Fellows of the AAS
We recognize excellence through the election of Fellows and Affiliates and science prizes to honor outstanding scientists
One of the core mandates of the African Academy of Sciences (AAS) is to recognise excellence and it does this is by electing scholars who have excelled in their fields of expertise as its members. The AAS Fellowship comprises individuals who have reached the highest level of excellence in their field of expertise and have made contributions to the advancement of science and innovation on the African continent.
Fellows of the AAS (FAAS) are elected based on their achievements which include: their publication record; innovations; leadership roles; and contribution to society. Election into the AAS Fellowship is done through a rigorous review process.
Although the term “Fellow” is used generally to refer to all those elected into the AAS Fellowship, the Fellowship has four categories:
Founding Fellows
The AAS was conceived on 6 July 1985 when 22 prominent scientists met in Trieste, Italy, at the inauguration of the Third World Academy of Sciences (TWAS). A task force under the leadership of the late Professor Thomas R. Odhiambo completed and presented the constitution of the AAS within six months leading it to be ratified on 10 December 1985 at a meeting held at the TWAS headquarters in Italy. Thirty-three African scholars who had taken part in the July and December meetings became Founding Fellows with Prof Thomas R. Odhiambo elected as the first President of the AAS.
Honorary Fellows
Honorary fellows are elected from persons of eminence who have made significant contributions to the objectives of the Academy.
Associate Fellows
Associate fellows are elected from active and outstanding non-African scientists residing elsewhere or in Africa who have made significant contributions to the development of researchers, as well as the development of science, technology and innovation in Africa.
Non-African scientists who have taken citizenship of an African nation and Africa-born scientists who may have taken citizenship outside Africa will be considered under the category, ‘Fellows’.
Fellows
Fellows are elected from among active African scientists residing in Africa or elsewhere and who have attained the highest international standards and/or who have made significant contributions to the development and application of science, technology and innovation in Africa.
Disciplines of the AAS
Fellows News
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Recognition of their outstanding contribution to development on the continent;
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The honour of being elected into a continental academy and displaying the prestigious title Fellow of the African Academy of Sciences (FAAS) after their name and/or signature;
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Form the General Assembly (GA), the highest and ultimate decision-making governance organ of the AAS to which the Governing Council (GC) is responsible. The GC is the Policy organ of the Academy;
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Enable the AAS to achieve its core mandates of Recognising Excellence; Implementing Science, Technology and Innovation Programmes and providing Advisory and Think Tank functions helping to develop strategies that promote science in Africa and that are relevant to the continent;
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Lead in policy formulation strategies and engage with governments and policy makers towards the promotion of Science, Technology and Innovation on the continent;
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Serve in various AAS working groups and committees to oversee the activities of the Secretariat;
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Serve as expert reviewers, speakers, steering committee and GC sub-committee members, GC members for the AAS activities and those of its partner organisations;
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Take part in the recruitment of Fellows by identifying and nominating deserving scholars to the AAS Fellowship, taking part in the voting process, and assisting the secretariat to maintain high standards in the recruitment process;
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Fellows are required to pay membership fees comprising a modest joining fee ($100) and subsequent annual subscription fee ($50);
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It is expected that every Fellow should nominate at least one woman for Fellowship, and all women Fellows are encouraged to nominate two women.
NOMINATION REQUIREMENTS
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Have obtained a PhD or equivalent qualification no less than 10 years before the year of nomination and have outstanding post qualification academic achievements;
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Demonstrate contributions that they have made to Africa. Candidates for Associate Fellowship must, in addition, demonstrate supervision of several African masters and doctoral students and published papers based on research in Africa with a substantial number of the African research papers having African first authors;
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Candidates must be individuals who are currently active and if not, it should be stated on the form, what contribution they would make to be considered as members of the AAS;
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Demonstrate outstanding scientific excellence and the nominee's work must stand out in his or her discipline on the African continent;
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Demonstrate outstanding scientific leadership and citizenship and, if applicable, contribution to policy;
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Demonstrate evidence of recognition by their peers in the field such as active peer review of journal articles, membership of scientific advisory committees, invited lectures, awards, prizes, membership in other academies or professional bodies;
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Publish with publishers of high reputation and have high impact factor in scientific journals of high calibre with a Scopus H-index of 20 or higher. Have at least one journal article with 100 or more citations;
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Have first author position in a substantial number of publications.
