Fellows

Candidates must have made 'a substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathematics, engineering science and medical science', etc. Each candidate is considered on their own merits and can be proposed from any sector of the scientific community. Every effort is made to encourage nominations of more diverse candidates and candidates from the emerging disciplines.

Fellows are elected from among active Nigerian scientists residing in Nigeria 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 Nigeria and the world at large.

• There are three types of Fellowship: Fellow, Associate Fellows and Honorary Fellows

A Fellow is one who believes in the objectives of the Academy and whose membership is endorsed by the General Assembly

• The General Assembly may grant Honorary Membership to those it deems capable of contributing to the objectives of the Academy
• An Honorary Member enjoys all the rights of a Member with the exception of voting and nomination of other members

Criteria for the Academy Fellowship

• Outstanding contributions at the interface between science, engineering, technology and society
• Must have obtained a PhD or equivalent qualification at least 10 years before nomination.
• An H-index of 20 (Researcher must have published at least 20 papers that have each received 20 or more citations) or above on platforms like Scopus, Google Scholar, Web of Science, or ResearchGate.
• The candidate must be the first, senior, corresponding, or last author on at least 50% of the 10 selected articles submitted for review.
• Candidates must meet the highest internationally accepted standards of scientific excellence.
• If the scientist lives and works in a developed country, they must have a proven record of significantly promoting science in the developing world
• Nominees are vetted by specific committees (e.g., Health, Physical, or Engineering) before Board shortlisting.
• Shortlisted candidates must secure at least half of the total votes cast by the general assembly of existing Fellows

Nomination and Election Process

• Call for Nominations: Opens June. The Academy nomination window runs until September 30th every year
• There is no limit on the number of new nominations made in any year, but all need to be submitted by the end of September.
• A candidate must be nominated by active, eligible Fellows or Associate Fellows of the Academy.
• The proposer must come from the same discipline as the nominee. The proposer and the seconder are expected to know the nominee’s qualities, achievements and contributions to his/her discipline well enough to defend the nomination

Nominations received will be vetted and shortlisted according to the following criteria:

• International or regional networking
• Scientific/ Technical/ Knowledge contributions
• Leadership
• Contributions to nation
• Capacity building
• Nominations which meet the cut-off point of 80% during the vetting exercise will be shortlisted. Unsuccessful nominations will be automatically forwarded for consideration in the following year.
• To facilitate and expedite the work of assessment, it is essential that proposals be fully supported with all relevant material. To this end, it is the responsibility of a proposer to ensure that the proposal documents are complete.
• It is important that all supporting material be expressed in the third person, i.e., a candidate should not be seen to take the initiative. Achievements of the candidate should have been recognised independently by those supporting the proposal
• Candidates are judged on publication records, scientific innovations, leadership, mentorship, and contributions to science policy.
• Submissions undergo rigorous peer review, screening by sectional committees, and final approval by the Academy’s Board of Directors.
• The target is distinguished scientists and scholars driving significant research and innovation across all scientific disciplines.
• Unsuccessful nomination(s) in the first year will automatically be carried forward for reassessment in the second year. If a nomination remains unsuccessful in the reassessment, the nomination will lapse unless the proposer has come forward with additional substantive supporting material. After a break of one year, a new nomination may be submitted.

Completing the Nomination Form

• Nomination form must be typed.

A complete nomination must consist of the following items:

• Completed nomination form – nominee’s discipline, personal particulars, area of expertise, basis of recommendation from the proposer, support statement from the seconder, citations of the nominee and signatures of the proposer and the seconder.
• A passport-sized photograph taken within the last six months affixed on the front page of the application form. Digitally reproduced photos must be without discernible pixels or dot patterns.
• Updated curriculum vitae – maximum 3 pages long (A4-sized, single-spaced font Time New Roman 12pt Arial-11pt or Calibri-12pt); omit undergraduate and early-career activities, attendance to conferences unless being a keynote speaker, hobbies and general interests. List only papers as first author or corresponding author in scholarly (non-predatory) journals or trade publications.

If you have any queries about the nomination process or any other aspect of the Academy’s activities, please do not hesitate to contact us at [email protected] or via telephone call at +234 701 701 9025

Benefits

• Take part in the recruitment of Fellows by identifying and nominating deserving scholars to the AcIRSTD Fellowship, taking part in the voting process and assisting the secretariat to maintain high standards in the recruitment process.
• Form the General Assembly (GA), the highest and ultimate decision-making governance organ of the AIRSTD to which the Governing Council (GC) is responsible. The GC is the Policy organ of the Academy
• Leading policy formulation strategies and engage with governments and policy makers towards the promotion of Science, Technology and Innovative Research in Nigeria

Serve in various AcIRSTD working groups and committees to oversee the activities of the Secretariat.

• Serve as expert reviewers, speakers, steering committee and GC sub-committee members, GC members for the AcIRSTD activities and those of its partner organizations

Recognition of their outstanding contribution to development in Nigeria and on the continent of Africa

• The honour of being elected into the Academy and display the prestigious title Fellow of the Academy and their name and/or signature
• Enable the AcIRSTD to achieve its core mandates of recognizing excellence; implementing Science, Technology and Innovation Programmes and providing advisory and Think Tank functions helping to develop strategies that promote science in Nigeria and the continent of Africa and that are relevant to the nation.