Mastercard Foundation AfOx Scholarships for African Students
The Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program and the Africa Oxford Initiative (AfOx) are creative and ambitious collaborations between the University of Oxford and the Mastercard Foundation. The collaboration will provide 400 young African academics with a fully-funded opportunity to complete taught Masters degrees in pandemic preparedness and recovery programs at the University of Oxford.
The Mastercard Foundation AfOx Scholarship program assists passionate, locally rooted, and internationally minded African young people in pursuing graduate studies at Oxford. The Mastercard Foundation AfOx Scholarship program is based on the shared values of the Mastercard Foundation and AfOx, which include collegiality, empathy, dedication, inclusivity, and community. The Scholarship is part of the larger AfOx Graduate Scholars Program, which aims to assist African students in gaining access to opportunities at Oxford and thriving both during and after their time there.
The Scholarship supports a rigorous one-year taught Master’s course at Oxford designed to provide Scholars with important technical, entrepreneurial, and leadership skills as well as connect them to world-leading resources in their chosen fields.The scholarship program’s key components include proper support and preparation for students to begin their studies, a strong emphasis on life skills outside of academia, and support for a lifelong network of alumni. Each Scholar will get top-tier training in fields crucial to solving pressing problems, such as food systems, health sciences, sustainable water and energy systems, governance and public policy, and entrepreneurship. Their initiatives will center on the four AfOx topics pertinent to Africa’s Agenda 2063 and the Sustainable Development Goals: Healthy People, Integrated Societies, and Sustainable Development Goals. Healthy People, Integrated Societies, Green Futures, and Innovation for Prosperity.
An important and innovative aspect of the program is the “Ubuntu period of service” undertaken upon completion of the Master’s degree. During this second year of the Program, the Scholars will be supported and encouraged to design and deliver impactful projects based on African organisations, which could include launching start-ups and working in multinational development agencies, governments, NGOs or research institutions.
The scholarship specifically emphasises groups who have historically been under-represented, including but not limited to female scholars, people from refugee and displaced backgrounds and scholars with accessibility needs. A cohort of 20 Mastercard Foundation AfOx Scholars studying various academic disciplines, including global health, engineering, public policy, law, and refugees and forced migration Studies, began their studies in the 2022 academic year. This group of emerging African leaders come from 13 African counties and are members of 9 Oxford colleges.
