Frequently Asked Questions

BUCABUMA: Building Capacity in Circular Natural Building Materials using Frugal Digital and Traditional Engineering Innovations is a fully funded academic mobility programme connecting five universities across Africa and One European technical partner. An innovative initiative dedicated to advancing sustainable construction, climate resilience, and circular economy practices through the integration of natural materials, digital innovation, and traditional engineering knowledge. We aim to empower students, researchers, and practitioners with the skills, tools, and knowledge needed to develop resource-efficient, climate-responsive building solutions.

BUCABUMA is funded by the European Union under the Intra-Africa Academic Mobility Scheme. Programme financial management is centralised at the KNUST Coordination and Cooperation Office (CCO).

The BUCABUMA consortium brings together five institutions: KNUST (Ghana, Coordinator), University of Nairobi — UoN (Kenya, Partner & WP2 Selection Lead), Addis Ababa University — AAU (Ethiopia, Partner), University of the Witwatersrand — WITS (South Africa, Partner) and Karlsruher Institut für Technologie — KIT (Germany, EU Technical Partner).

BUCABUMA offers six mobility strands: Master's Degree (M-Degree), Master's Exchange/Credit (M-Exchange), Doctoral Degree (D-Degree), Doctoral Exchange/Research (D-Exchange), Traineeship, and Staff Mobility. See the Mobility Strands section below for duration and eligibility details for each.

The application deadline for Call 1, 2026 is 14 June 2026. Applications are submitted exclusively at www.bucabuma.org.

Applications are submitted exclusively through the BUCABUMA online portal — paper or email applications are not accepted. The process is fully digital and paperless: (1) create an account at bucabuma.org/applicant/registration with a valid email, (2) select your mobility strand and host institution, (3) complete all sections of the form, (4) upload the required documents, (5) review and submit, (6) track status from your applicant dashboard.

Typical supporting documents include a valid passport / national ID, academic transcripts and certificates, a motivation statement, a curriculum vitae, reference letters (for students and researchers), a research plan or work plan (for Doctoral strands), institutional endorsement, and proof of enrolment or employment where applicable. The full Required Documents Checklist is published on the website with each call.

No — BUCABUMA scholarships are 100% free. Applicants are never required to pay any fee at any stage of the application or selection process. Payment requests are fraudulent — report them to info@bucabuma.org.

No. Once an application is submitted it cannot be edited. Review every section carefully on the summary page before pressing Submit. If you spot an error before submitting, you can return to any step from your applicant dashboard.

For Call 1, 2026 the indicative timeline is: Selection panel review — June to July 2026, notification of selected and reserve-list candidates — August 2026, acceptance and scholarship agreement signing — August to September 2026, and earliest mobility start — September 2026. Outcomes are communicated through the applicant portal and by email.

You must select one mobility strand and one host institution per application, matching the strand to your current academic profile (see Eligibility & Target Groups and Mobility Strands).

Target Group 1 (TG1) — applicants enrolled in or who have obtained a degree from a BUCABUMA African partner institution (KNUST, UoN, AAU or WITS). Target Group 2 (TG2) — applicants enrolled in or who have obtained a degree from another recognised higher education institution established in an eligible African country, which is not a consortium member.

M-Degree: Bachelor's degree or equivalent from an eligible African institution.
M-Exchange: currently enrolled in a Master's programme at a BUCABUMA partner institution.
D-Degree: Master's degree or equivalent from a recognised institution.
D-Exchange: currently enrolled in a Doctoral programme at a BUCABUMA partner institution.
Traineeship: currently enrolled in a Bachelor's, Master's or PhD programme at a BUCABUMA African partner.
Staff Mobility: currently employed (academic or administrative staff) at a BUCABUMA partner institution.

No. The Intra-Africa scheme requires cross-border mobility. Your host institution must be in a different country from your home institution (with KIT in Germany available for Doctoral candidates and staff under specific strands).

No. Applicants who have previously received a scholarship under the Intra-Africa Academic Mobility Scheme MOBAF 2022–2027 are not eligible for BUCABUMA.

A full Master's degree at a BUCABUMA partner institution different from your home institution. Duration: up to 24 months. Target group: TG1 and TG2 students.

A credit-bearing study period at a BUCABUMA partner; the student returns to their home institution to complete the degree. Duration: 5 to 10 months. Target group: TG1 students currently registered in a Master's programme at a BUCABUMA partner.

A full Doctoral (PhD) degree at a BUCABUMA partner institution. Duration: up to 36 months. Target group: TG1 and TG2 candidates holding a Master's degree or equivalent.

A research period at a BUCABUMA partner as part of an ongoing doctoral degree at the home institution. Duration: 6 to 10 months. Target group: TG1 doctoral candidates currently enrolled at a BUCABUMA partner.

A professional traineeship at a BUCABUMA partner institution. Duration: 2 to 6 months. Open to Bachelor's, Master's and PhD students currently enrolled at KNUST, UoN, AAU or WITS.

Academic and administrative staff teaching or research visits between partner institutions. Duration: 1 to 3 months. Open to staff employed (not retired or honorary) at a BUCABUMA partner.

Yes. Mobilities are framed by formal agreements between home and host institutions. For Master's and Doctoral Exchange strands a Learning Agreement or Research Plan guarantees full academic recognition at the home institution. Degree strands (M-Degree, D-Degree) lead to a degree from the host institution.

Inform the BUCABUMA CCO at KNUST and your host LCO immediately. Conditions for termination are set out in the Scholarship Agreement.

Successful applicants will be notified individually by email through the application portal.

You will: (1) Accept the offer through the portal; (2) Sign the necessary Agreement; (3) Start your mobility.

Deferrals are only possible in exceptional, well-justified cases and require approval by the consortium under the rules of the call.

Scholarship holders will be required to submit periodic academic and progress reports to the CCO and host LCO, and contribute to dissemination activities (publications, Living Labs, the annual BUCABUMA conference).

For questions on the application process, eligibility, or scholarship conditions, contact the BUCABUMA Coordination and Cooperation Office (CCO) at KNUST through the Contact Us page, email info@bucabuma.org, or use the on-site Help Centre.

First check your spam, promotions, and quarantine folders, and confirm that the email address on your applicant profile is correct. If the message still does not arrive, contact info@bucabuma.org so we can verify and resend.

Use the Forgot password link on the applicant login screen. A secure reset link will be sent to the email address registered on your account.

All personal data submitted through the BUCABUMA application portal is processed in accordance with applicable data protection regulations. Data of scholarship holders is shared with the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) through the EU Funding and Tenders Portal mobility tool, in line with the EACEA privacy statement. See our Privacy Policy and Data Protection Notice for full details.

Only submit information through the official portal at www.bucabuma.org. Never share your password, never send identity documents through unofficial channels, and verify that any email purporting to be from BUCABUMA comes from a partner or @bucabuma.org address.