sub-Saharan Africa Health Research and Innovation Fellowship Program (SAHRI Fellowship Program)

The SAHRI Fellowship Program addresses critical gaps in health research and innovation in sub-Saharan Africa (sSA) by developing a new generation of skilled researchers. This partnership joins African and European institutions, including members from the Eastern Africa Consortium for Clinical Research from Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia, Rwanda and Kenya, the Clinical Research Unit of Nanoro in Burkina Faso, the KU Leuven's (KUL) Access-To-Medicines Research Centre, and the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp, to collaborate with BioNTech SE.This unique fellowship program will train 12 promising researchers from sSA to become leaders in biomedical innovation and entrepreneurship, focusing on interventions against prevalent infectious diseases in the region. Fellows will complete a 24-months flexible 60 ECTS Master of Science in Tropical Medicine, a 6 ECTS course on Systems Thinking in Biotech development in KUL, engage in research projects at leading African institutions, and gain hands-on experience through industry internships with BioNTech. The program features a structured mentorship framework, pairing fellows with experienced mentors from academia, African research centres, and industry. A 12-month return-home phase enables fellows to apply their skills in local contexts, driving positive change and fostering sustainable partnerships. By expanding the pool of highly skilled researchers and innovators in sSA, SAHRI aims to enhance regional capacity for health research, promote South-South and North-South collaborations, and contribute to sSA's self-sufficiency in addressing its unique health challenges.