Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Nairobi's Latest Magnificent Magazine



It is with great delight that I thumbed through the pilot issue (January-February 2010) of Up magazine.

The publication is pleasant to the eyes, has well penned content and is what Nairobi needs! We at infoafricanow.com wish you all the best in your endeavor to take the Nairobi magazine scene to the greatest heights!


Sunday, January 10, 2010

www.infoafricanow.com at the South American Dinner/Fundraiser for the Children's Cancer Ward, Kenyatta National Hospital, Nairobi


Friends and colleagues from various South American countries working or based in Nairobi, Kenya, recently joined forces and held an impressive fund-raising dinner. The proceeds went to the purchase of mosquito nets, medicine, food and toys for children in the Cancer ward of one of Africa's biggest public referral hospital, Kenyatta National Hospital. 

The community was able to raise over 180,000 Kshs, an amount much needed by the ailing children in the overwhelmed public hospital. It was an honor for us at www.infoafricanow.com to be part of this simple, gracious gesture. 




Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Sandwich Scholarships for visiting PhD students from developing countries


Scholarship Description


FSC awards up to four visiting 'Sandwich' scholarships to PhD students from developing countries for a period of six months, beginning April 15, 2010. The Center wishes to attract outstanding PhD students pursuing a career in academia or development collaboration. The scholarship aims at increasing their previously gained scientific knowledge and skills relevant to food security related issues. Successful candidates will receive a scholarship for conducting PhD thesis related research studies in collaboration with the research staff of FSC’s partner universities, research centers or development organizations located in developing countries (e.g., one of the centers of the CGIAR) to conduct a specific research project contributing to the mission of FSC. Funding for research is expected to be provided by the applicant’s and/or supervisor’s institution and/or other organizations. The objective of the collaboration is to write at least one joint, peer-reviewed journal publication or paper to be presented at an international conference that contributes to FSC’s mission and is relevant to the PhD thesis. Interregional South-South collaborations are encouraged in particular. Successful candidates should present their research proposal, state of research and preliminary results in the partner institution’s seminars/workshops. Furthermore, FSC aims at establishing an active, long-lasting collaboration with the PhD students and their home institutions.

The scholarship is given for a stay at a FSC partner institution, research center, or development organization located in a developing country. The monthly grant is 500 Euros in 2010. In addition, FSC pays for traveling to/from the partner institution. Health insurance and other potential costs must be paid for privately.


Required skills

The applicant must provide proof of:

· outstanding study performance (i.e. excellent or very good MSc grade);
· completed graduate studies in agricultural, nutritional, natural, social, economic or political sciences, or related disciplines with specification on food security related issues with a minimum grade of 2.5;
· working on doctoral studies at her/his home institution by the time of application;
· track record of knowledge in the proposed field of study;
· excellent proficiency in oral and written English.

Furthermore, the applicant must:
· be able to conduct innovative research;
· have excellent interpersonal skills and team spirit;
· be able and willing to work well in an interdisciplinary, multicultural environment with individuals from different scientific, societal and cultural backgrounds and with organizations from the public, private and civil society sector;
· be available for the entire period of the research stay;
· be a national of a developing country according to OECD DAC list.


Application

Please submit the following documents to fsc@uni-hohenheim.de, with the subject line of the e-mail mentioning the specific scholarship you are applying for (“Application for South – South Sandwich Scholarship”):

· Cover letter (please mention the name of the scholarship program as stated in the FSC announcement);
· Detailed Curriculum Vitae (no longer than 3 pages);
· Proposal (maximum 2,000 words) specifying your planned research activities during the stay at a research institute in a developing country. This should include information on the methods, timetable, funding of research and name of the proposed supervisor at the research institute in a developing country. The research proposal must be developed in collaboration with and formally agreed by the supervisor at the research institute in a developing country (which can be a national or international research institute in a developing country). The country can be in the region of the applicant, however, FSC especially supports cross-continental exchange and the country of origin and/or country of residency of the applicant are not eligible.
· Master thesis abstract (maximum 1,000 words);
· Scanned copies of all relevant academic certificates obtained. All certificates must be accompanied by an explanation of the grading system. Documents issued in languages other than German or English, must be accompanied by a German or English translation.
· List of publications;
· Two letters of recommendation from professors or supervisors.


Please send FSC all documents as a PDF in one e-mail. We would like to ask you to reduce the number of attached files to a minimum by compiling various documents into three files (File 1: cover letter, CV, proposal, thesis abstract and list of publications; File 2: scanned copies of all relevant academic certificates obtained; File 3: two letters of recommendation). Please name all files in a systematic way: your last name – scholarship category – file number.

The deadline for the application is January 30, 2010.

FSC will confirm the receipt of all (complete) applications (i.e., if an application is not complete, FSC will not consider it and will not confirm receipt of the application).

All accepted applications will be selected according the following criteria:
1. Fulfillment of announcement criteria (cf. “required skills” and “application”);
2. Quality of proposal and project feasibility;
3. Overall, equivalent distribution over regions and Hohenheim disciplines;
4. Fulfillment of demands (e.g. emerging from collaborations with development organizations).

The selected applicants will be contacted no later than March 16, 2010. Please be aware that FSC will contact only successful candidates.

https://fsc.uni-hohenheim.de/79514.html

Monday, January 4, 2010

www.infoafricanow.com listed as one of Kenya's top websites for 2010!!!

It is with great glee that i provide the link below:

http://johnkaranja.com/2009/12/20/kenyas-tech-scene-2010-kts-2010/comment-page-1/#comment-1985

John Karanja runs an authoritative blog on business and technology in Africa. Therefore when he listed us as one of the websites to watch in Kenya in 2010, we at www.infoafricanow.com have no choice but to accept the glowing recommendation with great pleasure. Thank you John!!