CPRsouth 2016 – Young Scholars Programme

Read the original announcement published by CPRSouth here.

Following highly successful joint Afro-Asian CPR conferences in Mauritius in 2012, and India in 2013, CPRafrica and CPRsouth formally merged under the banner of CPRsouth in 2014. Since then, CPRsouth has hosted conferences in the Cradle of Humankind in South Africa (2014), and at the Innovation Center for Big Data and Digital Convergence at Yuan Ze University, Taiwan (2015).

This year’s conference is co-hosted by COSTECH and TCRA in Zanzibar, and will include sessions on cutting-edge developments on ICT policy and regulation in the South and discussion of the research-policy interface.

30 Young Scholars from Africa and the Asia-Pacific region will be selected to participate in a tutorial programme taught by recognised scholars and practitioners from Africa and Asia, and they will attend the main conference thereafter.

Tutorials are scheduled to be held on the 6^th and 7^th of September 2016, prior to the main CPRsouth conference.

Who will qualify?

• Masters/PhD students in Economics, Public policy, Communications and Journalism
• Officers of government/regulatory agencies undertaking ICT policy research, developing/gathering indicators (monitoring and evaluation)
• Staff of private companies in the communication industries working in regulatory affairs
• Officers in NGOs/INGOs working in policy and regulation
• Researchers from think tanks, university research centres
• Journalists covering communication public policy and regulation

Seminar

The seminar will cover a number of topics of the two days, such as:

• policy analysis using supply-side or demand-side data;
• ICT impact analysis;
• convergence, net neutrality;
• funding broadband network extension, open access networks, spectrum;
• sector and competition regulation;
• research to policy interventions;
• Internet governance – privacy, surveillance, human rights online; and
• introduction to big data, open data.

(2016 tutorial programme still to be confirmed)

Previous tutorial presentations can be accessed at http://www.cprsouth.org/

Application deadline: 22 April 2016

Application guidelines

Applications should be submitted via this link by 22 April 2016, and must contain the following:

1. one-page curriculum vitae; and
2. one-page write-up outlining why you wish to become an African or Asia-Pacific based expert capable of contributing to ICT related policy and regulatory reform in the region

Applicants’ write-ups and biographies should be in a single word document, and named: CPRsouth2016_YoungScholar_ApplicantLastName.

Kindly note: Late applications and applications that do not conform to the prescribed format above will automatically be disqualified.

Review Criteria

Applications will be reviewed according to the following criteria:

1. content of application;
2. evidence of interest in, and commitment to, policy-relevant research for Africa or the Asia-Pacific region;
3. quality of writing; and
4. gender and country representation

The selection committee may contact your supervisor or mentor before making the final selections.

Candidates selected to participate in the tutorial programme must:

• provide a one-page research proposal upon acceptance onto the tutorial programme
• participate in all tutorial sessions
• participate in the entire CPRsouth 2016 conference

Funding

Selected young scholars who are passport holders of, and travelling from, low and middle income countries within the Asia Pacific and Africa (as classified by the World Bank http://data.worldbank.org/about/country-classifications/country-and-lending-groups#Low_income) will be provided with:

• lowest-cost economy airfare to conference destination (less USD 150 registration fee);
• ground transfers between the conference venue and airport; and
• twin sharing accommodation on bed and breakfast basis, 5 lunches and 1 dinner for the duration of the conference and tutorials (6 – 10 September 2016). Not all meals are covered.

The registration fee for young scholars to attend the conference and tutorials is USD150, and airfares will be reimbursed less this registration fee.  Participants will be required to cover:

• transport to and from airports in their home countries;
• visa fees (if any);
• meals not provided; and
• any other incidental costs

As the registration fee is so low and should be met personally even if there is no institutional support for attendance of the course and conference, please note that only under exceptional circumstances of extreme financial hardship may the organisers consider a waiver of the conference registration fee. Such waivers will be considered on a case-by-case basis and only where a scholar would otherwise be prevented from attending the YS programme and conference.

Visas

Letters of invitation will be provided for purposes of visa applications after participant selections have been made. Participants are responsible for securing their own visas to enter Tanzania, and are strongly advised to initiate visa approval procedures immediately on receipt of confirmation of their participation.

Kindly direct all enquiries to Ondine Bello: [email protected]  [email protected]