The 2020 edition of the African Union Kwame Nkrumah Awards for Scientific Excellence (AUKNASE) is open for registration of interest. The call for nominations aims to award and honour outstanding African scientists (and young researchers) for their achievements and discoveries in science, technology and innovation
The African Union Commission is committed to ensure that science, technology and innovation contribute to our sustainable development efforts. The Constitutive Act, establishing the African Union, recognizes the need to advance the development of Africa by promoting research in all fields, and in science, technology innovation in particular.
Award Sponsor(s): African Union
Award to be taken at: Regional/Continental levels
Award Type: Award of Excellence
Award Aimed at: Pioneer researchers, experts in Science and young researchers
Number of Awards. Varies per award category
Country/Candidate Eligibility: Africans
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African Union Kwame Nkrumah Awards for Scientific Excellence 2020 | Details
Eligibility and Selection Criteria
Eligibility: To be eligible for the African Union Kwame Nkrumah Awards for Scientific Excellence, nominees shall be African scientists who have made remarkable achievements, demonstrated by number of publications, number of trained research graduate students, applicability of the scientific work to Africa’s challenges, and its patentability.
- Only nationals of the African Union (AU) Member States are eligible to participate in these Awards
- Nominees shall be Africans residing in any of the AU Member States and can be nominated only for achievements based on work conducted in an African country.
For the REGIONAL AWARD: for Women Scientists, applicants should have nominators with a PhD degree. If she/he is an Academic in a university, she/he must at least have a rank of Associate Professor. There is no age limit for this award. The nominee should meet at least three of the following:
- Must have published at least five articles in journals (with impact factor greater than 1.0)
- Must appear as senior/corresponding author in at least three of the five articles
- Must at least have a minimum H-index of 5
- Must have at least one international or two national patents registered
- Must have supervised or co-supervised at least 5 PhD students
- Must have won an international grant as a principal investigator
- Must have written a review article in her/his field of specialization
For the CONTINENTAL AWARD: is open to all African pioneer scientists, applicants should have nominees with a PhD degree, if the nominee is an Academic in a university, she/he must at least have a rank of Associate Professor. There is no age limit for this award. The nominee should meet at least four of the following:
- Must have published in journals (at least 20 articles with impact factor greater than 1.0)
- Must appear as senior/corresponding author in at least 15 of the 25 articles
- Must have a minimum H-index of 25
- Must have at least two international or four national patents registered
- Must have supervised or co-supervised at least 10 PhD students
- Must have won an international grant as a principal investigator
- Must have written a review article in her/his field of specialization
The AUKNASE Award Prizes
The African Union Kwame Nkrumah Awards for Scientific Excellence Programme (AUKNASE) shall be organized at three levels:
- Continental Level where two awards of USD 100,000 are given each to African pioneer scientists
- Regional Level where two African women scientists per each of the five geographical regions of Africa are given USD 20,000 each, and
- National Level dedicated to young African researchers, where two prizes are given per country and the value of the prizes is determined by the African Union Commission.
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Application Procedures
How-to-Apply: Participation in the African Union Kwame Nkrumah Awards for Scientific Excellence is by nomination. The Application/nomination forms are available from:
- AU Commission official website,
- Ministries in Charge of Science and Technology, National Academies and Research Councils in Member States, and
- the Regional Economic Communities
The Nomination Form with all the supporting documents should be posted via physical courier to the following address (NOT by Fax or E-mail):
To:
The Officer in Charge
AU Kwame Nkrumah Awards for Scientific Excellence 2020 Edition,
Department of Human Resources, Science and Technology
African Union Commission
Roosevelt Street
- O. Box 3243
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Application Deadline: 25 November 2020 at 17:00 hours Addis Ababa time.