Megatrends Afrika Fellowships 2026 for African Researchers. – Opportunities For Africans

Application Deadline: March 25, 2026

Applications are actually open for the 2026 Megatrends Afrika Fellowships. The Megatrends Afrika mission is awarding three fellowships to African researchers.

Megatrends Afrika is a cooperation between the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP), the German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS) and the Kiel Institute for the World Economy (Kiel Institute). The mission conducts policy-relevant interdisciplinary analysis on Africa and offers coverage recommendation to decision-makers.

The Fellowship

Fellowships can be granted for a interval of three months in fall 2026, full-time. Fellows will conduct a analysis mission independently or, if appropriate, in collaboration with mission workforce members or different IDOS, Kiel Institute and SWP colleagues – and contribute one paper to the mission’s publication sequence. Fellows are anticipated to take part in mission conferences, occasions and different related actions of their host establishment throughout their keep. 

For the period of the fellowship, fellows will reside within the metropolis of their host establishment, i.e., in Berlin (SWP), Bonn (IDOS) or Kiel (Kiel Institute). Fellows will obtain a month-to-month grant of € 2,800, an economy-class return journey between their place of residence and Germany in addition to some monetary help for public transport, cell phone credit score and different ancillary prices in Germany. Fellows who require a visa to enter Germany can be supplied with a letter of help and help within the application course of.

Your Profile

• A accomplished PhD in political science, economics, social sciences, geography, worldwide relations, or related space research;
• Originating from an African nation
• Strong analysis and publication monitor report in areas of relevance to the Megatrends Afrika mission
• Experience in scientific coverage recommendation is a bonus

Research Topics

We are thinking about proposals for a Megatrends Policy Brief that tackles a problem of relevance to one of many following analysis themes:

• Peace and Security
• Future of Democracy
• Economic Prospects
• Africa’s Role within the New World Order
• Science Diplomacy and Science Cooperation

Also of curiosity can be analysis proposals on new applied sciences (synthetic intelligence, area programmes) in African international locations, worldwide cooperation on Africa’s power transition and important uncooked supplies, and the affect of digitalisation or urbanisation on political regimes in Africa. 

How to Apply

Applications should include a one-page letter of motivation, an educational CV together with a listing of educational publications, a pattern of two current publications, copies of related tutorial transcripts and/or diplomas (no translations wanted), a written idea word containing the outline of the applicant’s mission. The idea word shouldn’t exceed 2,000 phrases and embody a dialogue of the mission/analysis matter, its tutorial and coverage relevance, feasibility and theoretical and methodological grounding. The submitted mission ought to be based mostly on the applicant’s present and ongoing analysis agenda.  Its scope and ambition must be acceptable for a Megatrends Policy Brief that can be finalized by the top of the fellowship.

Please ship your application by e mail to [email protected]. Applications should be submitted as a single PDF doc. Formats apart from PDF (Word, zip) can’t be accepted. The deadline for the fellowship functions is 25 March 2026, 11:59 p.m. CET. Incomplete and/or late functions is not going to be thought of. 

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the Megatrends Afrika Fellowships