Advance Africa Scholarship Program

Access Bank and Udacity will provide 2,000 Nanodegree program scholarships for people in Africa to build practical, in-demand, cutting-edge tech skills. The scholarship will create upskilling opportunities for scholarship recipients and give them the skills needed by many tech companies today.

Anyone 20 years of age and above is encouraged to apply. Scholarship recipients should be prepared to invest about 5–10 hours per week during the Nanodegree programs.

Business Analytics: This is an introductory program and has no prerequisites. In order to succeed, we recommend having experience using a computer and being able to download and install applications. Introduction to Programming: In order to succeed, we recommend having experience using the web, being able to perform a search on Google, and (most importantly) the determination to keep pushing forward. Programming for Data Science with Python: There are no prerequisites for this program, aside from basic computer skills. You should feel comfortable performing basic operations on your computer (e.g., opening files, folders, and applications, copying and pasting). Product Manager: No prior experience with Product Management is required. You will need to be comfortable with basic computer skills, such as managing files, using third-party online programs, and navigating the Internet through an online browser. You will also need access to a video camera on a computer. Digital Marketing: Students should have basic computer skills and be comfortable navigating online.

English is the language for the Challenge Courses and all Udacity Nanodegree programs. Subtitles are available in English for all three tracks. The scholarship student community will be managed in English.

The program takes place 100% online. Students can work from wherever they want to, as long as they have a working internet connection.

Phase 1: Challenge Course

20,000 Access Bank Scholarship applicants in the form of 4 rolling cohorts, will be selected to participate in a Challenge Course, with the second cohort beginning in December 2021. Each cohort will consist of 5,000 participants. During this first phase of the scholarship, students work through one of the five initial Challenge Courses that comprise of course text, content and quizzes (no projects) for Business Analytics, Intro to Programming, Programming for Data Science with Python, Product Management, or Digital Marketing over the course of 5 weeks. Learners should be prepared to invest about 3–5 hours per week during this period. Challenge course recipients participating in this initial phase of the program will also engage with classmates in a robust, actively managed, student community.

Phase 2: Nanodegree program

2,000 students in the form of 4 rolling cohorts will be awarded a scholarship to Business Analytics, Intro to Programming, Programming for Data Science with Python, Product Management or Digital Marketing. Each cohort will consist of 500 full scholarships, and the first cohort of winners will begin in January 2022. Access to these Nanodegree programs includes expert project reviews provided by human project reviewers. Applicants should be prepared to invest about 5–10 hours per week for 2 months.

The timeline for Cohort 2 will be:

• Applications Accepted: December 1, 2021 - December 29, 2021
• Challenge Winners announced: January 7, 2022
• Challenge Course: January 11, 2022 - February 16, 2022
• Scholarship Winners Announced: February 25, 2022
• Scholarship: March 1, 2022 - May 2, 2022

After class starts, participants can study on their own schedule as long as they complete the course in the predefined time. That is to say, they will have complete access to the course directly in their classroom 24 hours a day. We understand that students have different schedules and will work on their course at different times and on different days. What’s important is that students make constant progress each and every week and get through all the content before the end of the course.

Udacity’s full technical requirements are listed here.

Udacity will evaluate the scholarship applications with a view to selecting recipients who possess the following.

Eligibility Criteria:

• STEM graduate or demonstrated evidence of strong interest in pursuing IT and Digital career
• Consistent access to a laptop
• Consistent access to strong data network and power supply
• Commitment to the time required for the program
• Must give pre-consent during application for Udacity to share data with the bank
• Recent graduates from School/University or early career professionals are strongly preferred
• Applicants based in Africa are strongly preferred

Though only 5,000 people will be selected to participate in a given Challenge phase cohort, all applicants will receive an email notifying them of the selection decision.

Students will be able to choose from 5 different applications. There is one application available for each of the available ND tracks in the program. You may submit more than one application, but should only submit an application for the track that you are interested in. You can only be accepted into one track in the cohort. An application may only be submitted once, and you will not be able to edit your answers once it has been submitted. To ensure that the application process is fair, we cannot reset an application that has already been submitted by the user. Each Scholarship application will consist of two parts: questions on background information and a short pre-assessment. You may save your progress in the Background Information section and come back to it later. The pre-assessment is unique to each ND track, and consists of questions to gauge basic computer literacy and logical reasoning. You may save your place in the pre-assessment and resume later. However, you cannot go back to a question once you have answered or skipped it. Please note: Prerequisite knowledge in the program you wish to pursue is not needed to complete any of the pre-assessments! Once submitted, you will receive a decision email on January 7, 2022.

Of the 5,000 Challenge Course recipients in a single cohort, 500 will be selected for the full Nanodegree program based on:

• All the selection criteria used for the Challenge course
• Score in the Final Assessment

The full Terms and Conditions are posted here.

No! The program is completely free to all scholarship recipients. Access Bank covers the costs.

Udacity will provide participants with all necessary information during the scholarship program. This will include everything from announcement emails after Udacity reviews applications, ongoing student encouragement emails to scholarship recipients, to next step details at the end of each stage, and more. Emails will come from: scholarships-support@udacity.com or support@udacity.com.

A Udacity Nanodegree® Program is a unique online educational offering designed to bridge the gap between learning and career goals. You can earn a Nanodegree Certificate in this program if you win a full Scholarship to the ND program in your chosen track, and successfully graduate from the Nanodegree program. We partner with industry leaders and experts who understand what skills are in demand in the applicable job market. Students enroll in a specific course offering (e.g. Intro to Programming) and will be prompted to view the online course as well as complete a series of projects and support courses designed to help them develop job-relevant skills and build a portfolio to show prospective employers. Services related to the Nanodegree program may include classroom mentorship, moderated forums, and project reviews to ensure a personalized experience. Additional or different services may be offered in certain Nanodegree Programs which will be noted in their respective Program Details page.