PhD Fellowship: Digital Innovations for Water Secure Africa (DIWASA)

Reference Number: REF: ILRI PhD/GF/IWMI/02/2025
Host Institutions: International Water Management Institute (IWMI) / International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI)

About the Position

This fellowship is part of IWMI’s Digital Innovations for Water Secure Africa (DIWASA) project, which aims to enhance water security in Africa through improved water data, products, and tools. The fellow will:

• Integrate satellite and gauge data to improve rainfall datasets at multiple scales.
• Validate enhanced rainfall datasets in the Lake Tana sub-basin using independent rain gauge measurements.
• Develop a Jupyter notebook to analyze rainfall patterns across different land uses using Digital Earth Africa (DEA) platform data.

Project Background

• Phase 1 (2020-2023): Focused on Water Accounting and Water Resilience, developing water data products and tools.
• Phase 2 (till 2027): Expands to improve water security across Ethiopia, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Zambia, and additional countries through stakeholder engagement and capacity development.

Fellowship Benefits

• Work with leading researchers in remote sensing and hydrology.
• Collaborate with government ministries, universities, and research centers.
• Join the Water Accounting Network, connecting experts across Africa.
• Receive co-supervision from academic and IWMI supervisors.
• Access capacity development opportunities at ILRI.

Responsibilities

1. Integrate multi-source satellite and gauge data to enhance rainfall datasets.
2. Validate improved rainfall datasets in the Lake Tana sub-basin.
3. Develop a Jupyter notebook for rainfall-land use analysis using DEA data.

Requirements

• Enrolled as a PhD candidate in an Ethiopian university.
• PhD focus: Water resources engineering, management, hydrology, or hydraulics.
• Technical skills: MS Office, GIS, Python/R coding.
• Communication: Strong written and verbal English proficiency.

Fellowship Details

• Duration: 6 months.
• Benefits:
  • Monthly stipend for living expenses.
  • Medical insurance.
  • Research expense coverage.

How to Apply

Deadline: 09 May 2025

Required Documents:

1. Cover Letter addressed to the Senior Manager - Capacity Development, ILRI, including:
   • Position title and reference number (REF: ILRI PhD/GF/IWMI/02/2025) in the subject line.
   • Motivation and interest in the fellowship.
2. CV with three referees (contact details required).
3. Academic certificates/transcripts.

Submit applications to: [Not specified in the original post]

Note:

• Incomplete applications will not be considered.
• Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
• ILRI does not charge fees at any recruitment stage.

Learn More

• ILRI: www.ilri.org
• IWMI: www.iwmi.org

ILRI is an equal opportunity employer.