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1. Center for Materials Science and Engineering 1
Horizon Europe Info Day & Grant Writing Workshop
Pitfalls in Grant Proposal writing and Project
Management
Dr. Girum Ayalneh (Associate Prof. AAU)
Chairman, The Center for Materials Science and Engineering
CNCS, AAU
Email: girum.ayalneh@aau.edu.et
22 August 2025
MInT, Addis Ababa

2. Center for Materials Science and Engineering
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“Reinventing Materials, Redefining Possibilities”
The Center for Materials Science and Engineering (CMSE), recently established at CNCS by integrating the
former separate academic units of AAU (Materials Science and Materials Engineering) to foster innovation
and technological development in Materials and Engineering.

3. Center for Materials Science and Engineering
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Ø Advanced Materials
Ø N-Doped functional Materials
Ø Composite Materials
Ø Conducting Polymers
Ø MOF
Ø HEOs and HEF
Ø Biomaterials
Ø Packaging Materials
Ø Biocompatible Materials for drug delivery
Ø Energy Storage and Conversion
Ø Supercapacitors
Ø Batteries
Ø Microbial Fuel Cells
Ø PV Solar Cell
Ø Solid Electrolytes
Ø (PILs Electrolytes)
Ø Polymer Electrolytes
Ø Circular Economy
Ø Waste-to-Energy
Ø Waste to Construction Materials
Ø Waste to composite adsorbent materials
Ø Catalysis
Ø CO2 electrocatalytic reduction
Ø Water Splitting
Ø Membrane Technology
Ø Renewable Energies
ØDFT calculations on:
vNa-Air Batteries
vLi-Ion Batteries
vFuel Cells
vCatalysis for Fuel Cells
vORR
vWater Splitting
vCO2 reduction
ØMachine Learning
Ø Sensors
Ø Fuel Cells
Ø Thermomaterials
Ø Perovskite
COMPUTATIONAL AND EXPERIMENTALS

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! Join a community of innovators at AAU!
EDUCATION OPPORTUNITIES IN MATERIALS SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING

5. Center for Materials Science and Engineering
Girum. A
(Associate Prof
Amare. A
(Associate Prof.)
Getachew G.
(Assistant Prof.)
Fitsum A
(PhD cand.).
Takele W. Asegid E.
(PhD Cand.)
Georgies A
(Associate Prof.)
Center for Materials Science and Engineering staff Profile
Tesfaye R.
(Associate Prof.)
Adj.Prof. Taye D
University of
Botswana (BW)
Adj.Prof. Kingsley O.
University of
Kuwazulu Natal (SA)
Adj.Dr. Ramato A..
University of
Kalabria (IT)
4

6. Center for Materials Science and Engineering
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MSc and PhD students
11 PhD
13 MSc
Nationalities
• Ethiopian
• Kenyan
• Nigerian
• Ghanaian
• Botswana
• Cameroon
2

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Current International Research mobility Project fund from EU
Partner Universities
(2026-2029)
Research and Academic Mobility for
Drug Discovery in Africa (RAMDDA)
Calls will be announced in January 2026 for Scholarship opportunities
(2021-2029)

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Current Research fund from EU
2024-2028 Mobility in Innovative Green
Technologies for Climate Change Mitigation and
Sustainable Bioeconomy (INTERACT-Africa)
Programme: NDICI MOBAF Unit Grants,
101144299)
DRC
UG
KE
TA
ET
CZ
Website: https://interactafrica.mu.ac.ke/

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2021-2026:
Electrochemical Science
and Innovative Materials
for African Development
(ESIMSAD). Programme:
Intra-Africa Academic
Mobility Scheme
Website: https://esimsad.org/
(i) ESIMSAD Project (2021-2026)

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About 38 MSc
and PhD
students 10
staff are
planned to be
trained!
Website: https://esimsad.org/

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Website: https://esimsad.org/
PhD programmes
vInorganic Chemistry (AAU)
vMaterials Electrochemistry
and Energy Technologies
(WITS)
vMaterials Science (solar
Energy Physics) (UNN)
vPhysical Chemistry (AASTU,
UNN)
ESIMSAD Target Programmes (MSc & PhD
MSC Programmes
vMaterials
Science/Materials
Science and Engineering
(AAU)
vMaterials
Electrochemistry
and Energy
Technologies (WITS)
vSolar Energy Physics
(UNN)

12. Center for Materials Science and Engineering
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Grant Proposal Writing Process

13. Center for Materials Science and Engineering
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1. Common mistakes related to:
v The state of research
v The research problem
v The aim and objectives
v The research design and methodology
2. Effective Project Management
3. Common Pitfalls of Project Management
4. Common Project calls from the EU

14. Center for Materials Science and Engineering
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Weaknesses related to “the state of research”
Ø The “state of research” is too long, too basic,
and/or just tiresome to read
Ø It is too specialized for the reviewers.
Ø It lacks references or has inadequate references
Ø It is poorly structured.

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Weaknesses related to the research
problem
v The description of the project is unfocused
that the purpose of the research is unclear.
v The problem is unimportant or unlikely to
yield new information.
v The hypothesis is ill-defined, doubtful, or
unsound, or it rests on insufficient evidence.

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Weaknesses related to the aim
and objectives
Don’ts:
When describing the objectives:
Ø Don’t be too ambitious.
Ø Don’t be vague.
Ø Don’t be too broad in scope.

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v too little information or too detailed
v No description of who is going to do what
v No justification for resources
v Unrealistic estimation of time needed
v Number of objectives not proportionate to the
scale and complexity of the project.
Weaknesses related to the
research design & methodology

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Effective Project Management

19. Center for Materials Science and Engineering
unrealistic workloads, and lack of support decreased
(results in productivity, low morale, and project failure.)
Poor establishment of a clear structure that defines roles,
responsibilities, workflows, and communication channels within
the project team.
Ineffective planning, allocation, utilization,
and monitoring of the resources needed
for project execution
unrealistic, unattainable, or not aligned
with the available resources, timeframes,
or broader organizational priorities.
Misunderstood by team members, stakeholders, or
clients.

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NDICI-MOBAF — Intra-Africa Academic Mobility Scheme

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Themes and priorities (scope)

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Mobility activities
v Mobility of students
v Target group 1:obtained a degree from one of the African
applicant HEIs (beneficiaries) involved in the consortium
v Target Group 2: obtained a degree from another HEI which is not
participating as applicant
vcredit-seeking mobility (short term research visit)
vdegree-seeking mobility (Full time degree seeking from the host
university)
v Mobility of trainees
v Staff mobility

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Try to apply for one of those and other calls!

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Questions are welcome!
— Dr. Girum Ayalneh (Associate Prof. AAU)
Chairman, The Center for Materials Science and Engineering,
CNCS, AAU
— Email: girum.ayalneh@aau.edu.et