Climate Risk Lab Data Science and Machine Learning Fellowship 2027
The Climate Risk Lab in Cape Town invites recent graduates in data science and related fields to apply for a one-year fellowship. Fellows apply machine learning to climate, health, and socioeconomic data. The source lists the deadline as ongoing, and no closing date is confirmed.
Program Snapshot
- Host Organization: Climate Risk Lab, African Climate and Development Initiative, University of Cape Town
- Funding: Paid position; salary not published
- Duration: One year, with a possible one-year renewal
- Location: Cape Town, South Africa
- Target Group: Recent PhD, MSc, or first-class Honours graduates
- Deadline: Ongoing; confirm before applying
Focus Areas
- Data science and machine learning
- Climate, environmental, health, and socioeconomic data
- Artificial intelligence tools for research workflows
- Large spatial-temporal datasets
About the Fellowship
The fellowship boosts the lab’s capacity to deliver strong science with modern tools. It also strengthens the research and data skills of each fellow. Fellows support an interdisciplinary team of researchers. A senior data scientist or postdoctoral researcher mentors each fellow. Fellows can lead data-intensive research and join meetings with international collaborators.
They may also attend conferences. The lab notes that the fellowship may lead to PhD scholarship or postdoctoral funding.
Key duties include:
- Analyzing large climate, environmental, health, and socioeconomic datasets
- Building and applying AI tools, and helping colleagues use them
- Cleaning and optimizing large datasets
- Maintaining reproducible workflows and Git repositories
- Writing efficient code, including parallel computing
- Leading a project toward a paper, toolkit, or dataset
What Fellows Receive
- A full-time, paid one-year position
- Mentoring from a senior data scientist or postdoctoral researcher
- A chance to lead a meaningful research project
- Participation in international working groups and conferences
- A possible renewal, PhD scholarship, or postdoctoral funding
- The lab says pay will match academic and market rates, based on experience.
Who Can Apply
Applicants must meet these requirements:
- An MSc or first-class Honours degree, completed or in the final year, in a related field
- Proficiency in programming, preferably Python or R
- A solid grounding in statistics or data science
- Excellent communication skills
- Availability to travel internationally if needed
- Experience with xarray, pandas, Linux, high-performance computing, GitHub, and agentic AI tools is a plus.
Required Materials
Submit one PDF with these items:
- A CV with a statement on your South African work or study permit
- Two professional referees listed in your CV
- A cover letter explaining your fit
- An academic transcript
- Optional links to code, a personal website, or LinkedIn
How to Apply
Prepare the single PDF. Then submit it through the online application form on the official call.
Click Here to Apply
Conclusion
This fellowship offers early-career data scientists a paid route into climate research. Eligible candidates should confirm the current deadline and apply soon.
