Monday 21 December 2015

2016 List of Scholarships for African women and Developing Countries

Enter your email address:


Delivered by SpidNetworking


A number of organisations encourage women empowerment through education at different levels by offering specific scholarships for African women from Africa and developing countries. Although women looking for scholarships can as well apply for other scholarship programmes that are non-gender specific, there are sponsorship programmes that reduce the competition by offering their scholarship programmes solely for women. From the archives of AfterschoolAfrica, below is an updated list of scholarships (undergraduate, Masters, MBA and PhD) that are open for women from African and developing countries. Some of these scholarships are for international students but are also open for the said demography.

Please note that application deadlines and other information provided on this site can change at any time. You are therefore advised to visit the recommended scholarship organisation website.
As part of the Scholars Program, Wellesley will provide nine (9) African women with comprehensive support that includes scholarships, mentoring, counseling, and internship opportunities. Scholars at Wellesley will build experiences, values, and competencies that are critical to success in the global economy, and that enable them to give back to their communities and home countries.
Previous Deadline March 1
Google offers The Google Anita Borg Memorial Scholarship for women in Europe, the Middle East and Africa to study in the field of computing and technology for Bachelors, Masters or PhD degrees.
Previous Deadline 1 February
VLIR-UOS offers 180 Masters & 70 training Scholarships in Belgium for students from Developing countries – 50% of scholarships will be offered to African students and almost 50% for Women. The eligible training or master programmes are taught in English.
Previous Deadline 1 February
Margaret McNamara Memorial Fund (MMMF) scholarship applications for female students from Developing Countries who are currently studying in the United States or Canada
Previous Deadline: January 9th

The Margaret McNamara Memorial Fund (MMMF) grants will be offered for female students from developing countries who are currently studying in South Africa at the University of Pretoria, the University of Cape Town, University of Stellenbosch or the University of Witwatersrand

