Call for Application Graduate Research Program on Climate Change and Agriculture

Transcription

1 West African Science Service Center on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use Call for Application Graduate Research Program on Climate Change and Agriculture 1. Introduction Climate change (CC) constitutes the most striking environmental risk on which the attention of the whole world is focused because of its global dimension and its negative effects on socio-ecological systems. The effects of climate change will increase in the coming years, with the greatest impacts on the most vulnerable populations and ecosystems in the world. The training of highly qualified people, together with adequate infrastructure and equipment, is required to strengthen scientific knowledge on agriculture and climate interactions. In fact, highly qualified human resources constitutes one of the major adaptation strategies to CC. WASCAL is an initiative of the German Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) established to help West African countries tackle the challenges of CC adaptation through capacity building and scientific research. The activities of the WASCAL Graduate Research Program (GRP) are set up and managed based on a partnership between 10 West African and German universities and research institutes. Climate Change and Agriculture (CC&A) is one the six PhD graduate programs initiated within this framework. IPR/IFRA of Katibougou, in partnership with the University of Bamako, will offer the PhD graduate program in CC&A. 1

2 More then 10 cooperating partner universities will also collaborate in the program: Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (Ghana); University of Lomé (Togo); University of Bonn Institute of Crop Science and Resource Conservation (Germany); Michael Okpara University of Agriculture (Nigeria); University of Abomey-Calavi (Benin); University of Cocody (Cote d Ivoire); University of Cheikh Anta Diop (Senegal); Polytechnic University of Bobo-Dioulasso (Burkina Faso); University of Abdou Moumouni (Niger); Federal University of Technology, Akure (Nigeria). Objectives of the CC&A Program The PhD program in CC&A aims: To train highly qualified human resources in West African countries to anticipate the effects of climate change; To define and implement strategies towards mitigation of and adaptation to the negative effects of CC in agriculture; To strengthen the synergistic relationship between the West African universities; and To strengthen the partnership between German and West African universities. Objectives of the call: The CC&A Program intends to select candidates for a Ph.D. program to be conducted at IPR/IFRA. 2. Student Eligibility The entry requirements into the program are as follows: Candidates must be from the one of the WASCAL countries (Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, and Togo); Candidates must not be more than 40 years old; Candidates must have a Master s Degree, or its equivalent, in Agronomy, Soil Science, Crop Science, Agro-forestry, Forestry, Animal Science or other relevant disciplines, with at least an average of 60 % (Second Upper Class, Assez Bien); Experience with modeling routines and/or GIS would be an advantage but not a prerequisite; Candidates must submit the following documents: i.) official MSc transcript, ii.) letter of motivation, iii.) detailed CV, and iv.) both soft and hard copies of their project preproposal, which will be fine-tuned under the guidance of their supervisors, if admitted; Candidates must provide the names and contact details of three referees, one of whom must be his/her Master s supervisor. Female candidates are encouraged to apply. Maximum Intake The program will admit a maximum of 10 students per year. There shall be equitable distribution of students across the WASCAL countries (one student per country). 2

3 3. Language requirements The program is an English-speaking graduate program. The following are the language requirements: Basic Certificate in English Language; Functional Certificate in English Language; A three-month intensive English language training course will be offered at the University of Cape Coast (UCC), Ghana, for the selected francophone students before the beginning of the program. At the end of this English language course, students will have to pass an English language proficiency test e.g. TOEFL (550 or above). French language courses will also be offered to English speaking students while at IPR/IFRA. 4. Scholarship and Research Support The scholarship and research support will normally be provided based on the criteria below: After admission, students will be required to maintain a graduate level Grade Point Average (GPA) of B or a minimum of B from the course; During the course curriculum phase, students will be required to develop a detailed research programme, including budget; During the project/research stage, students are expected to present their progress reports regularly and be evaluated accordingly. All scholarship-holding PhD fellows will receive a stipend of per month ( during the pre-course language preparations) to cover accommodation and other expenses for their study period. Research funds will also be made available to students after approval of their research budget by their advisor/supervisor and WASCAL. The student will travel to Germany once during the course of the PhD fellowship period to work with scientists at German universities or research centers. Airfare will be paid for by the project and a monthly stipend of about will also be provided for each month spent in Germany. 5. Outline of the program The time required for the completion of the PhD program is 3 years. Training components The following steps are required: English upgrade (see 3. Langage requirements above), classroom courses, and research component. Intensive Classroom Courses (6 months) Registered students will take part in six months of intensive course work at IPR/IFRA (Mali). Contents of the Program: The teaching units or modules are as follows: i. Introduction to Climate Change; ii. Research Methodology and Skills Development (Scientific research methodology, Scientific editing, Communication with rural communities); 3

4 iii. Statistics and Modeling Tools (Biostatistics, Programming models, Sampling methods, field trials and surveys); iv. Agricultural Production Systems and CC (Agricultural water management, Soil fertility management, Soil conservation and restoration, Integrated pest management, Animal production and range management, Agro-biodiversity management, Production and post harvest technologies); v. Agricultural Markets and Policies (Post harvest processes and supply chain value system, Agricultural policies); vi. Modeling of Agro-ecosystems (Development of crop models at the field scale, Application of simulation models to assess climate impact on crop production, Agricultural land use mapping); vii. Technology Innovations in Agricultural Production and, viii English or French language training Research component Every student will carry out research in a common agreed upon location, including the research plan preparation, field work, data analysis, final write up and defense. Research Plan Preparation (3 months), during the course-curriculum phase. Field Work (maximum 24 months): The field work can be done in or outside Mali depending on expertise of the supervisor, availability of equipment and accessibility to relevant data. Data analysis: (visit to Germany/WASCAL) (maximum 6 months): During the course of their research, students will visit Germany to use specialized equipment and computing facilities otherwise not available in Mali or in the partner universities. Students may otherwise visit the WASCAL Competence Centre (Burkina Faso). Final write up and defense (maximum 7 months): The final write up of the thesis will be undertaken at the university where the supervisor works or at IPR/IFRA or in the Competence Centre (Burkina Faso). The thesis defense will be conducted in Mali (at IPR/IFRA or at ISFRA). 6. Application Procedure and Contact Candidates may apply directly to the GRP CC&A by submitting all information requested via to Prof. Famanta Mahamoudou, mdoufamanta@yahoo.fr and copy to Mamadou Ibrahim Ouattara, mmdouatt@gmail.com and to Thomas Gaiser, tgaiser@uni-bonn.de Deadline: April 15, Publication of the Selection Outcome IPR/IFRA in collaboration with the GRP CC&A Advisory Board will short list candidates and later select one candidate from each country. There may be the need for a selection interview via telephone, Skype or Messenger. The date of the interview will be communicated after short listing. The selection interview is mandatory to support the final selection of candidates. Successful candidates will then submit a hardcopy of the application package. 4

5 The list of successful candidates will be decided by May 18, Selected students will be asked to present original diplomas at the time of registration. 8. Additional Informations For details regarding the program please refer to the WASCAL website at 5