The Agribusiness Incubation Hub (AIH) at Bishop Stuart University (BSU) held a Web 2.0 and Social Media training primarily for its student entrepreneurs (incubatees) to enable them extract content from the web, create content and utilize social media platforms to effectively market their products and services, among other things. Established with support from the Transforming African Agricultural Universities to meaningfully contribute to Africa’s growth and development (TAGDev) Programme, a partnership between The MasterCard Foundation and Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM), the Hub seeks to nurture innovative enterprises from young entrepreneurs at BSU and support linkage to potential markets. This training constituted part of its support activities.
Students attending the Web 2.0 and Social Media training
The training was conducted from 11 – 15 March 2019 and facilitated by a team from Youth in Technology and Development Uganda (YITEDEV) led by CEO, Mr. Robert Kibaya. A total of 30 participants took part in the training; 20 incubatees, 4 members of staff from Bishop Stuart University, and 6 partners and staff of AVSI Foundation, a development partner of BSU. Concepts covered included: Web 2.0 principles, selective access to information, content curation, remote collaboration, online mapping, online conversation, blogging and the use of social media in agribusiness. Core training materials were provided by the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation ACP-EU (CTA), based in the Netherlands. Some of the social media platforms created by the incubatees include Twitter accounts, blogs and Facebook pages. Participants with already existing accounts used the opportunity to enhance them to market their business enterprises.
One of the participant’s Twitter pages
On completion of the training, participants were awarded certificates by the Academic Registrar of Bishop Stuart University. Even after the training, the facilitators continued to provide follow up support to the enable the trainees effectively share information online. The students entrepreneurs expressed great appreciation for the training and for some of them the benefits were already visible. One student, Mr. Hillary Nahurira, testified that during the training he had been able to link up with another agripreneur from Zambia.
Participants show off their certificates at the end of the training
I love using the Drone technology, especially in the field of agriculture. It is entertaining, fun and exciting to operate and work with.” Zikiru Shaibu
Modern technology is making it possible for the youth to find agriculture attractive and it provides opportunities for them to engage in the service industry involving small farmers. Research is needed to see how effectively digital media, drones and other 4th Revolution technology can be used to increase employment, food security and improve livelihoods in rural areas.
Years back, when people heard the word “drones”, the immediate thought they had is the military drone which is used in combat. Currently across the globe, there are more drone used by the general public than in the military. Diverse users of the technology apply it in the building and construction industry, art and media industry, agriculture industry, among many others
Fortunately, I am an advocate for the application of drone technology in agriculture. Drone technology basically supports the concept of precision farming by providing meaningful information to farmers to make informed decision on their farm management. The African Union (AU) and NEPAD highlighted the drone technology to be an information revolution that will result in a more precise and effective farm management system, especially useful to service the small-scale farmers predominantly in Africa.
The Drone is just a flying robot that is remotely controlled or can fly autonomously through a software controlled flight plan in conjunction with GPS. The use of the technology has drawn much attention and the interest of people across the globe. Every day, people want to hear more about the technology, its challenges and potentials.
Together with a team of University of Cape Coast (UCC) lecturers, we won a cost-shared initiative with Technical Centre for Agriculture and Rural Cooperation ACP-EU (CTA) and Parrot to be supplied with the drone equipment and training. In October 2018, I had the opportunity to be one of the trainees who benefited from the training on the use of ‘Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) for Service Delivery, Mission Planning, Piloting, & Image Acquisition’. The training was organized by the Department of Agricultural Economics and Extension, UCC with the support of CTA and Parrot Business Solution.
In agriculture, the major application of drone technology includes generation of prescription maps, farm structure inspection, high-resolution mapping and surveying of farm fields, crop scouting/monitoring for disease, pests and nutrient deficiency, crop volume and vigour assessments, crop inventory/population density, crop damage assessment, precision spraying, and insurance claim forensics. It can also be used for market forecasts and national food security early warning systems, as well as by co-operatives, transporters and contract farmers. It thus helps to overcome some of the expenses of information, compliance and forecasting that have in the past made it uneconomic to provide services to, or engage with, small farmers.
Being equipped from the training, I decided to research more in the use of the technology in agriculture because there is limited literature on field experiments or research done using the drone technology, particularly for small farmers. Fortunately, I got a scholarship support from the MasterCard Foundation through the support of RUFORUM and the University of Cape Coast, to experiment on the use of the drone technology and mobile phones to improve livelihood outcomes of smallholder farmers along the pineapple value chain in the Central Region of Ghana.
