Background
Hararghe Health Research Partnership (HHR) is a collaboration between Haramaya University (HU) and London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) to advance Health Sciences research by strengthening capacity in research and surveillance, ensuring best practice in research and informing health policy in maternal and child health in Ethiopia.
CHAMPS Ethiopia will support six full-time PhD students, who will have the opportunity to register at the LSHTM. The students will be recruited in two cohorts of three students each, one year apart. The studentships are open to any Ethiopian with the appropriate educational achievements however, 2 of the 6 studentships are reserved for graduates or academic staff of Haramaya University.
The purpose of this research degree training is to develop the careers of Ethiopian scientists in the areas of research relevant to HHR. The studentships will focus on research on maternal and child health and will encompass several disciplines including epidemiology, social science, clinical research, pathology, bacteriology and molecular medicine.
The strategic goal is to train PhD graduates and seek opportunities to retain them in the HHR partnership either by taking on science roles in CHAMPS or by obtaining their own post-doctoral grants to work in the research partnership.
The overall objective is to attract the brightest students in Ethiopia to become members of the academic community in Harar and to build up a synergistic research group within the Haramaya University (HU) Health Science campus focused on the research priorities of the Hararghe Health Research Partnership.
Studying at LSHTM
Students will need to develop a proposal for registration LSHTM and will need to follow the registration requirements and procedures of the university, the monitoring and supervisory requirements and to pass an examination at LSHTM.
The examination will be by presentation of a thesis and private interview with expert examiners appointed by LSHTM. There are no taught courses and no written examinations under normal circumstances.
The regulations governing the management of PhDs at LSHTM are given here in the file attached “ academic-manual-chapter-09.pdf “
Of relevance for students, there is a required period of residency in London (this has been suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic) which gives the students the opportunity to experience the academic environment at LSHTM and to pursue specialist courses.
PhD students are not required to attend courses but they may choose to do so from among the wide range of modules given to the MSc students. The students will be expected to present and defend their theses within 36 months of their original registration.
The fulltime PhD student will receive a stipend of 17,500 ETB per month throughout the course (36 months).
Important Deadlines
Deadline for expression of interest – March 19, 2021
Invitations to apply for the studentship – March 26, 2021
Deadline for online applications – April 2, 2021
Invitations for interview – April 9, 2021
Final selection by interview – April 19 2021
Notifying Successful Applicants – April 20, 2021
The application process will progress in three phases:
In the first phase: Interested applicants will be invited to register an expression of interest by entering their credentials online. The questionnaire will collect identification information – name, date of birth, sex, email address, current occupation and employer, date of completion of any degrees or work experience, grades in school leaver/BSc/MSc examinations. These expressions of interest will be reviewed on the basis of: (a) compliance with the admission criteria and (b) excellence in academic achievement.
In the second phase: students selected from the first phase will be sent a link to an online application form. This will include wider details about education and employment, additional skills (technical, languages, software) and will allow the applicant to explain why he/she was attracted to this position and how it will help him/her to realise his/her career objectives. The students will be given a list of the potential PhD projects and asked to rank their preference if successful. Applications will be assessed by the shortlisting panel on the criteria above (a-b) and on broader evidence of ambition in science, experience in research and communication and linguistic skills.
In the third phase: Candidates who passed the first two phases will be invited to interview. The candidates will be invited to give a 6-minute presentation which may include up to 6 slides on a subject of their choice. They will be encouraged to present a critical review of either a piece of research that they have done (e.g. for a dissertation) or a recently published scientific paper. The primary objective will be to demonstrate that they can think critically about the work they present and respond intelligently to questions.
Job Requirements
The criteria for selection at the interview will be:
- Intelligence – good comprehension and intelligent responses to scientific questions
- Innovation – ability to imagine new solutions that are still realistic and feasible
- Experience and skills – matched to at least one of the PhD proposals
Decisions on awarding the studentships will be made by the interview committee which will include representatives of LSHTM, HU and a third independent academic institution.
Students will be ranked and the top rank student will be invited to select his/her choice of PhD project; the next ranked student will next be invited to choose next and so on. The interview committee may provide guidance to the students on what PhD projects are suitable for them; they may also restrict the choices of particular students if their skills match only one or two of the projects on offer. Whilst the committee will be guided by the selections of the students – the allocations of projects to students will be done by the committee taking into account the whole field of successful applicants.
Students at interview who do not make the top rank will be given feedback on their performance.
How to Apply
Please follow the links:
www.hararghe.org
More Information
- Address Addis Ababa
- Qualification PhD/Fellowship
