South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA)

The South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA) is an independent, non-governmental foreign policy think tank based in Johannesburg, established in 1934. It researches and publishes on Africa's role in global affairs, trade, governance, and international relations, and works to build a new generation of African foreign policy analysts and diplomats.

SAIIA co-funds the KAS-SAIIA Scholarship with the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS), a German political foundation, because both organisations see a shortage of trained political science and international relations graduates able to represent African interests in global institutions. The scholarship is explicitly designed to grow that pipeline rather than fund study in unrelated fields.

The programme carries no employment work-back obligation, but it does include a structured internship component at SAIIA or KAS as part of the award, giving recipients direct exposure to policy work rather than requiring a post-study contract.