Field Training on the use of Drones
So far, the project has been successfully approved and initiated after a PhD proposal defense at the Department of Agricultural Economics and Extension, University of Cape Coast, Ghana. Still at the beginning stage of the project, I have carried out a generation of prescription map, farm structure inspection, and mapping and surveying of pineapple fields.
Mapping and Surveying of Pineapple Experimental Fields
The implication of the first three activities is to help make informed decisions on the necessary and required inputs needed for the production stage of the pineapple. An earlier fly of the drone on farm fields helps a farmer to have an aerial view of their farms by knowing its size and shape, identify inconsistencies with respect to location and shape of the fields. This also informs the decision on the number of planting materials needed, number of mulching materials required, quantity of agro-chemicals required, and equipment types to be used on the field. Going further in this study which is becoming more interesting, I seek to undertake plant counting, plant health analysis, crop stress analysis, crop loss/damage analysis, and yield estimation.
Aerial image of University of Cape Coast Pineapple leased research Site
In addition to the drone technology, using digital media such as mobile phones, radio and television enhances precision farming information delivery. Thus, by the end of the project, I will determine the contribution of the drone technology and mobile phones to the livelihood outcomes of smallholder farmers along the pineapple value chain in the Central Region of Ghana.
Shaibu demonstrates drone Technology Onsite
I thank all the supporting organisations: MasterCard Foundation, CTA, Parrot Business Solution, RUFORUM and the University of Cape Coast for equipping me to undertake this study. I am looking forward to contributing to existing knowledge on the drone technology and digital media, and to help improve livelihood outcomes of smallholder farmers in the Central Region of Ghana.
Mr. Zikiru Shaibu is a student currently specializing in Agricultural Extension
Education through a PhD Agricultural Extension programme at the University of Cape Coast, Ghana. Also a young enthusiastic entrepreneur with a research interest in the
Application of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) for Agricultural
Value chain agribusiness development. zikiru.shaibu@stu.ucc.edu.gh
Many say that “life is a gamble”, but ever since we joined Gulu University to study for a Bachelor of science in Agri-entrepreneurship and Communications Management, our perspectives of life has since changed said Nakwasa Robinson at student and the General Manager of their Initiative Nana fruit salads.
The Entrepreneurship training program at the faculty of Agriculture and Environment has accorded us a chance to face the world on our own. Under the program, we underwent intensive business plan training, sketching, editing and scrutiny under the guidance and mentorship of university staff.
Nana fruit salads enterprise is an initiative by three students. The business started operating in July 2018. The experience of running a business enterprise has been enormous for us as students. Moving out of our comfort zones, we took a decision to participate in a business pitching competition organised by the Faculty of Agriculture and environment to promote entrepreneurship amongst Gulu University students.
In a group of three, we were presented with an opportunity to pitch our business ideas, the plans were vetted for economic, technical, social and financial feasibility before being funded by the Agribusiness incubation project at the university. Nana fruit Salads enterprise emerged winners, with a prize money of 200,000 Uganda Shillings (USD 54) awarded to us. Having tasted the fruits of engaging in business, Nana Fruits salad enterprises participated in a business plan competition organised by CEED Uganda. After undergoing interviews, a four day business training and a business pitching, we emerged as the first runners up, for which we were awarded a 2,000,000 Uganda Shillings ((USD 540)) by CEED-Uganda.
For instance, the deviation between the approved business plan and the actual business implementation/ground works was almost 70%. Consequently, we had to blend in with reality, adjust and flow dance to that rhythm. In the process of business implementation, Nana fruit salads enterprise mentored three community youths; two ladies and a gentleman who had taken interest in learning the tricks involved in the fruit salads business. The youth were trained in marketing skills, human resource management and quality control.
There has been no greater achievement that we have attained at the Gulu University than the student enterprise program. Although reality will hit us upon completing university training, hitting it back in the face with our skills, experiences, accrued networks is the best weapon to face the world.
For offering us this opportunity we are grateful to our mentors, particularly Dr. Odongo Walter and Mr. Daniel Okello; and the Faculty of agriculture and environment, Gulu University. We Also thank the mastercard foundation and the RUFORUM for proving funding targeting skilled youth but from disadvantaged backgrounds. We are because you have willed it into being, we pray that others after us may take even greater strides to exploring the different sides to life.
