The 12th AfricaLics Ph.D. Academy on Innovation and Competence Building Systems will be held in Johannesburg, hosted by the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) and the AfricaLics Research Capacity Strengthening Project.
The AfricaLics network is an academic research and capacity-strengthening network that focuses on how innovation (the process through which new or improved products, processes, organisational forms, ways of working, and acting are introduced into new environments) occurs and the relationship this has with economic and social development in African countries. Such research is becoming known in the network as ‘innovation and development studies’ because it is at the intersection of innovation studies and development studies.
The 12th AfricaLics PhD Academy offers PhD students enrolled at African universities who work in the field of innovation and development studies the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of this burgeoning field, meet leading academics in the field, and receive feedback on their PhD studies.
The 12th AfricaLics PhD Academy will be held as an in-person event at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) campus in Johannesburg, South Africa. It will be held alongside the 7th AfricaLics Research Conference (https://africalicssouthafrica.witsevents.co.za/) scheduled for 10 – 12 November 2026.
This is a call for students enrolled in a PhD at an African university who work in the field of innovation and development studies to apply to participate in this residential PhD Academy event.
Innovation and development studies
The AfricaLics network was founded in 2012 due to a growing recognition of the need for more support for academic ‘research on innovation’ that had relevance to the contextual environments of African countries. This burgeoning body of work by African scholars is essential to ensure ‘research in innovation’ (i.e., research and development of specific inventions that can help solve practical problems), where most innovation policy and funding attention is focused, can be effectively supported. The concept of ‘research on innovation’ focuses on innovation processes, what fosters innovation and on what may help new solutions get accepted and adopted. It is particularly interested in understanding the impact of innovation on the social and economic development of African countries. It considers these issues at the level of firms, networks, and collaborations as well as at the national, continental, and global levels. As such the work of scholars in the AfricaLics network is multidisciplinary being at the intersection of the established academic fields of innovation studies and development studies.
This multidisciplinary field includes researchers from a range of disciplines often studying innovation studies, the economics of innovation, innovation management, technology management, science and technology studies. However, the network also includes those from other more disciplinary fields such as engineering, economics and political science.
Who is eligible to apply?
PhD students working in innovation and development studies and who are principally interested in how innovation relates to economic and social development in Africa are the main target group for the PhD Academy.
The Academy will host approximately 20-25 students from Africa and a handful of students from other parts of the world.
Specifically, PhD students who wish to participate will need to fulfil the following requirements:
- work explicitly on issues related to policy-oriented analysis of science, technology and innovation
- be able to present an original paper reflecting his/her research and/or thesis work that fits within the thematic areas of the AfricaLics network
- preferably be at least at the beginning of his/her second year at the time of the academy (a small number of first-year PhD students may be accepted)
If you are in doubt as to whether you can apply, please contact us using the email address at the bottom of the call.
We will have a limited number of places available to master’s students studying in South Africa. These selected students will be granted observer status i.e. can attend but will not present their work.
Master degree students who wish to participate will need to fulfil the following requirements:
- be a registered Masters student in a South African university on a degree programme in the area of economics, business or management studies, sociology or development studies or similar
- have a Masters project that will focus on an aspect of innovation studies (i.e. innovation management or innovation systems)
To improve diversity in the emerging academic community on innovation and development studies research in Africa, we encourage female scholars and those from low-income countries to apply.
Design of the Academy
The Academy will invite frontier researchers in innovation and development from around the world to deliver lectures and mentor students. The Academy also provides opportunities for PhD students to share their work and learn new skills. As such, the Academy is made up of the following activities:
- Lectures by senior researchers on areas ranging from research methodologies to the latest theories and empirical research in the fields of innovation, innovation management and science policy.
- Presentations by doctoral students of their work with feedback from the senior scholars facilitating at the event.
- Sessions focused on enabling interaction between students, practitioners and policy makers on innovation and development issues
- Study visits to innovation hubs, innovative businesses and/or similar organisations
- Sessions that focus on key skills that students need to complete their PhD and become successful academic researchers such as publishing or project management skills
- A practical project that helps students think through how to ensure their PhD project is addressing developmental issues and how to ensure results will be articulated to relevant policy and practitioner stakeholders.
- A two-day supervision workshop focusing on topics such as what good supervision looks like, the student-supervisor relationship and key tools for the PhD journey (planning, good work habits and how to deal with feedback).