Previous Deadline 19 August
Each year the Nigerian Women Association of Georgia -NWAG- offers undergraduate Scholarships for 37 Nigerian female students (one per state of origin) in Nigerian universities on any course of study, in the amount of fifty thousand Naira (N50,000)
Previous deadline: May 30
The MILEAD Fellows Program is a one-year leadership development program designed to identify, develop and promote emerging young African Women leaders to attain and succeed in leadership in their community and Africa as a whole.
Previous Deadline March 15
The Japanese Association of University Women currently announced its International Fellowships Programme for women who are carrying out or would like to carry out independent research or advanced study at postgraduate level in Japan.
Previous Deadline April 10
AAUW International Fellowships are awarded for full-time study or research in the United States to women who are not U.S. citizens or permanent residents. Both graduate and postgraduate studies at accredited U.S. institutions are supported.
Previous deadline: open August 1–December 1.
The Working to Advance African Women (WAAW) foundation aim to increase the pipeline of African women in Science, Technology,Engineering and Math (STEM) related disciplines, and work to ensure that this talent is engaged in African innovation. WAAW Foundation offers Annual Scholarship program for Undergraduate African female students.
Previous deadline 31 October
The Faculty of the Future Leader offers PhD & PostDoctoral Fellowship for Women from Developing Countries and emerging economies sponsored by the Schlumberger Foundation.
Application Deadline November 16
The Microsoft Research Graduate Women’s Scholarship is a one-year scholarship program for outstanding women graduate students and is designed to help increase the number of women pursuing a PhD. This program supports women in the second year of their graduate studies.
Previous deadline October 16
To be eligible to apply for the Women in Aviation scholarship, scholarship applicants must be a member of Women in Aviation, International.
Previous Deadline November 12
The Makerere University Female Scholarship Foundation (FSF) was launched in November 2010 as a continuation of the Makerere University Female Scholarship Initiative (FSI).Previous deadline 17 August
The Conchita Poncini Jimenez Human Rights Fellowship for women by the International Federation of University Women (IFUW) will be awarded for advanced research, an internship or study related to the use of human rights instruments and agreements for the advancement of women.
Previous deadline June 30
The Nestlé Scholarship for Women was first awarded in 1997 and was initiated by a group of IMD- Switzerland- MBA (Masters in Business Administration) participants who desired to encourage women to take the MBA courses. Preference are given to women from developing countries.
Previous deadline 30 September
Kofi Annan €38,000 MBA Fellowship for Developing Countries to Study at ESMT Berlin, GermanyThe Kofi Annan Business School Foundation offers fellowship grant for an emerging leader from a developing country for a one-year full-time MBA education at European School of Management and Technology (ESMT) in Berlin, Germany
Previous deadline 30 September
Postgraduate Training Fellowships for Women is offered for women Scientists from Sub-Saharan Africa and Least Developed Countries (LDC) at Centres of Excellence in the South for research in Natural sciences related fields.
Previous deadline 31 July
Women of any nationality pursuing a Ph.D./doctoral degree who demonstrate a superior academic record in the field of aerospace-related sciences and aerospace-related engineering are eligible.
Previous deadline 15 November
The Vera R. Campbell Foundation funded Fellowship is offered for female postdoctoral social scientist from a developing country whose work addresses women’s economic and social empowerment in that nation.
Previous deadline 1 November
The PEO International Peace Scholarship Fund is a program of Women helping women reach for the stars. The fund provides scholarships for selected women from other countries for graduate study in the United States and Canada.
Previous deadline December 15 and April 1
The Deutsche Bank scholarship is award to four MBA and Masters in Finance female students in the AMOUNT of £20,000 each. These extremely generous awards are designed to enable talented women with an interest in the finance sector to study at London Business School.
Previous deadline 18 April
Africa Guest Researcher Scholarships at Nordic Africa Institute (NAI), Sweden for African Researchers /Scholars 2013 – With preference to Women Researchers.
Previous deadline 1 April
The International Peace Research Association Foundation (IPRA), USA invites applications for the Dorothy Marchus Senesh Fellowship for Women from Developing Countries in Peace and Development Studies.
Previous application deadline 15 January
The Association of South African Women in Science and Engineering (SAWISE) invites female students entering their Honours level/ 4th year of study to apply for the two SAWISE scholarships.
Previous deadline 15 November
The Leadership and Advocacy for Women in Africa (LAWA) Fellowship Program was founded in 1993 at the Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C., in order to train women’s human rights lawyers from Africa who are committed to returning home to their countries in order to advance the status of women and girls in their own countries throughout their careers.
Previous deadline 1 February
The scholarship seeks bright, dynamic and motivated women who are making significant achievements in their professional and/or personal lives.
Deadline 11 February and 18 August each year
The Jane M. Klausman Women in Business Scholarship program helps women pursue undergraduate and Master’s degrees in business management and overcome gender barriers from the classroom to the boardroom.
Previous deadline: 1 July
The Fondation Rainbow Bridge will enable young women scholars to enrich their academic background by obtaining an HEC MBA in France. This scholarship is available for women from Asian or African countries affected by natural disasters, drought or famine.
Previous Deadline: December and August
Master’s Scholarship in any subject at University of Twente for Female/Women Students of Non-EU/EEA Countries in Netherlands.
Previous deadline 1 April
Zawadi Africa Education Fund Undergraduate Scholarship for Women- in Partnership with GoogleThe Zawadi Africa Education Fund is a program designed to provide undergraduate scholarships to academically gifted girls/ women from disadvantaged backgrounds from Africa to pursue higher education in the US.
Funds for Women Graduates- FfWG offers Foundation Grants to help women graduates with their living expenses (not fees) while registered for study or research at an approved institution of higher education in Great Britain.
Previous deadline 4 April
Forté Foundation offers fellowships to women who are pursuing a full-time, part-time or executive MBA education at participating business schools. Forté Foundation Fellowships are intended to increase the number of women applying to and enrolling in MBA programs. Students of all nationalities are eligible for consideration.

The Global Fund for Women supports women’s groups that advance the human rights of women and girls. The Organization strengthen women’s right groups based outside the United States by providing small, flexible, and timely grants ranging from $500 to $30,000 for operating and program expenses.
Applications are accepted throughout the year and grants awarded every three months.








Posted by at No comments:

Meet the Female Software Engineer and she is Nigerian

Enter your email address:


Delivered by SpidNetworking

In 2013, Jessica Mong arrived in the Bay Area with $100 in her pocket and a desire to enter the field of software engineering. Fast forward two years, and Jessica is now a software engineer with SurveyMonkey, a tech company that creates and designs custom online surveys. Jessica works on the billing side, writing code to ensure that customers can access and pay for surveys.

Growing up in Nigeria, Jessica excelled at science and math.  She received a scholarship to attend college in the United States at Claflin University in South Carolina to study computer engineering. When she started applying for software engineering jobs, she realized she lacked hands-on software engineering experience.

