GENES MSc and Academic/Administrative Staff Exchange Scholarships 2020/2021 for African Scholars

The GENES Second Call for scholarship application is open.

Application Deadline: 9th March, 2020 at mid-night, West African time. 

Eligible Countries:

• Target Group 1: This category includes students enrolled (for MSc application) or graduated (for PhD application) from all partner universities as follows: 1. Ebonyi State University; Nigeria 2. University of Abomey-Calavi; Benin 3. Jimma University; Ethiopia 4. University of Yaunde Cameroon
• Target Group 2: Students from all African countries

To be taken at (country): Cameroon, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Benin

About the Award: GENES (Mobility for plant genomics scholars to accelerate climate-smart adaptation options and food security in Africa) is a consortium of four universities from four African countries funded by the Intra-Africa Program of the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) of the European Commission.

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The consortium understands that feeding the increasing populations in Africa requires radical transformation of a largely underdeveloped agriculture over the next four decades. A major challenge is how to increase agricultural production among resource-poor farmers without exacerbating environmental problems and simultaneously coping with climate change, a critical force driving low agricultural productivity in sub-Saharan Africa.

The Project hopes to:

• 1) Produce for Africa 10 world-class PjD jolders molecular plant breeders who will accelerate cultivar development to adapt to current and future challenges related to climate change and food and nutrition security;
• 2) Train 36 MSc jolders genomics scientists and 8 support staff with strong capacity in cultivar development and new molecular breeding approaches to increase knowledge and prospects of improving major crops including cereals, pulses, vegetables, fruits, and bio-fuels used in Africa for food and nutrition security and the crop production industry;
• 3) Harmonize training programs and research agenda of the consortium members (universities) on the use of genomic breeding to accelerate cultivar development and increase the resilience of crop production systems;
• 4) Foster national, regional, and global collaboration and programmatic agenda that promote genomic breeding research and training for agricultural innovations within Africa.

Type: Masters, Short courses

Eligibility: To be eligible for a scholarship (i.e. financial support to third parties), master students must comply with the criteria below at the time of the application for a scholarship:

• a) be a national and resident in any of the eligible countries covered by the Intra-Africa Mobility programme of the EACEA, and
• b) be registered/admitted in or having obtained a HEI degree (or equivalent) from

i. one of the HEIs included in the GENES consortium (Target group 1)

ii. a HEI not included in the GENES consortium but established in an eligible country (Target group 2)

and

• have sufficient knowledge of the language of the courses in the host countries.
• NB: students with one-year post BSc but not yet admitted or registered in any of the Partner HEIs is also eligible to apply. However, mobility will begin in second year of the study, i.e. sponsorship from GENES will be for research work, only.

Students can only benefit from one scholarship under the Intra-Africa or IntraACP academic mobility scheme (regardless the type of mobility or the funding project).

Students having benefited from scholarship(s) under the previous intra-ACP Academic Mobility Scheme cannot receive scholarship under the Intra-Africa academic mobility.

Number of Awards: Not specified

Value of Award: In line with Agreement with Intra-Africa Mobility Scheme of EACEA, the scholarship will cover:

• Round trip flight ticket and visa costs (using a preferred travel agent and calculated against direct linear distance);
• Direct participation costs such as tuition fees, registration fees and service fees where applicable;
• Comprehensive travel insurance (Health, Accident and Travel) }
• A monthly subsistence allowance for the mobility period.

Duration of Programme: 

• For MSc Mobility Grant (maximum 12 months’ scholarship mainly for research
• For academic / Administrative staff: maximum two-months staff exchanges mobility available only for partner universities only

How to Apply: All interested candidates should download the application form from the website, fill it, and send with all supporting documents to [email protected] . 

• It is important to go through all application requirements on the Programme Webpage (see link below) before applying
• GOODLUCK!

Visit Programme Webpage for Details