By Nakwasa Robinson a student beneficiary of MasterCard Foundation funding, studying at Gulu University, undertaking a Bachelor of science degree in agri-entrepreneurship and Communications Management and the General Manager of Nana Fruits Salads.
With nearly 80% of youth in northern Uganda unable to attain higher education, this large population of out-of-school youth requires competences to participate in gainful economic activities. Gulu University, in a joint initiative with Bobi Community Polytechnic, a community-based Technical and Vocational Education and Training institute (TVET) and ZOA, an international relief and recovery organization, has responded to the call for universities to play a greater role in influencing lower levels of the educational value chain.
In June 2019, as part of extending the university’s outreach mandate, Gulu University conducted a training for out-of-school youth on market oriented vegetable production. The training focused on technical and entrepreneurial skills enhancement, specifically on building competences in agronomic practices, post-harvest handling, resource mobilization, farm business planning, market linkages and networking.
The training used an engaged approach where the youth were hosted at the TVET for a two-week residential period. In addition to the training, the youth were placed in groups and supported to establish nurseries.
Youth participating in a training session
ZOA support to Bobi Polytechnique builds on existing support from the Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM) through a partnership with Gulu University supported by the Mastercard Foundation. Gulu University will continue to mentor the groups for at least one production cycle covering the period from August to December 2019. To this end, the university will conduct field visits to the respective groups for further guidance and technical support. Dr. Basil Mugonola of Gulu University and main coordinator of the training affirmed the university’s commitment saying, “Gulu University is committed to following up on the engagement with out-of-school youth. Our staff and students will visit you often to support your enterprises.”
Youth learning by doing at Bobi Community Polytechnic
Bobi Community Polytechnic’s Head Instructor, Mr. Ocaka, thanked Gulu University and ZOA for partnering with the institution, “We are glad we are able to engage more with the community through partnership with the university and ZOA”, he remarked.
The youth appreciated the training and were especially grateful that Gulu University and its partners had skilled them on a project they chose themselves as one of the group leaders remarked,
“We thank the University for accepting to give us skills on an enterprise we chose ourselves. We will utilise this to change our households.”
On their part, representatives from the partner organisations called on each stakeholder to play their role in making the project a success. The trainees were particularly urged to continue practicing what they had been taught and engaging with the learning institutions.
Gulu University Faculty of Agriculture and Environment and Bobi Community Polytechnic are grateful for the partnership with RUFORUM, the Mastercard Foundation and ZOA that made this engagement with out-of-school youth possible.
+ News
Gulu University Students Support Refugees in Farm based Micro-Enterprises in West Nile, Uganda
In early 2018, the first cohort of Gulu University students under the Mastercard Supported Scholarship at RUFORUM, through the Faculty of Agriculture and Environment (FAE) got engaged with the refugees in the west Nile districts of Arua and Adjumani in Uganda. This is part of the model used by the University to have students engage with communities as part of their requirement for their degree programme. Starting from the dynamics of group formation and problem identification, the engagement led to identification and set up of various enterprises with a view to support strong farm based micro enterprises for the refugees and their host communities. This was an effort to extend the University’s Community Transformation Agricultural Training Model to refugee settlement and host communities of Adjumani and Arua district in WestNile, Uganda. Consequently, the Faculty of Agriculture and Environment students delivered the training to twenty groups of champion farmers in six selected settlements in the two districts of intervention, and to realize the project sustainability, there was need to follow up and evaluate the status and performance of the groups in terms of production and sales of their enterprises.
Emerging dynamics and student engagement
The second stage of the Gulu University FAE student engagement with refugees, started with an evaluation of the status and performance of the champion farmer groups in terms of production and sales under previously established micro enterprises as well as expectation and needs of groups in terms of capacity building.
Students conducted focus group discussions, dialogues from the various groups and experience sharing on the business, additionally, the carried out Inspection of field and production site, training materials, and sales record to determine the group performance. The main enterprises of focus were current vegetable garden, composite flour production, bakery production, sales record, training material and equipment use.