She made the decision to attend Hackbright Academy, a software engineering school for women in San Francisco. Not only was she able to broaden her programming skillset, but she was able to make connections with other people in her field.

“I don’t know where I’d be without mentors who supported me,” says Jessica.

Her advice to others interested in becoming a software engineer? Build a network and don’t get discouraged.

“If you love it, stick with it,” says Jessica.

Jessica Egoyibo Mong is a graduate of Queens College, Yaba. We like to hear about Nigerians making 'waves.'


Source: KQED Science
Posted by at No comments:

Meet Adeyemo, son of Nigerian immigrant whom Obama appointed security adviser

Enter your email address:


Delivered by SpidNetworking

President Barrack Obama of the United States on Tuesday appointed Nigeria-born Adewale Adeyemo as the deputy national security adviser (NSA) for international economics. 

In a statement annoucing Adeyemo’s appointment, Obama said the African-American helped the US combat global economic recession which started in 2008. “I am grateful that Caroline’s (Atkinson, former deputy NSA) work will be carried on by Adewale ‘Wally’ Adeyemo, who has served in my administration since 2009,” he said. “At the treasury department, he was part of the team that helped coordinate our response to the global recession, laying the foundation for renewed growth at home and abroad. “He helped establish the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and he’s been our point person on a range of international economic issues, including negotiations on strong currency agreements around the trans pacific partnership. “I will be calling on Wally’s intellect, judgment and dedication as we sustain America’s global economic leadership, which reinforces our national security, and as we work with allies and partners around the world to create jobs and opportunity for all our people.” 

ADEYEMO’S PARENTS LEFT FOR GREENER PASTURES 

When he appeared before the US senate committee on banking, housing, and urban affairs in September, he appreciated his parents who left Nigeria to seek a better life for him. “While they could not be here today, I want to acknowledge my father and mother who immigrated to this country in search of the American dream and the opportunity to give my brother, sister, and me a better life,” he had said. “They have worked hard, as an elementary school principal and a nurse, to give tremendous opportunities to their children, but along the way, they have instilled in us the values that guide us every day. “They often remind us that this country affords the chance to do anything we wanted if we work hard.  And they have taught us that we have a responsibility to serve the community and the country that has afforded them so many opportunities.” 

GRADUATE OF YALE LAW SCHOOL 

The 34-year-old graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, with a bachelor’s of arts, before moving to Yale Law School, where he bagged his Juris Doctor (JD) for further studies in specialised law. While at Yale, he was the co-director, project on law and education for the university. Before his appointment, Adeyemo was the deputy chief of staff at the department of the treasury, a position he held for three years. He has served in various positions at treasury, including senior advisor to the chief of staff and deputy executive secretary. Adeyemo also worked as the chief of staff at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau from 2010 to 2011.  He was an editor for the Hamilton Project at the Brookings Institution from 2008 to 2009. 

COULD HE BECOME THE GOVERNOR OF US FEDERAL RESERVES? 

The governor of the US federal reserves is equivalent to that of Nigeria’s apex bank, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Adeyemo’s position as deputy NSA has been the springboard to Michael Froman, who is currently the US trade representative and Lael Brainard, Federal Reserve governor. American finance experts also believe that the post can serve as a springboard to the Nigeria-born who is toeing the same line as those who have gone ahead of him on the job. But the question still remains; can Adeyemo become the first Nigerian US citizen to be governor of the US federal reserve?

Source: Thecable.ng


Posted by at No comments:

Tuesday 17 November 2015

Poverty: An economic woe in Nigeria: Video shows...

Enter your email address:


Delivered by SpidNetworking


Excavation (by some residents) of 'poisonous' packets of chicken that were intercepted and buried by the Nigerian Customs a few days ago. Nigeria is known as the most populous and richest country(by GDP) in Africa. With a growing population that currently stands at about 170 million, poverty still plagues certain areas across all fifty states in Nigeria.

Note from our source:

"We are advised to exercise restraint in the rate of our frozen chicken consumption."
The Nigerian Custom Service at Onne  intercepted six containers laden with frozen chicken certified by NAFDAC to be poisonous and unsafe for human consumption and were buried in a pit. However, desperate persons numbering over 200 went to the pit site the next morning, dug and carted away the poisonous frozen chicken and is currently on distribution in our markets. Please be guided and alert others too.

