Kader Asmal Fellowship for Early Career Professionals (South Africa)

The Kader Asmal Fellowship Programme is targeted at early career professionals in South Africa with leadership potential. The scholarship broadly supports leadership for the Sustainable Development Goals, and supporting the development of women’s leadership capacity and women’s participation in STEM are key priorities. In addition, the Kader Asmal Fellowship Programme aims to support students who would not otherwise have the opportunity to pursue Master’s level education in Ireland, and graduates of Universities of Historical Disadvantage and Universities of Technology in particular are encouraged to apply.

What they offer?

• It offers selected students the opportunity to undertake a fully funded one-year master’s level programme at a higher education institution (HEI) in Ireland. The award covers programme fees, flights, accommodation and living costs. Eligible master’s level programmes in Ireland commence in August or September each year and, depending on the programme, will run for between 10 and 16 months.

Eligible Courses

• Eligible courses are in areas such as agriculture, health, education, human rights, computer science, engineering, business and more.

Eligibility Criteria

• To be eligible for an Ireland Fellows Programme – Kader Asmal award commencing at the beginning of the academic year 2024, applicants must:
  • Be a resident national of South Africa.
  • Have a minimum of two years’ substantial work experience that is directly relevant to your proposed programme(s) of study.
  • Hold a bachelor’s level academic qualification from an accredited and government-recognised higher education institution, with a minimum grade point average of 3.0 (4.0 scale) – i.e. a first class honour, or second class honour, Grade 1 (a second class honour Grade 2 may be accepted if the applicant has substantial directly relevant work experience). It must have been awarded in 2012 or later (i.e. within the last 12 years).
  • Not already hold a qualification at master’s level or higher. Not currently undertaking a programme at master’s level or higher, or be due to start a programme at master’s level or higher in the academic year 2023/24.
  • Be applying to commence a new programme at master’s level in Ireland no sooner than August 2024.
  • Be able to demonstrate the following: leadership abilities and aspirations; a commitment to the achievement of the SDGs within your own country; and a commitment to contribute to building positive relationships with Ireland.
  • Have identified and selected three programmes relevant to your academic and professional background from the Directory of Eligible Programmes.
  • Have a clear understanding of the academic and English language proficiencies required for all programmes chosen.
  • Must not have applied to the Ireland Fellows Programme on more than one previous occasion.
  • Be in a position to take up the Fellowship in the academic year 2024/2025.

For more information, visit Irish Aid.