The Firoz Lalji Institute for Africa (FLIA) and LSE are privileged to receive generous support of alumni and friends whose values align with our own, and look to help progress our work through philanthropy.
Every gift you make, no matter the size, will further our mission of placing Africa at the centre of global debates and support our programmes that work to strengthen LSE’s commitment to the African continent.
Generous donations support:
MSc Dissertation Fieldwork Grants
- In 2019, 15 students received MSc Dissertation Fieldwork grants valued between £500-£1,000. Grantees used these funds to cover their travel and subsistence as they conducted their fieldwork research on the African continent. Recipients studied a variety of topics from rights-based activism by mining affected communities in South Africa to sex workers’ stigmatisation in Ghana.
LSE Africa Dissertation Prize
- To promote the continued study of the African continent across LSE departments, the FLIA launched the annual MSc Africa Dissertation Prize, awarded to the year’s most innovative and significant Master’s dissertation focussed on the continent. The 1st prize winner receives £300 and the 2nd prize winner receives £200 for their academic rigour and contribution to understandings of the African continent.
Supporting visiting African academics at LSE
- Past donations have supported efforts to bring African professors to teach and conduct research on the African continent at the FLIA, engaging with different departments at LSE. These visiting professorships have ranged from between four months to three years and have greatly contributed to our research, as well as the overall culture of LSE. The FLIA’s relationship with these academics has continued and we strive to build on their great contributions to LSE and to support them as they progress in their career.
Discuss your philanthropy
We can also help to match your generous philanthropy with longer-term priorities that enhance our Institute. We can work with you to build on your relationship with LSE and discuss how your philanthropic and personal interests can be fulfilled through giving opportunities that are meaningful to you.
To discuss philanthropic opportunities, please contact:
Sharon Bray
Philanthropy Manager
T: +44 (0)20 7107 5233
E: s.bray@lse.ac.uk
Our longer-term funding priorities for the next few years include:
1. Supporting African students at LSE
The FLIA aims to provide consistent support to African students attending LSE through the Programme for African Leadership (PfAL) and the Africa Engagement Programme (AEP) focusing on leadership development, strengthening a network of African LSE students, and supporting their transition to successful careers.
2. Post-graduate scholarships
With international student MSc tuition fees continuing to rise, full-time study can present an enormous cost and barrier for prospective African students. In addition to the tuition fee costs, the financing of visa costs and London living expenses becomes too great a barrier for many students to overcome, so the FLIA aims to raise sufficient funds to offer scholarships to African students every year at LSE.
3. African Research Fellowships
The FLIA aims to raise funds for the continuation of the African Research Fellowship started in 2020 in order to annually invite junior researchers to work in the Institute on issues connected to the African continent under the mentorship of our Strategic Director and Institute Director.
4. Activities and engagement with alumni, friends and partners in Africa
Each year, the number of LSE African alumni grows larger and, with the Africa Engagement Programme, the FLIA hopes to engage more closely with these alumni to connect them to more networking opportunities and career support by hosting regional events and facilitating partnerships with African public and private institutions.
5. Visiting African Academics
The Institute’s strategy since inception has been to bring the African perspective to LSE to enrich teaching, research, debates and mentorship, but currently, there are not enough African professors employed at LSE. To address this disparity we hope to recruit and support visiting African professors at LSE.
Contact Information
Fadil Elobeid
Africa Engagement Programme Manager | Firoz Lalji Institute for Africa
London School of Economics and Political Science
Pethick-Lawrence House, 8th Floor | Firoz Lalji Institute for Africa
Houghton St. London, WC2A 2AE.
T: +44 (0)20 7955 7835
E: E.Elobeid@lse.ac.uk
For events Email: africa@lse.ac.uk