Dear All,
We saw scores of people in Eleme/Onne axis (just before trailer Park) carrying raffia bags full of exhumed 'frozen' chickens and turkey. The Nigerian Customs buried them Tuesday 28 October 2015 after seizing them from the importers.

Please if you live in Rivers State, especially in Onne area, cascade this post to people around.

You might also want to stay off frozen poultry for a while."

Source: vimeo.com
Posted by at No comments:

To Become a Leader, Think Beyond Your Role

Enter your email address:


Delivered by SpidNetworking
The world is full of people with opinions. Television, radio, and other media are brimming over with commentators making suggestions and offering seemingly authoritative advice to government officials and corporate executives about what they ought to do. At dinners and cocktail parties — and around the water cooler at work — we talk about what others should do or should have done, or the flaws of our bosses.
In our jobs, we may give our opinion on an issue from a functional or departmental point of view — in other words, a limited perspective. Or we may give an opinion without fully thinking about the issues and weighing the interests of various constituencies that our boss has to consider in order to make an important decision. We may do this because we don’t have access to additional information or, alternatively, because we believe that broadening our perspective simply isn’t part of our job description.
This kind of opinion giving may be quite appropriate and adequate in any number of situations, but it doesn’t constitute leadership. Leadership requires much more. It starts with taking on a broader perspective in figuring out what you truly believe should be done — that is, as if you were an owner.

I Thought I Did a Good Job

Jim, a vice president of a consumer goods company, called me to discuss a problem he was facing. He was a former student of mine and was calling to seek advice. He had just had a jarring experience, and he was trying to make sense of what had gone wrong.
Jim had been working on the launch of an important new product for his company. He was a key member of a multifunctional launch team that was headed by the senior vice president in charge of one of the company’s key divisions. The team was charged with conceiving of all aspects of the new product’s design, packaging, marketing, and distribution strategy. This product was vital to Jim’s company, because the market share of several of its core products was eroding, and senior executives urgently needed to find new avenues for growth. They thought that this new product would address an important consumer need and reestablish the company’s position in the minds of its customers.
Each member of the project team was assigned one aspect of the new product and its launch. Jim’s responsibility was to focus on the point-of-sale promotion for the product. He felt this wasn’t the most critical assignment, but — given the importance of this project and the high quality of the other team members — it was still a good opportunity.
After several weeks of work, he came up with a detailed plan regarding display and placement for the product within each retail context: grocery stores, drugstores, and other consumer outlets. In addition, he developed alternative point-of-sale materials to be used in some of the regional product tests that were about to be conducted.
During this period, the project team met once a week, with each member of the team reporting on his or her area of responsibility. The senior vice president wanted every team member to be aware of the plans for all aspects of the launch. He hoped that team members would question each other and learn about each other’s assignments, and thereby produce a more effective launch strategy.
Initially, Jim was very pleased with his work on this project. “I thought I did a very good job,” he told me. To come up with the detailed plan, Jim had assembled a subgroup comprising several of his subordinates. He felt great about how things were going, which was why what happened next was so disconcerting.
At one of the late-stage project team meetings, Jim was asked to present his final recommendations. To his surprise, several members of the project team roundly criticized his proposal. They felt it was out of step with the nature of the product, price point, and likely consumer buying behavior. In particular, the members of the larger team felt his point-of-sale positioning was more consistent with an impulse purchase, whereas they believed strongly that this product should be positioned and priced as much more of a premeditated buy on the part of the consumer.
Jim was shaken. After the meeting, the team leader took him aside and asked him how much he really understood about the product being launched. “I’ve been in every meeting,” Jim replied, “and I’ve listened carefully.” If that was true, the team leader asked, how could he be so out of step with the team members regarding the product’s positioning? Jim countered that he thought he had responded well to what he had heard in the meetings, and that he had also drawn effectively upon his past experience working on other successful launches.
The team leader proceeded to ask Jim a series of specific questions: “Who do you think should buy this product? How should it be priced? How should it be packaged?” Jim admitted that he hadn’t really thought about these issues because they weren’t explicitly part of his specific assignment on this project. Other team members, he argued, were supposed to be worrying about those questions.
The team leader was exasperated by Jim’s comments. Before ending the meeting, he gave Jim some pointed advice. He urged him to think about how he would answer these questions if he were the team leader, rather than simply a member of the team with a narrow set of specific responsibilities.
Jim thought this was an odd recommendation. He called me to get my reaction to what had happened and to ask for suggestions regarding how he should respond to the project manager’s challenge. My reaction was straightforward: “Jim, your team leader has given you some great advice. I agree with him. Pretend that you’re responsible for this situation. Really try to think as if you were the boss, or even owned the company. Imagine that your life depended on getting every aspect of this launch right. How would you do it? You’re a talented guy. Think like an owner and use your talents to answer his questions.”
Jim acknowledged he hadn’t thought about this approach, in part because his current and previous bosses had never encouraged him to think or act this way. “That’s going to take a lot of thought and analysis on my part,” he said, “and maybe even some serious soul-searching. Are you sure this is really my role? Do I really have to do all that?”
“Yes,” I responded. “If you want to be a leader, you absolutely do.”
He decided to take this challenge seriously. He interviewed other team members and applied his broad skills and talents to think through every aspect of the product positioning. He even conducted some of his own research at selected retail outlets, looking to see how competitive products were being positioned. After doing all this work, he began to realize that his initial recommendations were at best superficial, and at worst radically misaligned with what he now thought would work for this product launch.
He came to a disturbing insight: he had done a lousy job. He had not applied a leadership mind-set in his work on this project assignment. As a result, he had done inferior work and made himself look bad to others in the company. He decided to summon his courage and apologize to the team leader and the entire project team.
The project team members were gracious about his apology. They were impressed that he had had the guts to admit he was wrong, go back, and redo his work and rethink his recommendations. He proceeded to explain the new positioning recommendations, which his teammates quickly approved. He felt as if he had been welcomed back as a valued member of the team.
He realized that he had learned something valuable from this experience. This was reinforced when the senior vice president, who was widely recognized as a rising star in the company, told him, “From here on in, Jim, I hope you’ll act like a leader in this company. You have great potential here, but only if you start thinking like an owner. Define your job broadly, rather than narrowly.”
Jim promised himself that in the future, he wouldn’t think like a narrow functionary, but instead approach his work as if he was an owner of the company. This new mind-set helped make his thinking much clearer and his work much more effective. He had a new prism for judging his thinking and his actions.

