Our Friday weekly round-up curates opportunities that are still open for application. The Opportunities portal aggregates job vacancies, internships, scholarships, calls for abstracts, fellowships, contests, exchange programmes and other opportunities that are available to Africans who are interested in space and astronomy.

Have you missed any opportunities this week? Check out the weekly round-up below:

Register and Attend Africa Space Career Workshop

On June 26th at 4:00 PM WAT and on June 27th at 5:00 PM WAT, the Africa Space Careers webinar will begin.

Although the webinar is organized by Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC), an African space oriented organization, the webinar is collectively founded by SGAC, and three other African space oriented organizations; LearnSpace Foundation, Humbite, Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC). The main goal of the webinar is to teach and inform Africans on the benefits of space technology to the African continent as well as encouraging them to consider careers in the Space sector. It is also hoped that the webinar will increase awareness in the African society about space related careers, and further help us to discuss the challenges and opportunities for Africans in the African space industry.

The event will be holding on Zoom network via the registration link: https://bit.ly/scwebinarAfrica. You can easily get zoom by downloading the app on Playstore (Android) and Apple store (IOS).

The speakers for this spectacular event are:

• Meshack, a specialist in space systems.

• Mohammed Saibu,  a Flight controller, also known as the operation’s engineer, in the Mission Control Center (MCC).

• Ms. Fadahunsi-banjo Motolani, the Chief Legal Officer at the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA).

• Chidinma Joy Iroka, the Chief Engineer in the Engineering and Space System Division (ESS) of the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA).

• Ahmed Shokry Abdelhamid Baraka, a clinical pharmacist, SGAC Regional Communications Manager for the Middle East, and the Leader of AMSRO regional chapter at Alexandria University, Egypt.

• Salvation Peter, a Data scientist, a python expert, a space and tech advocate.

• Ms Majaja, an expert in Economic policy development and Implementation, Industrial Strategies Development and implementation in advanced manufacturing, aerospace and electro-technical.

• Marco Romero was the Ballistic and Navigation Satellite Support Specialist in the Angolan Space Program and is currently stepping us as the Space System Engineer at ISAE Supaero.

• Eldrige de Melo, a Space Project Manager currently studying at ISAE-SUPAERO Aerospace Project Management.

• Ms. Anne Agi, a trustee/Co-founder, LearnSpace Foundation an NGO for promoting space education and awareness.

Join us on Zoom on the 26th of June by 4:00 PM and on the 27th by 5:00 PM.

Click Register and Attend Africa Space Career Workshop to register and get further information.

SANSA is Hiring Electronic Engineers for Antarctica Mission

The South African National Space Agency (SANSA) seeks Electronic engineers with a Degree in Electronics or Electrical Engineering, MEng, MSc or MTech as an added advantage.

Expectations

•  The successful candidates will be responsible for the operation, maintenance, fault-finding and repairs of all the equipment and experiments related to Space Weather research at SANAE IV base and will report to South African National Space Agency: Space Science Directorate.
• The incumbent will have to be involved in the design and implementation of new equipment as well as commission, maintain, calibrate and modify electronic instruments and systems, where necessary. The applicants will be responsible for maintaining SANSA’s computer equipment and IT infrastructure and for the collection, reduction, and analysis of scientific data; give core engineering support; prepare monthly and annual reports, do stock-takes, order spares, and equipment and do other every day “non-technical” duties performed by all expedition members.

Applicants should be comfortable working at heights and will have to complete a Working at Heights course during the training period.  Preference will be given to individuals with previous SANAP experience.

Successful applicants will spend a few months in Hermanus from 1 August 2020 for training, and then more than a full year (Dec 2020 to Feb 2022) in Antarctica. There is no option to return to South Africa before Feb 2022. The ability to work and live with small groups of people is thus essential. Although the base is well-equipped with e-mail, fax and satellite telephone facilities, the applicant has to be self-sufficient and self-motivated. The location may affect both the physical and mental well-being of the incumbent, their family, and close relationships.

Closing date:  9 July 2020.

Click SANSA is Hiring Electronic Engineers for Antarctica Mission to apply and get further information

Ethiopian Space Science and Technology Institute Is Hiring

Ethiopian Space Science and Technology Institute invites applicants to apply for the vacant positions at the institute. Interested applicants are invited to submit their non-returnable application, CV, and relevant credentials within 10 working days from the date of this announcement on the website (initial announcement date is 17 June 2020).

Click Ethiopian Space Science and Technology Institute Is Hiring to apply and get further information

Application Open For 2021 MSc and PhD Research Opportunities in Astronomy

The South Africa Astronomical Observatory (SAAO) offers students the opportunity to work with leading researchers on cutting edge astronomy and instrumentation projects. These cover observational and theoretical aspects of stellar and extragalactic astronomy, astronomical instrumentation, and computer modeling. Many projects involve combining and analyzing data from different wavelengths, e.g. optical data from SAAO/SALT with radio data from MeerKAT and/or X-ray measurements from spacecraft. There are also numerous opportunities for collaboration with national and international partners. Details are given in the project descriptions.

A number of the MSc and Ph.D. projects offered could be based at the South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO), as a number of our academic staff have joint affiliations at UCT Astronomy and the SAAO. For a full list of projects offered at the SAAO, please see the SAAO web site.

Application process

If you are interested in any of the projects in the link above, please do the following:

• contact the academic staff member of the project you are interested in and send them a copy of your CV;
• discuss the research with them to determine if you have the required qualifications, skills, and abilities to undertake the project. You may contact as many potential supervisors as you like;
• if the academic staff member agrees to supervise you, discuss details about registration and funding.

Postgraduate funding

Most of the postgraduate research projects are funded by scholarships from the National Research Foundation (NRF). For details, see the 2021 Scholarships and Fellowship application documents.

If you require NRF funding, you must ensure that you qualify for NRF support as this is the primary mechanism we have to provide you with a bursary. Once you have applied for NRF funding, send your application number to your prospective academic supervisor.

The lists of projects offered for 2021 also include a number of SARAO-approved projects, eligible for SARAO scholarships. Applications also go through the NRF application portal, and the internal UCT deadline is also 30 June 2020.

Other scholarship opportunities exist, such as the SALT/SAAO Prize Scholarship for MSc/Ph.D., and the annual UCT SKA Ph.D. scholarship (deadline 30 June 2020).

Postgraduate registration

Details of the registration process at UCT can be found on the Faculty of Science web page.

Click Application Open For 2021 MSc and PhD Research Opportunities in Astronomy to apply and get further information.