Key findings in the evaluation indicated that 11 out of 20 formerly trained groups were still working together in their micro enterprises even after the initial engagement ended. The 11 groups were still continuing with the enterprise and performing well in terms of production and sales across the six refugee settlement of intervention both in Adjumani and Arua district. However, for the other 9 groups, movement of some members into other settlements and occasional movements back to their areas of origin (South Sudan and Democratic Republic of Congo) had disintegrated some, with individuals opting to carry on the enterprise activities on their own as households, such as vegetable production and small baking initiatives.
Visiting some of the Refugee enterprises in WestNile
In general, most of the groups and households had an appreciable level of transformation towards better income status. Specifically, there were still high expectations of more support across many groups especially in mushroom seed, training on other cake products, onion, cabbage and tomato seeds, group dynamics, market linkages, more support for local goat and local chicken enterprises among others. It is these areas that the students are now set out to work with the faculty to conduct trainings and capacity building for the refugees and host communities.
+ News
Knowledge gap leads to low participation of pig farmers in Artificial insemination in Northern Uganda
Dissemination of the research results by Prima Kyohairwe
Kyohairwe Prima is a student at Gulu University (2017-2019) pursuing Master of Science in Agri-enterprise development under the MCF@RUFORUM scholarship. As part of her degree program, Prima identified a problem faced by the community in Northern Uganda and used a participatory approach to conduct a research which aimed at seeking for possible solutions to the identified problem. She assessed the use of Artificial Insemination (AI) in pig production in Gulu and Omoro districts Northern Uganda where pig production is a thriving business among many communities.
To ensure effective research contribution, she conducted a dissemination which engaged pig farmers and she identified the following as the problems identified by the team:
- Low production due to poor breeding technology,
- Low perception on AI by farmers and
- Lower returns from pig production.
The results of the study revealed that pig farmers in Northern Uganda would use AI if they fully understand the benefits and usefulness of the technology. This is justified by the fact that the results of the study shown low perception of farmers on AI but during the dissemination period, after farmers have understood the benefits of AI shown positive interest in the technology. A team comprising of the principal investigator (PI), the main researcher, the district officer in charge of animal resources and Local Council (LC) in the study area visited the target community and spoke to them as they presented the results of the study. With the support from the team, Farmers demonstrated the benefits of AI over traditional mating of animals.
Some of the Piglets produced through Artificial Insemination (AI)
Pig farmers appreciated the efforts made to introduce AI technology in pig breeding. They also appreciated Gulu University for the arrangement that brought about the training on AI, since it enabled them to make more profits from pig farming at reduced production costs and got morale to continue pig farming. Additionally, farmers appreciated the University for considering them for such a great opportunity and urged the university to consider dissemination as an essential part of a research work because it is educative. Some farmers who had almost given up on pig farming promised to resume with the new knowledge acquired from the pig CARP+. Just like many trainings before, they requested for frequent trainings. Pig farmers were advised to form groups in order to easily access financial support, skills enhancement, labor, access to training as well as the market for their products
+ News
Bridging the gap of research findings in University libraries with the research beneficiaries in the community
Research Dissemination by Kenneth Kidega a RUFORUM Scholar at Gulu University
Kidega teaching Farmers about IMO application in Piggery
Kenneth Kidega, now a second year student of Masters of Science in Food Security and Community Nutrition at Gulu University was among the first Cohort under the MCF@RUFORUM scholarship. For the past two years, he has been working on the effects of deep litter floor housing system on performance of pigs and pork quality with major focus on their growth performance, pork quality characteristics and the effect of Indigenous Microorganisms (IMO) application, sepecifically on the deep litter floor on sensory attributes of pork under the Community Action Research Project (CARP+1). It is during this time, that he interacted with pig farmers in northern Uganda particulary the communities of Paicho, Cwero and Labora in Gulu district were the study is being conducted. Kenneth further extended to farmers in Koro during dissemination, because of the large numbers of pig farmers in the area.
From this two-years’ experience, he is now versatile in doing surveying, experiments, data collection, processing and analysis in order to get meaningful results, that can be transferred, to relevant recipients. From his study he found out that there were no differences in feed intake, weight gain and feed conversions ratio for pigs raised on both IMO treated and untreated deep litter floor houses. To him, these findings meant that IMO technology does not affect the normal metabolism of the pigs. He also found-out that most fatty acids in pork from pigs raised during IMO treated deep litter floor, were unsaturated which intern reduced the risk of consumers to be prone to heart diseases that are caused by saturated fats in meat. In his conclusion, he recommends deep litter floor treatment with IMO as being a preferred option for pig production and encourages farmers to adopt it.
