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MTN ARDIC Programme 2019 | Masters & PhD Researchers in Nigeria

MTN Calls for Applications from Well-Motivated Masters/PhD Researchers in Nigeria for its 2019 Academic Research Development and Innovation Challenge (ARDIC). See Eligibility, Prizes, Application Submission and Deadline / Closing Date.

The MTN ARDIC is an end-to-end support system where selected students would translate their ideas into solutions through a seamless access to applicable tools, data, platform and hands-on mentoring.

At the end of the challenge, MTN would provide the top 6 well-motivated Masters/PhD researchers who want to translate their research ideas into high-impact innovations with enabling platforms, APIs, data, training, mentorship and experimental sandbox for six months following their selection to further develop the ideas towards commercialization.

Eligibility.

Applicants must
  • Must be a registered current postgraduate (Masters or Doctorate) student of an accredited Nigerian university or research institute
  • Must have received confirmation from faculty and commenced research in one of the focus areas below
  • Must be interested in applying the findings from his/her research to solve practical socio-economic challenges in Nigeria
  • Must provide evidence of rightful ownership of the research topic/idea submitted for consideration
  • Must agree to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to be drawn between relevant parties (MTN and other Implementing Partners) at relevant stages of the challenge
  • Must have commenced and been studying the chosen research area for at least 8 months. Students who have completed their research study but are yet to graduate from their universities are also eligible to apply

Prizes.

The perks for the 6 winners:
  • MTN Support: MTN will provide N1,000,000 to the winners as well as enabling platforms, APIs, data, training, mentorship to further develop the ideas towards commercialization.
  • 6 Months Acceleration: The Investment Readiness program is a flexible, tech and data centered accelerator designed to support startups with global expertise and insights.

Qualifying Research Areas.

  • Economic & Commercial Focus
    • Econometric modeling and Advanced Scenario Analysis for Telco industry using macro-economic data
    • Media Optimization and Attribution Modeling of media advertising spend
    • Market footprint optimization for retail
    • Geo-marketing and Community churn modeling
    • Digital Media Optimization and real-time planning model
    • Use of GIS/Satellite Data for market sizing, characterization and SME clustering/valuation
  • Innovation for High Social Impact
    • Innovative Biometrics for multi-sectoral customer identification
    • Rural Telephone coverage technology and strategies
    • High scalable impact research in Block Chain for Telco and FinTech
    • Use of GIS and customer migration data for Health/Epidemiological and Smart City planning
    • AgriTech with emphasis on use of technology for agricultural yield optimization, storage and preservation
    • MedTech with emphasis on malaria prevention tech-solutions, efficient drug distribution, maternal-infant & child mortality reduction
    • Customer Complaints modeling using new media data and NLP

Method of Application

Interested candidates who meet the criteria listed above should apply by clicking on the “Apply” button.

Deadline: 

14th October, 2019.