The South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) was first established in 2004 in accordance with the National Environmental Management Biodiversity Act under the South African Department of Environment, Forestry, and Fisheries.
SANBI’s main aim is to conduct research and decimation of information pertaining to biodiversity as well as contribute to the country’s management of biodiversity resources.
SANBI is also responsible for partaking in ecosystem rehabilitation and restoration. This ensures that the country’s National Botanical and Zoological gardens enhance the country’s biodiversity for educational and entertainment purposes.
ABOUT THE SANBI BURSARY PROGRAMME – FIELDS COVERED
SANBI is inviting postgraduate students to apply for the Biological Invasion Bursary, for the 2024 academic year.
The bursary is available to Honours, Masters, or Doctoral students, pursuing research projects which are relevant to any of SANBI’s focus areas, including status report and monitoring; incursion detection and response planning; eradication planning and co-ordination; risk analysis; and taxonomy.
Candidates can view the list of SANBI potential projects here (if you would like to conduct studies towards another research project area, please contact SANBI to verify if your proposal is suitable).
MORE ABOUT THE SANBI BURSARY PROGRAMME – COVERAGE VALUE & SELECTION
Awarding of the bursary is on condition that students successfully register into an approved programme at university.
SANBI will be awarding bursaries to 4 Honours students, 8 Masters students, and 4 Doctoral students. The value of the bursary will be subject to SANBI and DFFE policies. Project running expenses may vary depending on the project, and are covered separately by the bursary.
Masters and Doctoral applicants may be considered for a 1-year project development internship if they are unlikely to complete their studies within the allocated period of time. Project development interns will be required to re-apply for a bursary the following year.
Shortlisted candidates will be contacted within 28 working days after of the closing date – if you do not receive any feedback within this time frame, please regard your application as unsuccessful. SANBI reserves the right not to award bursaries if no suitable candidates are selected.
ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR THE SANBI BURSARY
Applicants must satisfy the following minimum entry criteria before applying (please note that failure to satisfy all the requirements will lead to your application not being considered):
- You must be a South African citizen
- You must be studying or intend on studying towards a postgraduate (Honours, Masters, or Doctoral) qualification, in one of the approved research projects areas
- You must be registered or provisionally accepted to study at a recognized university in South Africa
- You must be enthusiastic, pro-active, and keen to conduct research that will help improve understanding and management of biological invasions
HOW TO APPLY FOR THE SANBI BURSARY
Download and complete the SANBI Biological Invasions Bursary Application Cover Sheet 2024 (.docx)
Submit clear copies of the following supporting documentation along with your completed cover sheet (the submission of these documents is compulsory – if any items are missing, your application may be disqualified):
- ID document (certified copy)
- Full Curriculum Vitae
- Project outline (Honours students: 1 page, Masters and Doctoral students: 2 pages)
- 2 academic letters of reference
- Statement of acceptance/ agreement from your supervisor or prospective academic supervisor
- Proof of provisional acceptance from your university (Honours students)
- Academic record/ marks for courses completed (certified copy)
- Highest qualification completed (certified translation if required) (certified copy)
Applications must be submitted electronically via email to: [email protected] AND [email protected]
(Insert the words “SANBI Biological Invasions Bursaries 2024 application” in the email subject line).
Application notes:
1) All documents must be labelled clearly.
2) Combine all the above documents, and the completed cover sheet (above), into 1 single pdf document.
3) The total email size must not be more than 20MB.
CLOSING DATE FOR THE SANBI BURSARY
29 October (at 18:00).
(Applications submitted after this date will not be accepted – please apply before the closing date to ensure your application is considered.)
CONTACT THE BURSARY PROVIDER
For any queries related to this bursary programme, please contact the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) directly:
Contact person for application process queries: Ms René du Toit
Email: [email protected]
Contact person for academic queries: Prof John Wilson
Email: [email protected]