Students and Youth Working on reproductive Health Action Team (SAYWHAT) core mandate is to promote responsible sexual and reproductive health behavior using various communication and advocacy models. At the center of the advocacy, is the aspect of credible information to influence informed decision making by young people. The desire to ensure credible information to aid advocacy has led to the establishment of a Research Unit that will be home to young researchers. In 2022, SAYWHAT recruited and sponsored 30 research fellows drawn from private and public tertiary institutions in the SADC region to conduct researches with the tutelage of research professors under the 1^st cohort. In November 2022, a research indaba was convened in Harare where selected nine fellows disseminated their research findings before an audience that was composed of established researchers, Deans of Students, policymakers and development partners. The papers that the students worked on will be published in various journals with the support of the dedicated mentors.

SAYWHAT is announcing the call for the 2^nd Cohort of the 2023 Research Fellows from those that are interested and eligible. All tertiary education students within the SADC region are eligible to respond to this call. The 2^nd Cohort of the fellowship seeks to equip budding researchers’ students with skills in research and knowledge dissemination. Furthermore, the fellowship provides an opportunity for the students to network and exchange knowledge with their peers and mentors, as well as get their articles published. The 2^nd Cohort will be running under the theme ‘Building a Research and Innovation Agenda for sustainable SRH interventions’. Interested tertiary education students in the SADC region are invited to submit proposals on one of the following themes.

• Gender Based Violence (GBV)
• Drug and Substance Abuse (DSA)
• Disability inclusion and SRHR
• Mental Health
• Access to Health services by young people
• Dealing with Sexual violence in the tertiary education sector
• Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE)

The proposal should not exceed 500 words. Proposals should highlight the following; research topic, research problem, objectives of the study, and the methodology to be used. Blind adjudication of the proposals will be done by a team of seasoned academics. Successful applicants will have an opportunity to take part in an intensive 5-months research mentorship program.

Full details and benefits will be disclosed to successful applicants. First-year students, persons with disabilities (PWD), and female students are highly encouraged to respond to this call.

Required Font: Times New Roman, 12, and 1.5 line spacing.

On the cover page include: 

• Name of Author
• Gender
• Contact details
• Institution
• Programme and level of study
• Country of resident

Submission deadlines

Submission deadline: 15 January 2023

Notice of acceptance or rejection: 31 January 2023

Please send your research proposal– preferably in PDF format – to researchunit@saywhat.org.zw