What is Africademics?
Africademics, founded in 2019, is a scholarship platform and community for students, early career researchers and young scholars in and from Africa. We publish daily updates about scholarships, fellowships, training courses, career development and other academic funding opportunities for African youth on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, WhatsApp and in our weekly email NewsFlash. And don’t forget to check out our new online learning and community platform by creating your free account here!
In May 2020, we welcomed the pilot cohort of our Ambassador Programme which was expanded with our first official cohort of Scholarship Ambassadors in 2021. In 2022, we trained close to 100 volunteers to become scholarship mentors through our Ambassador Programme and have thus far supported close to 200 Scholarship Mentees. Our goal is to create better access to higher education and scholarships, to connect people and opportunities, and to contribute to achieving SDG 4: Ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.
Awards and Recognition
In 2020, Africademics founder Lena Gronbach was awarded the prestigious ‘weitergeben – Social Engagement’ award by the German Academic Scholarship Foundation. Africademics also made it to the finals of the 2020/21 round of the ‘startsocial’ initiative, an annual coaching and support programme for social start-ups under the patronage of German Chancellor Angela Merkel. In 2021/22 Africademics was selected for the startsocial programme again, this time under the patronage of Germany´s new Chancellor, Olaf Scholz.
Africademics also participated in the 2020 Global Goals Lab, a support and networking initiative for projects and organizations working towards the Sustainable Development Goals. Our biggest, and most recent recognition, was the award of the ‘Deutscher Engagementpreis‘, Germany’s most prestigious award for social projects and initiatives. Africademics received the award in the category ‘Creating Opportunities’ and you can read more about it here.
Who is behind Africademics?
Africademics was founded by Lena Gronbach, a social entrepreneur and PhD student at the University of Cape Town. After having worked in youth exchange, tourism, translation, event management and research while pursuing her own academic career, she decided to pursue her passion: expanding access to tertiary education across Africa and helping other young scholars realize their dreams. She is supported by a growing network of volunteers and Scholarship Ambassadors who are equally passionate about the vision and mission of Africademics.
Our Mission and Vision
Africademics aims to become the central information hub for funding opportunities, scholarship application assistance, networking and support for African students, early career researchers and young scholars who want to further their education. By providing funding information, scholarship advice, inspiration and resources, we support and empower Africa’s future leaders, both within and outside of academia.
In addition, we offer personal advice and support for scholarship seekers and applicants through our growing network of trained Scholarship Ambassadors. Our main goal is to increase access to academic opportunities for African youth, not just by sharing information, but by creating an active community of like-minded young scholars from all corners of the continent.
The Africademics Scholarship Ambassador Programme
Launched in May 2020, our pilot cohort of Africademics University Ambassadors consisted of 24 students, researchers and lecturers from 22 universities in 10 different African countries. Our first official cohort, consisting of 30 Ambassadors from 10 African countries, started their 6-month online training in February 2021 and graduated in November. The programme was expanded in 2022 as we took on close to 100 new Ambassadors, who successfully graduated from their Ambassador training in November 2022. The 2023 cohort of just over 100 participants completed their training in July and is now ready to start their journey as scholarship mentors.
For more information about the programme and to meet our Ambassadors, visit our Ambassadors page!
Get involved and support Africademics!
Are you a student, researcher, lecturer, writer, tech geek, university career office, foundation, networker, social media queen, business angel, journalist, funder, NGO, or pretty much anyone based in Africa or working with African youth? Are you passionate about supporting students and young scholars by expanding access to scholarships, career opportunities and mentoring in the field of tertiary education? Then get in touch with us using the contact form below and join Africademics as a volunteer, partner, supporter or funder!
