The fellowship is designed for final-year undergraduate students, recent graduates, and early-career professionals in Africa who aspire to pursue MSc or PhD programmes in AI-related fields, particularly in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Europe. 

Each fellowship cohort runs for six months. 

Each cohort admits up to 15 participants, depending on the availability of mentors. 

Yes. To apply for the Research Fellowship, applicants must first become a professional paid member of the African Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (4AI). 

The membership fee serves as the application requirement and gives applicants access to the full range of 4AI membership benefits for one year. There is no separate fellowship application fee. 

The Research Fellowship is a member benefit offered through the 4AI professional membership programme. Membership supports the delivery of the fellowship while providing applicants with access to year-round learning opportunities, networking events, technical workshops, mentoring, and other member-exclusive benefits, regardless of the fellowship outcome. 

Complete the Professional Membership application through the fellowship website. Once your application is successfully completed, you will receive your Membership ID, which you can use to proceed with your fellowship application. 

No. Professional membership does not guarantee admission to the fellowship. Selection is competitive and based on the strength of each application, alignment with the programme objectives, and available mentor capacity. 

If you are not selected for the current cohort, your 4AI professional membership remains active for one year, and you will continue to enjoy all member benefits available during that period. 

Applicants who are not selected may also receive priority consideration for future Research Fellowship cohorts, provided they continue to meet the eligibility requirements and places are available. 

Your 4AI professional membership is valid for one year and is renewable annually. 

If your membership is still active when applications open for a future cohort, you will not need to purchase another membership before applying. If it has expired, you will need to renew your membership. 

Participants receive support in four key areas: 

• Research methodology and academic writing 
• Publication guidance and research development 
• Graduate school application material reviews 
• Eligibility for a recommendation letter upon successful completion 

The programme is designed to strengthen both your research profile and your competitiveness for graduate study. 

The fellowship provides publication support, and participants may work toward one or two research publications during the programme where mentor capacity allows. 

While publication is encouraged, it is not guaranteed. Progress depends on the quality of the work, participant commitment, and available mentoring capacity. 

Possibly. Depending on the project and mentor availability, participants may co-author publications with mentors or work independently with mentor guidance. 

Participants can receive structured feedback on: 

• Academic CVs 
• Personal statements 
• Research proposals 
• Graduate application strategy 

Participants should submit drafts before the weekly drop-in sessions to receive meaningful feedback. 

The fellowship is designed to strengthen your application by helping you develop research experience, improve your application documents, and receive expert feedback. However, admission decisions are made solely by the universities to which you apply. 

The fellowship follows a structured independence model. 

Rather than weekly lectures, the lead mentor hosts a drop-in session where participants bring questions, draft work, methodological challenges, or application materials for discussion. 

Participants are expected to make steady progress independently between sessions.