Developing Conviction

It sounds simple: “Think like an owner.” In fact, it is hard to do. It requires you to put yourself in the shoes of the decision-maker. You may realize that you prefer not to be in those shoes. There’s too much pressure; there are too many considerations; there are too many constituencies. With all the complexity, constant change, and myriad of issues in the modern world, it may be easier to rationalize more narrow thinking: Dammit, it’s not my job!
Yes, it is your job, if you want to be a leader. If it frustrates you, or makes you agonize, or even creates a heightened level of stress for you, then you need to get used to experiencing those feelings. The more you practice this, the better you’ll get at doing it. I would urge you to begin to believe and internalize the view that thinking like an owner is central to your effectiveness in your job. Thinking like an owner means getting to conviction. “Conviction” is meant to describe a threshold level beyond which you feel a high level of confidence about what you truly believe should be done.
Many leaders spend their lives striving to get to conviction about what they would do in a particular situation. The reality is that, much of the time, they may not have a strong point of view. They keep gathering information, agonizing, and assessing until they reach a threshold level of confidence.
On the other hand, some leaders need to be wary of getting to conviction too quickly, or having such a strong initial point of view that they fail to take into account key considerations that are crucial to making a good decision. Each of us has blind spots, may be prone to ideological points of view, or may be unaware of our own subtle biases. As a result, we each need to also take sufficient time to gather information, consider alternative arguments, agonize, and make sure we are arriving at a balanced judgment.
The point is that the process of searching for conviction can be very challenging. The contextual factors and considerations are changing all the time; competitors take significant actions; products get commoditized, and so on. In addition, different people looking at the same situation may come to different points of view about what should be done. To cope with all these factors, leaders need to perform analysis, seek advice and input from others, debate alternatives, and generally ruminate. Much of the time, this process may feel like a grind.
While you’re going through this grind, you don’t always need to know exactly what to do; you don’t always need to have the answers. However, as a leader, you do need to be constantly striving to get to a level of conviction on key issues. How do you do this? You and your team need to focus your efforts on taking the necessary steps that will help get you to a sound judgment.
With practice, you will learn to understand yourself better and increasingly learn what conviction feels like. As you search for it, you will get better at gearing your efforts to work in a way that will help you get to that feeling. Leaders don’t look for excuses for why they can’t act like an owner. Instead, they embrace the challenge of ownership and encourage their teams to do the same.

Source:  HBR.org.


Posted by at No comments:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)