Date of release of the Call 25^th April 2024

Deadline for submission of application 14^th June 2024

The European Union (EU), under its Intra-Africa Academic Mobility Scheme, has provided funding to support training of graduate students in African universities. The “Partnership to Strengthen Graduate Training and Research Capacity for Developing Climate Smart Agrifood Systems in Central and East Africa (CSAS)”. The project, coordinated by the University of Dschang, is a mobility programme comprising six African Partner Institutions and one EU Technical Partner. CSAS will collaborate in the training of professionals in developing climate smart agrifood systems in Central and East Africa. The training shall equip students and staff with a comprehensive understanding of climate-smart agrifood systems, incorporating disciplines such as agriculture, environmental science, climate science and socio-economic aspects of food systems.

A total of 26 Masters and 8 PhDs will be trained from 2024 to 2028 in the thematic areas of Climate Smart Agriculture, Agriculture and Rural Innovations, Dryland Agriculture, Livestock Production Systems, Plant Breeding and Seed Systems, Food Security, Geomatics and Artificial Intelligence. The project will provide scholarship for full degree programs as well as short-term credit-seeking mobility for students. The mobility will also support 8 staff and 8 trainees across the partner HEIs

This call for application targets 4 PhD and 8 MSc programs from Africa to be hosted across the partner HEIs

The mobility project is aimed at:

1. Promoting inclusive academic mobility and partnerships between Higher Education Institutions / Universities (HEI) and Research Institutions to address key challenges in developing climate-smart agrifood systems.
2. Developing or strengthening curriculum on Climate-Smart Agrifood Systems in
3. Strengthening climate data and information systems using digital

It is expected that a procedure / platform to support the harmonisation and internationalisation of agrifood systems programs among African Universities shall be achieved at the end of the project.

Eligibility

The scholarships are open to all qualified African candidates residing in Africa at the time of application to be trained in the host institutions for respective programs in Cameroon, Uganda, Ethiopia, Kenya and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Note: Applicants are only allowed to apply to study in an institution outside of their home country. Females and vulnerable candidates are particularly encouraged to apply. All applications will be handled confidentially.

Criteria for selection of students for scholarship

A six-stage process will be used in the selection of students to benefit from the CSAS project:

1. The first step will be validation of admission by the target host university who will subsequently submit a list of admitted candidates to the University of Dschang (i.e., the Coordinator), with copies to the Focal Point Persons at the partner institutions.
2. The second step will be compilation of applications received by the Coordinator
3. The third step will be to review the documents and carry out selection of candidates to receive scholarships (based on eligibility, authenticity of academic documents and confirmation of admission by the target host university).
4. The fourth step will be communication of results by the Coordinator to the scholarship awardees and host institutions.
5. The fifth step will be signing of the contracts between the Coordinator and the scholarship beneficiaries and subsequent sending of the signed contracts to the host universities.
6. Finally, the host university will facilitate the travel and settling in/out of the awardees to/from the respective university.

Table 1 Academic Programs, Host Universities, Countries and Number of Scholarships