What you need to know
Are you a National of any of the African Union member states?
Are you a bright tech talent, innovator or solution designer?
Are you passionate about leveraging technology and innovation to improve organizational processes and performance?
Do you want to contribute to the improvement of the delivery of the African Union’s mandate?
Are you available to join a 12-month Fellowship for Africa’s top innovators?
If yes, then this opportunity to join the AU Digital and Innovation Fellowship Project is for you!
The Fellowship will give you the opportunity to
- Participate in several capacity building training that will be facilitated by top experts from the African innovation ecosystem.
- Receive mentorship support from experienced industry experts drawn from the AfriLabs community.
- Network and benefit from several peer-to-peer learning opportunities.
- Receive monthly stipends throughout the period of the Fellowship.
- Embark on several all-expense-paid trips to ecosystem events, onboarding/offboarding, study/learning tour, etc.
- Attend a grand graduation ceremony where certificates will be awarded to fellows.
- Be recognized as a fellow/alumni of the African Union Digital and Innovation Fellowship Project.
Fellows would be required to
- Research and understand the systems and processes used in carrying out the work of the AU department/unit they are deployed to.
- Research the gaps in the department/unit to proffer corresponding solutions to the challenges identified.
- Explore areas within the departments that could be strengthened by technology and innovation.
- Participate in regular check-ins and meetings with AfriLabs, mentors and their internal supervisors at each department.
- Participate in relevant events as brought up available by the Fellowship.
- Contribute to design and selection of a framework for technology development in close consultation with a Technology Expert. (a) Develop a full plan for technology development using the high-level TOGAF methodology. (b) Design product prototypes and build products with close support from Tech non-resident advisors in assigned unit(s). (c) Test prototypes with potential users and update based on feedback and recommendations.
- Travel from their home country (if from outside Ethiopia) to Addis Ababa Ethiopia where they will be based during the period of the Fellowship.
- Participate in peer-to-peer learning sessions and a tech development workshop post the learning tour.
- Lead the training sessions with AU staff on the adoption and use of the developed solution(s) in assigned unit(s).
Eligible applicants should
- Be based in Africa and must be a National of an African Union member state;
- Be under the age of 40 prior to the time of application;
- Hold a tertiary education degree or equivalent;
- Have the capacity to gather comprehensive information on complex problems or situations, and ability to evaluate and analyze information accurately in order to identify key issues and proffer solutions;
- Have experience and technical know-how in designing innovative technology products/solutions;
- Be available to travel in late October, 2021 to participate in an induction workshop during the AfriLabs Annual Gathering in Abuja, Nigeria;
- Be available in 2021/22 to dedicate 12 months to a fellowship assignment;
- Be willing to disengage current obligations and relocate to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in November 2021. Deployment will last for the duration of the fellowship project;
- Applicants who speak more than one AU official language are strongly advised to apply.
Application and Selection
The African Union Digital and Innovation Fellowship application is open to all eligible applicants and the selection process is completely merit-based. At the close of the application window, all eligible applications will be assessed by independent reviews to select applications with the highest scores for the next stage of the selection process. The finalists will undergo a last round of interviews by the AU departments/organs before the final confirmation of the 10 successful fellows. Selected fellows will be mandated to attend the Fellows Induction Workshop at the 2021 AfriLabs Annual Gathering and the virtual Pre-deployment Training before traveling to Addis Ababa and to be deployed to the AU departments/organs.
Programme Timeline
Application window opens – 1st September, 2021.
Application window closes – 15th September, 2021.
Applications review and selection – 15th to 30th September, 2021.
Announcement of selected fellows – 1st October, 2021.
Travel arrangements and preparation for the Induction Workshop – 1st to 25th October, 2021.
Deployment of fellows to the AU departments – November, 2021.
Please note the following:
- Applicants would be required to participate in 30-minute virtual interviews
- Only applicants considered for the next step will be contacted due to large numbers of applications. Hence, if you are not contacted before the 30th of September 2021, your application has not made it past the first stage.