After obtaining the results, he trained farmers on the benefits of raising pigs on deep litter floor housing system using IMO technology with respect to the research findings. Farmers gave feedback stating that, the research has encouraged them to continue with pig keeping and they appreciated knowledge given to them on rearing pigs using IMO technology. (Additionally,) Above that, farmers were grateful to the CARP+1 project for the great initiative for students to give back their findings to the recipient communities. They also recommended the continuation of the program and more trainings on pig production in enhancing the livelihood of smallholder farmers.
Over the years Gulu University engages community members in student centered outreach. This program offers both a learning as well as experiential engagement platforms for students and the community. This year in June five students pursuing MSc Food Security and community Nutrition, Iyaloo Sheyavali from Namibia, Nelson Pappie from Liberia, Sognigbe Monique from Benin, Nanok Aaron from Kenya, Merveen Nafula from Uganda were attached in the nutritional unit of Gulu Regional Referral Hospital. In the final week of their attachment focused on preventive nutrition, the students shared their experience through conducting a nutritional demonstration activity with about thirty 25 mothers attending a nutrition ward at the health facility. In the students words, they said
To be attached in this unit was not only to acquire knowledge but also turned out to be morally fulfilling, giving us a great chance to contribute back to the community even if we are still students.
Combining with staff of the hospital, other students attached to the ward, the team of Mastercard Foundation and RUFORUM sponsored students organized a nutrition demonstration activity focused on imparting knowledge to caregivers/mothers on preparation of complementary food and balanced diet using locally available, affordable, safe and nutritious. Hygiene and sanitation were also emphasized from handling, preparation and consumption. For the care givers and mothers the excitement could not be hidden, a young mother remarked thus,
Now we know that all the healthy good foods we require for our babies and our families are actually usually with us”. A second remarked, “We are glad to learn how we can achieve good health even without need to have a lot of money.
For the students the feedback was both satisfying and challenging. The mothers challenged them that such kind of training is beneficial and should be cascaded to community level for large coverage of mothers. This is a challenge to the students as well as the University as students only have limited time for community attachment and therefore can only reach a few students yet the programs are very much appreciated as in this case.
Appreciation: The students, staff and community thank the Mastercard foundation, Gulu University and RUFORUM for supporting the students centered outreach program
Kampala 12 August 2019 Many Governments in Africa have put in place policies to widen access to University Education, and this has come with increasing pressure from university stakeholders and beneficiaries to demonstrate value for money invested in Higher Education. As a result, universities are consistently striving to do their best to visibly show their relevance to the public.
University ranking has for so long been controversial but has also remained the common means of informing the public about universities offering the ‘best’ education. To this end, The Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM) strives to build capacity of its member universities to deliver quality education through cutting edge research and Innovation, and academic mobility to enable them rank higher globally. According to the recently released 2019 Webometrics World Universities Rankings, Thirty nine (39) RUFORUM member Universities were ranked among the top 100 Universities in Africa.
Webmometrics, the largest web academic ranking of Higher Education Institutions, does the global ranking twice every year. The ranking is informed by criteria which includes parameters such as; the number of Citations, presence, visibility and Excellence.
RUFORUM has facilitated the implementation of innovative approaches to learning and research such as community engagement, community-based research and e-learning. The 2018 Edition of University ranking had 29 RUFORUM member Universities that ranked among the top 100 universities in Africa that made the list of 5000 top universities worldwide. This year 39 RUFORUM Member Universities are amongst the top 100 ranked universities in the continent. This year like the previous ones, universities in South Africa continue to dominate in Africa.
Downlaod the Complete Press Release to view the table highlighting RUFORUM member Universities among the top 100 in Africa for July 2019 Webometrics University ranking.
The Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM), Egerton University and Gulu University in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation are implementing the “Transforming African Agricultural Universities to meaningfully contribute to Africa’s growth and development (TAGDev) Project”. The overall objective of the project is to transform African agricultural universities and their graduates to better respond to developmental challenges through enhanced application of science, technology, business and innovation for rural agricultural transformation. Through TAGDev, several African universities are having an opportunity to increase their engagement with the communities and youth through the Community Action Research Programmes (CARPs). The CARPs provide opportunity to universities to undertake research whilst sharing and jointly generating knowledge with the communities, co-designing development interventions, and co-implementing community-based development processes and actions.
