Call for short-term mobility scholarship applications for PhD, Masters, and internship placement in the framework of the  Intra Africa MAINSTREAM Project

MAINSTREAM First mobility call-2024/2025

MAINSTREAM Project:

Mobility 4 Agricultural International Networks Supporting Thematic Resilience and Enhancing Adaptation and Mitigation

Background:

MAINSTREAM strives to influence a common agenda for addressing education and skills improvement for the agricultural knowledge systems (focusing on climate change resilience) both at regional and country levels targeting transformations with the:

1. Tertiary agricultural education community (networking, South-South exchanges, leadership and entrepreneurship programmes, etc.);
2. Policy and industry actors

The project provides pathways for institutional modernization and internationalisation reforms, leveraging the consortia existing partnership on agriculture education and skills with other public and private organisations involved across the continent to drive innovative solutions and value addition in interdisciplinary agricultural programmes at master and doctoral levels and further inspire their inclusive implementation. The inclusion aspect shall particularly be seen with the African women population (often with intersectional vulnerability) who are underrepresented in HE agricultural programmes, even though they make up half of the farm labour force. Mobility scheme shall also be used to break cross-African gendered perceptions of agriculture that underestimate women and girls´ participation and to further provide for a gender-sensitive learning environment and institutional culture as well as for addressing infrastructure, support services and safety. MAINSTREAM aims to provide credible and standing solutions defying low academic and mobility of workforce across Africa, increasing the focus on applied research in climate-sensitive Agricultural Education and Training, addressing limited appeal and participation of vulnerable and underrepresented groups, including youth and women, in agricultural learning systems, and promoting a set of supportive cross-regional measures for policy considerations. Thus, the project facilitates agricultural programmes graduates to access meaningful community development engagements across the continent.

Participating Institutions:

1. Mountains of the Moon University (MMU, Uganda)
2. Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University Of Science and Technology (JOOUST, Kenya),
3. Universite De Kara (Togo),
4. Universite Du Sine Saloum El-Hadj Ibrahima Niass (USSEIN) (Senegal),
5. University Of The Free State (South Africa),
6. Arsi University, (Ethiopia)
7. Hochschule Weihenstephan-Triesdorf (HWST, Germany)

Mobility Groups:

The Mobility of the scholarship is categorized into two groups- Target groups I and II

1. Target Group 1: Applicants in this category should be registered/admitted in or have obtained a degree (or equivalent) from one of the African Beneficiaries included in the MAINSTREAM Project, (i.e. Mountains of the Moon University (MMU, Uganda), Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University Of Science and Technology (JOOUST, Kenya), Universite De Kara (Togo), Universite Du Sine Saloum El-Hadj Ibrahima Niass (USSEIN) (Senegal), University Of The Free State (South Africa), Arsi University, (Ethiopia)
2. Target Group 2: Applicants in this category include students registered/admitted in /or who have obtained a degree (or equivalent) from any other university out of the consortium partner universities involved in the MAINSTREAM project.

Mobility Level:

Masters or Doctoral level mobility:

Master students will receive a scholarship for a maximum period of six months in order to do research for their master theses or attend a course relevant to their study. The project will support a total of 70 Master´s students in the process of mobility within the MAINSTREAM project.

PhD candidates will receive a scholarship for a maximum period of twelve months to do research for their dissertation or attend a course relevant to their study programme. The project will support a total of 30 PhD students in the process of mobility within the MAINSTREAM project.

*Please note that this mobility scholarship is a short-term credit-seeking opportunity to either attend a course relevant to the students’ overall programme or conduct research that contributes to the overall attainment of the degree. It is NOT a scholarship for a full Master/PhD programme.

• Traineeship mobility: 14 trainees’ opportunity for up to 3 months duration abroad attached to industry partners/farms. To qualify, you must be enrolled in a Bachelor/Master/PhD programme at one of the partner institutions in the MAINSTREAM consortium.

Mobility Flow:

The Mobility Flow explains the partnering universities that various groups of applicants can apply to. Applicants registered/admitted in or have obtained a degree (or equivalent) from one of the partnering universities and cannot apply to the same university or country.

A. Target Group I- Master’s degree Applicant

 The table below highlights Eligible Institutions for Target group I Masters and PhD Applicants

B. Target Group I- Doctorate Degree Applicants

 The table below highlights Eligible Institutions for Target Group II Masters & PhD student Applicants

Scholarship Programs and Host Institutions

Scholarship Benefits:

1. Tuition fee coverage
   1. Monthly subsistence allowance (€890 for Master’s students, €1,230 for PhD students and trainees/internship)
   1. and insurance
   1. Travel and visa expenses
   1. Participation costs (tuition and registration fees)
   1.    Research expenses (depending on available budget)
   1. Additional support for scholarship holders with disabilities

Eligibility:

• Interested candidates can only apply to approved specified programs in the appropriate university as indicated in the mobility flow.
• Applicants should ensure that they meet the admission requirements for the program/university in the mobility flow.
• Each application MUST be accompanied by a motivation statement including how the mobility scholarship relates to their current study program or research (max 500 words)
• Applicants should provide information on academic background, and work experiences related to their any programme supported by this mobility (refer to supported programmes in the table above)
• Eligible candidates should not have already benefited from another MOBAF 2022- 2027 (intra-Africa mobility) scholarship.

Application Documents:

1. Filled online Application Form
2. CV
3. A one to two-page concept document
4. A copy of a national ID/passport bio page
5. Scanned degree certificates

How to Apply for the Scholarship:

To apply please click he link below:  

Application Deadline: The deadline for the application is 10th November 2024 by Midnight GMT +1. Results will be announced by the mid of December 2024

*Women and persons living with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply

Contact Details

For further enquiries or guidance on the scholarship call,  kindly contact the following persons

For general inquiries about the MAINSTREAM project, please visit the project website at https://mainstreamafrica.org/  or contact the project coordinator Assoc. Prof. Violet Kisakye at kviolet@mmu.ac.ug

Click HERE to download the scholarship call for offline viewing and sharing with your peers