Good afternoon,
Sustainable Management and Operations (SuMO) is a new three year PhD program. It is planned to be offered at the Kuehne Logistics University (KLU) through the Department of Agricultural Economics at the University of Nairobi, by the Africa Centre of Excellence on Sustainable Operations for Resource Management and Food Supply. The program is through collaboration between University of Nairobi (UoN), University of Dar El Salaam (UDBS) and Kuehne Logistics University (KLU).
The program targets Junior Managers who will take leadership positions in future and those
wishing to pursue a career in academics. Successful candidates will learn from highly
interdisciplinary team drawn from professors and industry professionals in agribusiness,
operations management, supply chains, agricultural economics, business science and
sustainability. This will holistically equip them with skills and knowledge on sustainable
management which has been missing in the conventional business management trainings, making the program unique.
Who can apply?
One can apply for the SuMO PhD program scholarship if they meet the following criteria:
An earned MSc, MA or related degree in agribusiness, agricultural economics, operations
management and, supply chains and related fields
Outstanding academic performance with Second Class Upper Division and above for
undergraduate or equivalent GPA score
Experience in undertaking qualitative and quantitative research in agribusiness, business,
supply chains, operations management, sustainability or related fields
Excellent analytical and research skills with proficiency in research, econometric
modelling and in using at least one research software
Excellent written and spoken English
Desire to venture into an academic career
Application documents
Application documents to be submitted should include:
1. Motivation letter of not more than 1 page hand signed in Times New Romans, font 12 and
single spaced
2. Concept note of 3 pages clearly indicating your research topic, background, problem
statement, justification and methodology in Times New Romans, font 12 and single spaced
3. Copies of academic degrees
4. Copies of academic transcripts, incl. grading-scale
5. One letter of recommendation from a senior academic conversant with your academic
background (must have a letterhead, signature and official stamp and must be of recent
date)
6. One letter of recommendation from none academic referee conversant with your research
and industry work
7. Abstract of Masters level degree thesis
8. Copy of Curriculum Vitae
9. Evidence of any two publications
Program Overview
The PhD program will take three years on a full-time basis. The first year will be dedicated to
course work and at the same time, the candidate will be expected to develop their proposal with
support from the supervisors. The subsequent two years will be dedicated to research work
including data collection, analysis, preparation of publication papers and final thesis report. The program priority research areas are: Sustainability, Operations Management, Food/Agricultural Logistics and related subjects.
Supervision and support
The PhD candidate will have a supervisor from UoN, UDSM and an international professor from KLU or from the global KF academic network. They will also have many great opportunities to enhance their scientific and professional skills from the pool of professors and industry experts from the three universities and Kuenhe Foundation.
Publications
Publishing is essential for the program. Therefore candidates will be expected to publish at least two journal articles from their research work before graduating.
Scholarship
There will be a scholarship covering University tuition fee, living expenses and research.
Application contacts and deadlines
Application documents should be sent to mercyn@uonbi.ac.ke with a copy to
agecon@uonbi.ac.ke
The application deadline is 30th November 2021.