Egerton University has been privileged to implement a series of TAGDev based activities and shared lessons and interventions with farming communities in Kenya. This publication shares lessons, practices and evidence of how Egerton University has been engaged in two key agricultural commodity value chains in Kenya; the potato value chain and cassava value chain. It highlights the effort taken by university research teams in facilitating quality seed potato production and increasing its uptake among smallholder farmers. This publication also points out the processes and engagements undertaken in catalysing cassava seed bulking and increasing farmer skills within Nakuru County.
Through this publication, you will find an example of university intervention at increasing agri-enterprise development within the potato value chain. This case is particularly critical because it points out how youth can be better engaged to take advantage of opportunities within the agricultural value chains as such it illustrates how best youth can be attracted to and retained in agriculture. Egerton University as a premier agricultural university also prides in itself as a learning institution and strives to deliver impact through the power of partnership, collaboration and networking. In this publication, a case on how deployment of multi-stakeholder collaboration can be utilised to galvanise change agents is provided.
As a learning institution, the lessons from the community engagement and interactions provides opportunity for enhancing research skills and strengthening the experiential learning among students and academic staff.
Download the Volume 2 of Voices from the Field here
The SACIDS-ACE is a ONE HEALTH Virtual Centre, whose Mission is to harness innovation in science and technology in order to improve Africa’s capacity to detect, identify and monitor infectious diseases of humans , animals, ecosystems and their interactions in order to better manage the risk posed by them.
The SACIDS-ACE stems from the concern for a high burden of infectious diseases in Africa and yet limited capacity for its risk management. It arises out of a consortium in Southern and East African countries (Tanzania, Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia, Mozambique and South Africa) that was formed in January 2008 as a One Health partnership of medical and veterinary institutions, plus smart partnership with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), the Royal Veterinary College (RVC), the London International Development Centre (LIDC) and The Pirbright Institute, with Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA) in Tanzania, as the Lead Institution. The core partnership of the Center is SUA, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS) and the Tanzania National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR). Its current partnership extends to institutions in Botswana, Kenya and Uganda plus associate relations with institutions in Rwanda, Ethiopia and Senegal as well as to new partners in Europe, Asia, South America and the United States of America to include private sector partners.
The SACIDS-ACE programme is funded from a variety of sources including the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania, the World Bank, the African Development Bank, the Wellcome Trust, Ending Pandemics, the World Bank-linked African Partnership for Skills in Applied Science and Technology (PASET), the International Development and Research Centre of Canada and the European and Developing Countries Clinical Trial Partnerships.
We are looking for highly qualified and motivated young, bright African individuals to undertake MSc in One Health Molecular Biology which is a regional programme catering for students from Africa and beyond. SACIDS-ACE is committed to the principle of gender equity and equal opportunity to individuals with physical disability. Female applicants are encouraged to apply.
Applications are hereby invited for admission to MSc in One Health Molecular Biology at Sokoine University of Agriculture for the academic year 2019/2020. The deadline for this round of applications will be on 30 August 2019. Successful candidates will be informed and they are expected to embark on studies on 28 October 2019. Candidates meeting the prescribed minimum qualifications are invited to apply for admission.
About the programme
This programme focuses on practical skills and a thorough understanding of how to apply molecular biology to One Health – an emerging discipline which promotes collaboration between specialists in the human, animal and environmental/ecosystems health sectors. The International One Health Initiative has defined One Health as “the integrative effort of multiple disciplines working locally, nationally, and globally to attain optimal health for people, animals, and the environment. Together, the three make up the One Health triad, and the health of each is inextricably connected to the others in the triad”.
SACIDS-ACE applies these principles to the study of infectious diseases in Africa and has therefore identified the One Health focus, which takes account of addressing the high burden of infectious diseases and the endemic settings of the African ecosystems. This SACIDS-ACE focus has been stated as involving a collaborative effort between natural and social sciences to advance the understanding of interactions between humans, animals and the environment to improve public and animal health.
Therefore, One Health as a scientific concept, promotes professional interactions, collaborations, and educational opportunities across the veterinary and medical professions, together with their allied sciences, in order to improve public health and animal health. It also encompasses inter-sectoral response as well as development of enabling collaboration in disease surveillance, epidemic disease preparedness and policy platforms, across the human, animal and eco-health sectors.
