ACDI Opportunities
Opportunities at, or through, the ACDI will be listed here as and when they are available.
DESIGN THINKING FOR CLIMATE SOLUTIONS PROGRAMME
Using Design Thinking to Create Innovative Solutions for Climate-Related Issues in South Africa
The African Climate and Development Initiative (ACDI) together with the Hasso Plattner School of Design Thinking at UCT (d-school Afrika) and the Bertha Centre for Innovation & Entrepreneurship are publishing a call for Expression of Interest from organizational teams working in the climate change space. Teams will participate in a bespoke programme integrating Design Thinking and Systems Innovation for practitioners. The programme includes a 5-Day Design Thinking in Practice workshop with the aim of co-creating human-centered innovative solutions that address real life climate-related issues of your choice. Some teams, where deemed suitable will be selected for the Systems Entrepreneurship Incubation Track in which they learn more about embedding a solution in society.
Click here for more information and details on how to apply
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Where will the Design Thinking for Climate Solutions Programme take place?
The venue will depend on where the applying team resides. For example, if your team is based in Grahamstown, then the coaching team and organizers will travel to you and arrange for the programme to take place in a venue in Grahamstown.
What are the dates for the Design Thinking for Climate Solutions Programme?
We wanted to be flexible as we understand teams may have other commitments. Hence, we ask that each team indicate options of their availability during the period Dec 2023 – September 2024. We will assess a team’s availability against our availability and negotiate a suitable date for undertaking the programme.
Does the Design Thinking for Climate Solutions Programme require you find you own team?
Yes, you will need to find people to work with and decide on a challenge you want to tackle. These can be people within or outside your organization, ensure that this is a South African based organization.
Design Thinking is best practiced within a team, offering multiple perspectives for collaboration and co-creation. You will need between 5-12 people to be eligible. The Design Thinking for Climate Solutions Programme is run separately for each team, giving a team individual attention. We work closely with each team to help them understand the challenge and find appropriate tangible solutions using Design Thinking and Systems Innovation.
What about the Entrepreneurship Incubation Track?
The Systems Entrepreneurship Incubation Track is an added element to Design Thinking for Climate Solutions Programme and is the available selected teams.
Successful teams will undergo the Design Thinking for Climate Solutions Programme during a 5-day period. During this period, we will assess the team’s eligibility for the Systems Entrepreneurship Incubation Track which should take place approximately 4-6 weeks after completing the Design Thinking for Climate Solutions Programme. This Track is a great opportunity for a team to engage with Systems Entrepreneurship experts and learn about embedding their solutions in society.
CALL FOR APPLICATIONS: AXA Chair in African Climate Risk at ACDI
The University of Cape Town is now recruiting the second chair for the Successional Research Chair Programme in African Climate Risk at the African Climate and Development Initiative (ACDI) supported by the AXA Research Fund. This is a fixed-term 5-year contract position for the period of 2024 to 2028.
The AXA Chair in African Climate Risk will undertake internationally recognized research in any area of climate risk in Africa, across the physical, mathematical, natural and social sciences. Research areas of interest in climate risk that align with ACDI’s research strategy include but are not limited to: climate risk management, climate adaptation (including ecosystem-based adaptation), climate resilient development, extreme climate events and climate-related risks to people and ecosystems, and AI and machine learning applications in climate risk.
Please view the attached document for more details on the position and how to apply.
For more information about ACDI and UCT please visit www.acdi.uct.ac.za and www.uct.ac.za.