holder does not comply with the internal regulations of the host Institution;
– the scholarship holder does not comply with the internal regulations set by the AFRICOM consortium.
The Coordinating Institution has the right to demand the reimbursing of a part or the total grant if:
– the scholarship holder withdraws from the project without a valid reason;
– the scholarship holder doesn’t fulfil the requirements of his study/work program;
The Coordinating Institution will determine the amount of the reimbursement by analysing each case individually.
By signing both the Statement of Scholarship Acceptance and the Scholarship Contract:
- In case of reimbursing obligation, the scholarship holder has 30 days upon return in the home country to do it to the Coordinating Institution, the University of Yaoundé I, following the instructions that will be provided. If the scholarship holder fails to do so, additional banking fees and interests can be charged or judicial steps may be taken.
- The scholarship holder may not accept, during the period of the current Intra AFRICA grant, any other mobility grant awarded by the European Union.
- The scholarship holder has the obligation to inform the Coordinating Institution about any change regarding the study/research/work period abroad, namely the learning agreement or work/research program and the duration of stay at the host Institution.
- The mobility period must be fully respected; it is not possible to divide the duration of stay foreseen by the project. In case the scholarship holder intends to leave the host University during the mobility flow, even if for a limited time he/she must ask for permission to the host Institution and to the Coordinating Institution. Authorized absences/leaves procedure: 1st: obtain the agreement in writing from the Professor responsible for the mobility at the Faculty/Department; present a clear justification for the absence/leave; send all information to the host and to the coordinating institutions for previous approval.
- It is mandatory to participate in all classes that the scholarship holders will be enrolled in. Any absence must be duly justified to the professor responsible for the classes and copy the AFRICOM team through a suitable document (e.g. Medical statement).
- Scholarship holders are compelled to report (by e-mail) to the host and coordinating institutions any difficulties experienced during the mobility flow, such as: Language barriers; Integration with class mates; Communicating with Professors; Difficulty in getting study materials; Health insurance; Accommodation; etc.
- Students must complete successfully their mobility period at the host institution according to the following:
Master Mobility: Academic success implies approval in the course units of the first year of the master and also the success in all activities of the second year of the master, dissertation/thesis/internship.
PhD Mobility (without degree issued by the host University): students are required to complete successfully their mobility flow. In case the PhD course comprises credits the minimum number of credits is 50ECTS/year and the minimum credits achieved in order to determine the success of the mobility period is 75% of the total of ECTS.
In case of academic failure, University of Yaoundé I reserves the right to apply the necessary measures that will be clearly identified in the scholarship holder’s contract.
- The scholarship holder has the obligation to provide, within 30 days after the end of the mobility period, the evaluation form that will be made available online by the Coordinating Institution.
3. Monitoring of mobility and project’s quality
Three tools will be used to ensure the mechanisms of internal quality control:
- Mandatory mobility questionnaires for students, researchers and academic and administrative staff;
- A mandatory final report prepared by the home and host institutions, based on the assessment of the programme’s academic quality done by students, researchers and academic and administrative staff;
- A report prepared by the Steering Committee of the partnership, based on the mobility reports and student’s academic transcripts given by the academic authorities of each institution.
The Steering Committee includes representatives of all partners and associates who have as tasks the permanent control of the programme, including the internal quality control.
The project’s coordination is responsible for:
- Preparing the questionnaires for students, researchers and academic and administrative staff;
- Analysing the reports of the representatives of each institution regarding the evaluation done by students, researchers and academic and administrative staff in matters of academic quality of their mobility;
- Reporting the student’s academic success and the academic and administrative staff’s mobility quality by the respective authorities of each institution;
- Preparing a final report of the results of the programme’s general evaluation and the conclusions;
- Assuring that all mobility students, researchers and academic and administrative staff answer the questionnaires;
- Processing the questionnaires.
As an additional tool to ensure the project’s quality and in case it is verified that there are serious differences regarding the approved working plan, the Steering Committee should take extraordinary measures and, eventually, decide to suspend payment of the scholarship.
All the information related with the project’s implementation can be consulted on the official website: www.afri-com.org
The Project has created the Coordination Office, responsible for the implementation of the tasks seeking the preparation and development of the scholarships’ programme, in strict cooperation with the EACEA and the European Commission.
Address and contact of the Coordination Office:
Intra AFRICA AFRICOM project
ENSP
University of Yaoundé I
BP 8390
YAOUNDE
Cameroun
Phone number: +237
E-mail: africomuy1@gmail.com
Coordinator: Prof. AWONO ONANA
Management team: Louis Kiru, Chia Comfort.
All partner institutions have nominated a contact person responsible for assisting and counselling potential applicants of their institutions. The official contacts of each institution can be accessed on the site, in the Contacts section.
The Official Invitation for the Call of Applications for scholarships will announce the beginning and the ending date for receiving applications and will publish additional and specific rules, priority procedures and deadlines.
It is strongly recommended to regularly consult the e-mail address indicated in the application form, as this will be the only means of communication between the applicant and the coordination.
The AFRICOM Partnership looks forward to receiving your application.
GOOD LUCK!