AAS SCIENTIFIC DISCIPLINES
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Agricultural and Nutritional Sciences
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Biosciences
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Chemical Sciences
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Cultural Sciences Humanities and Social Sciences
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Engineering Technology and Applied Sciences
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Geological; Environmental; Earth and Space Sciences
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Mathematical Sciences
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Medical and Health Sciences
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Physical Sciences
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Policy Sciences
CONTACT
For more information on the Fellows Programme you can contact fellows@aasciences.africa
MEET THE TEAM
Obed Ogega - Programmes Manager
Mary Majani – Fellows & Affiliates Officer
GC HISTORICAL TIMELINE
The General Assembly consists of all Fellows of the African Academy of Sciences (FAAS). The General Assembly is the highest and ultimate decision-making governance organ of the Academy to which the Governing Council (GC) is responsible. It appoints the GC, oversees election of Fellows and approves long-term plans of the Academy.
The GC is the policy and stewardship organ set up by the General Assembly to provide oversight for the overall functioning of the Academy.
Below is a highlight of the AAS GC in the last four decades:
GC NOMINATIONS & ELECTIONS
The Governing Council is the policy and stewardship organ set up by the General Assembly to provide oversight for the overall functioning of the Academy.
In July 2023, the three-year term of the AAS’ current Governing Council (GC) will expire. As such, we have begun an election process to vote for new members of the GC for the following elective positions:
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The President
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The Secretary General
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The Treasurer
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The Vice President for the Northern Africa Region
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The Vice President for the Southern Africa Region
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The Vice President for the Eastern Africa Region
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The Vice President for the Western Africa Region
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The Vice President for the Central Africa Region.
NOMINATIONS AND ELECTIONS
Fellows are invited to nominate and provide the justification for the selection of peers who are Fellows of good financial standing with the AAS and have been Fellows for five years for the President and three years for the other elective positions. The candidates will be voted for in an online system.
Are you interested in nominating a Fellow for an AAS Governing Council position?
Please follow the steps below to ensure your nomination is complete:
Step 1: Please read and adhere to the Guidelines listed below.
Guideline for the Nominations of Candidates for Election as Members of the 2020-2023 GC.
Step 2: Required information on nominee and supporting nominators
To make a nomination, please ensure that you as the Lead Nominator, have completed step 1 (above) and have gathered all the below required information on the person you are nominating, referred to as nominee, and supporting nominators before proceeding to the nomination portal on step 3.
(i) Nominee’s details
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Name
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Email address
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Current address
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Gender
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Current nationality
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Previous Nationality if any
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Country of Residence
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Date of Birth
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Field of Specialization
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Current employer/affiliation
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Current Position
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Year elected as AAS Fellow
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Current or previous role in a national or international academy
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CV of the nominee as PDF*
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For Presidential nominee only, provide Vision statement of nominee as PDF*
(ii) Supporting Nominator’s details
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Contact details, full names and email addresses, of supporting Nominators to endorse the nomination you have made as Lead nominator.
(iii) Register and sign-in to the Nomination Portal to submit your nomination
Once you have all the above information in Step 2, please proceed to the AAS Governing Council Nomination portal to register, sign-in and submit your nomination.
*Please note that on the nomination form on the portal, there is instructions to email Nominee’s CV (and Presidential nominee’s vision statement) PDFs to aas@uk-engage.org
For any queries please email: AASelections2020@aasciences.africa.
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President |
Secretary General |
Treasurer |
Vice Presidents |
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At least five (5) AAS Fellows as supporting nominators from different AAS regions but only one of whom may be from the Diaspora, OR four (4) AAS Fellows from different AAS regions within Africa and one Associate Fellow. |
At least three (3) AAS Fellows as supporting nominators from different AAS regions within Africa, OR two (2) AAS Fellows from different AAS regions within Africa and one Associate Fellow. |
At least two (2) AAS Fellows as supporting nominators from different AAS regions within Africa, OR one (1) AAS Fellow from any AAS region within Africa and one (1) Associate Fellow. |
At least two (2) AAS Fellows as supporting nominators from the region they are being nominated to represent, OR one (1) AAS Fellow in the region they are being nominated to represent and one (1) Associate Fellow. |
Click here to go to nominations portal (button)
USEFUL DOWNLOADS
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Roles and Responsibilities of Governing Council Members
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Roles and Responsibilities of AAS Regional Vice Presidents
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Code of Conduct and Ethics for the Governing Council
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Governing Council Election Rules and Regulations
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AAS Constitution
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AAS Council Charter
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NGOs Comprehensive Guidance Booklet
Useful Downloads
- Guidelines for the Nominations of Candidates for Election as Members of the 2020-2023 GC
- Roles and Responsibilities of Governing Council Members
- Roles and Responsibilities of AAS Regional Vice Presidents
- Code of Conduct and Ethics for the Governing Council
- Governing Council Election Rules and Regulations
- AAS Constitution
- AAS Council Charter
- NGOs Comprehensive Guidance Booklet
Historical facts about AAS elected officers
Since its inception in 1985, the five AAS Presidents have been from East (2) and West Africa (3) and all have been male. The first President was AAS Founding Fellow, Thomas Risley Odhiambo (Kenyan), who held the reigns for 16 years before passing the baton to his successor Prof Mohammed Hassan (Sudanese). Since Hassan’s departure, the AAS has elected three Presidents: Professors Lamine Ndiaye (Senegalese), Aderemi Kuku (Nigerian) and the current incumbent, Felix Dapare Dakora (Ghanaian).
