What ESA African Research Fellowship (ESRIN) actually covers.
The European Space Agency (ESA) African Research Fellowship, part of the EO AFRICA initiative in partnership with the African Space Agency (AfSA), supports early-career African scientists in conducting Earth Observation (EO) research. Selected fellows spend one year at ESA's ESRIN centre in Frascati, Italy, collaborating directly with ESA experts. Each fellowship provides a monthly stipend of €2,500, funding for travel and networking, and access to ESA cloud computing resources, scientific training, and professional networks. Four researchers are selected annually. Research focus areas include agriculture, disaster risk management, urban development, public health, energy, climate change, and coastal/marine environments using EO technologies. Since its launch in 2021, the ARF programme has supported ten fellows contributing to impactful research across Africa. The 2026 round closes on 29 April 2026, with fellows commencing their placements in October 2026. This fellowship represents a unique opportunity for African scientists to gain hands-on experience with cutting-edge space technology and build lasting partnerships with ESA scientists and institutions.
Who can apply.
Open to postdoctoral applicants seeking to study in Italy. Eligible nationalities are listed below.
46 more eligible countries — full list available on the official application page.
Every academic discipline is accepted.
This programme does not restrict by field. Research proposals across humanities, sciences, engineering, agriculture, and medicine are all accepted.
Four steps to a complete application.
Scholar Africa is a discovery and tracking platform — the application itself is submitted directly through the official provider site. The steps below mirror our HowTo schema.
Check eligibility
Confirm your nationality, academic level, and field of study match the criteria above.
Eligibility checklist
Prepare documents
Transcripts, recommendation letters, personal statement, and a valid passport.
Document checklist
Submit the application
Submit before April 29, 2026 via the official portal.
Submission checklist
Track your application
Use your Scholar Africa dashboard to monitor status and deadline reminders.
Post-submission checklist
What we checked, when we checked it.
Scholar Africa runs a link-liveness check on every listing before it goes live. Five additional checks (contact, organisation, winners, third-party, manual review) are on the roadmap. ESA African Research Fellowship (ESRIN) currently scores 4.0/10.
Verification details Click to expand
Report an issue
Other scholarships worth a parallel application.
Same eligibility window or destination. Many strong applicants apply to three or four programmes per cycle.