This course has been designed to train a new generation of world class scientists who will serve to address the heavy burden and threat of infectious diseases in Africa that greatly hamper public health and animal health and thus socio-economic development of developing countries. The curriculum has been developed in collaboration with the UK’s London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) and the Royal Veterinary College (RVC) in London.
The programme is run by the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences of SUA in close collaboration with the Schools of Medicine and Public Health & Social Sciences of the Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences and benefits from support from other SACIDS consortium universities in Southern Africa as well as the LSHTM, RVC and other internationally reputable institutions.
Minimum admission qualifications:
The following shall be eligible for admission for the MSc in One Health Molecular Biology degree programme: 1. Holders of honours Bachelor’s degree from an accredited University in biotechnology and laboratory sciences, molecular biology and biotechnology, human or veterinary medicine, or other biological sciences. 2. Candidates who hold unclassified degrees should have a credit or a distinction in molecular biology, microbiology, genetic engineering, biotechnology, immunology or biochemistry.
Fellowships Fourteen applicants (ten Tanzanians (at least 6 males and 4 females) and four from other African countries (at least 2 males and 2 females) with outstanding academic performance will be offered with a full-time SACIDS-ACE fellowship to cover their stipend and research support. SACIDS-ACE will support these fellows using funds from the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania through the World Bank’s Eastern and Southern Africa Higher Education Centres of Excellence Project (ACE II).
Download the complete Call for Application for Master of Science in One Health Molecular Biology
Background
The Centre for Innovative Drug Development and Therapeutic Trials for Africa (CDT-Africa) is a World Bank supported centre of excellence for education and research at Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The main aim of CDT-Africa is to serve as a platform for equitable access to interventions (drugs, vaccines, diagnostics and complex interventions) and bring about sustainable development in Africa through high-quality capacity development for innovative medical discovery and development.
CDT-Africa and Aklilu Lemma Institute of Pathobiology at Addis Ababa University are partnering for joint research and education programs, amongst of which is providing PhD and MSc fellowship opportunities to outstanding students.
As part of this partnership, CDT-Africa plans to provide financial and technical support to African women who would be admitted to pursue PhD in Tropical and Infectious Diseases at Aklilu Lemma Institute of Pathobiology, Addis Ababa University, for the 2019/20 academic year.
Eligibility
To be eligible for this fellowship, applicants must meet the following criteria:
- Woman nationals in Eastern or Southern Africa other than Ethiopia.
- Hold Master’s degree in biomedical or health sciences from a recognized university and completed their MSc with CGPA ≥ 3.40 or equivalent.
- Submit a preliminary research proposal potential for developing new therapeutic solutions – drugs, diagnostics, vaccines, and complex interventions – to major diseases plaguing Africa relevant to medical discovery and development.
- Successfully pass entrance examination at Aklilu Lemma Institute of Pathobiology, and obtain admission at Addis Ababa University.
- Be able to enrol and attend the program on a full-time basis from 2019-2020 academic year.
Fellowship
- The fellowship covers a modest monthly stipend, dormitory, medical coverage of up to 10,000 birr per year, and funding to support research projects.
Obligations of CDT-Africa
- Assign a Supervisor/co-Supervisor from CDT-Africa Faculty who would actively follow-up and advise the PhD Fellow together with the ALIPB Supervisor/co-Supervisor;
- Facilitate hiring of data collectors needed for implementation of the PhD Fellow’s research project;
- Facilitate national and international level laboratory attachments, training, and internship opportunities to the PhD Fellow in line with the research project and overall academic needs;
- Assess filled purchase requests of the Fellow and conduct procurements timely;
- Review documents submitted by the PhD Fellow;
- Effect payments of field or office level activities of the research project as per AAU financial regulation;
- Conduct financial analysis and monitoring of the funding and regularly update the PhD Fellow to effectively follow and utilize; and
Application
- Application document (CV, motivation letter, PhD project concept note, official transcript and copies of degrees) must be submitted in electronic copy via email to Dr Tsegahun Manyazewal (email: tsegahunm.cdtafrica@gmail.com) copying Ms Bethelhem Fekadu (email: bettyfek2010@gmail.com).
- The motivation letter should describe how the applicant meets the requirements for the PhD fellowship and why she wants to engage in the fellowship.
- The deadline for application is 16 August 2019.
- Interview will be conducted in late August via Skype or alternative methods.