Since the election of the first woman Vice President (VP for Southern Africa region) in 1995 in the form of renowned eSwatini Chemist Prof Lydia Makhubu (Swaziland), the AAS has elected to date three women VPs and two Regional Representatives. This also includes: Prof Quarraisha Abdul Karim (South Africa) as VP Southern Africa region; Dr Boitumelo Kgarebe (Botswana) as Regional Representative Southern Africa (currently VP Southern Africa region) and Prof Ameena Gurib Fakim (Mauritius) as Regional Representative Eastern Africa. The AAS gained its first woman official (Treasurer) with Prof Amina Abubakar (Kenya) from the East Africa region in 2018. The Academy also welcomed to the GC a non-Fellow professional, Ms Victoria Sabula (Kenyan).
The AAS VPs can be of either gender, elected from the five regions of Africa.
The position of regional representatives became defunct in 2018 with the revamp of the GC to align with the Constitutional requirement on number of GC not exceeding 11.
The Affiliates Programme recognizes and supports the development of promising African early and mid-career scientists into world class research leaders who contribute to the Academy’s vision of transforming lives through sciences.
Affiliates cohorts
The Affiliates Programme recognizes and supports the development of promising African early and mid-career scientists into world class research leaders who contribute to the Academy’s vision of transforming lives through science. By supporting young scholars’ professional growth pathways, and nurturing enabling research environments, the programme meets a significant need in African higher education and research institutions of supporting African-based scholars to become independent thinkers and leaders who can generate new ideas, knowledge, and innovative solutions to Africa’s challenges. Through the Affiliates programme, the AAS plays a catalytic and supportive role to the African states and their sub-regional institutions in their responsibility to attract, support and retain excellent researchers who contribute to the continent’s development agenda.
We currently have 214 Affiliates grouped into seven cohorts from 26 African countries covering a wide range of scientific disciplines. AAS Affiliates are selected from young promising African scientists who have demonstrated prowess in the development and application of science in Africa. Starting 2019, up to 40 Affiliates will be selected from all disciplines and from all the five regions of Africa. On being selected, Affiliates receive for a period of five years career development support, mentorship, networking opportunities as well as support for an enabling research environment in their home institutions.
Affiliates News
The AAS Affiliates live out the Academy’s vision of transforming lives through science in their research and leadership excellence. They actively contribute to the Affiliates programme activities while also motivating other young researchers to pursue scientific excellence. The Affiliates programme accelerates their transition into independent researchers and enhances their contribution to innovation, policy engagement, mentorship, interdisciplinary collaboration and research management. Consequentially, we envision that the Affiliates professional growth will contribute to strengthening their institution’s scientific capacity.
The designation of ‘Affiliate of the AAS’ is a meritorious recognition awarded after competitive evaluation and review by a designated body of peer reviewers and final approval by the AAS Governing Council. This designation is held for a period of five years and there is no direct progression from AAS Affiliate to Fellow of the Academy.
Obligations and Benefits from the Affiliates Programme
- Recognition as an AAS Affiliate alongside AAS Fellows, Associate Fellows and Honorary Fellows
- Support with individualized professional development planning
- Benefit from a range of career development activities including but not limited to grant writing, publishing, science communication, ethical conduct of research, intellectual property issues, collaborative research, scientific entrepreneurship, etc.
- Enrolment into The AAS Mentorship Scheme where Affiliates are matched with AAS Fellows and/or other experienced professionals to achieve specific career goals.
- Networking and collaborating platforms for the Affiliates and with other similar programmes
- Benefit from other AAS programmes and opportunities as they become available.
Prospective candidates must meet the following requirements:
- Must be an African national;
- Must be residing in or affiliated with an African higher education or research institution;
- Must have obtained their PhD in the last ten years;
- Must have substantial postdoctoral research experience;
- Must be aged 40 years and below by the 31st December of that year. Individual considerations will be made for female candidates above 40 years who have had career interruptions;
- Female candidates and candidates from under-represented disciplines and countries are especially encouraged to apply.
