WHAT IS MOBREED?

Funded by the Intra – Africa Mobility Scheme, a mobility program developed by the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACAE) of the European Union, MoBreed aims at harmonizing training programs among its founding partners on plant breeding and educating high profiled breeders who can promote the underutilized crops in Africa to tackle food insecurity on the continent. Through this mobility program, students will receive high quality training on the latest technologies of plant breeding. Harmonization of working procedures will allow the recognition of curriculum and credits among the partner universities. Staff of these universities will also have the benefit from this program in order to advance their knowledge on the orphan crops targeted by MoBreed.

 

WHO ARE THE PARTNERS INVOLVED IN MOBREED?

The main institutions involved in MOBREED are: University of Abomey-Calavi in Benin, University of Namibia in Namibia, Jimma University in Ethiopia, Ebonyi State University in Nigeria and Montpellier SupAgro.

Other institutions include: Centre for International Cooperation in Agricultural Research for Development – CIRAD, African Orphan Crop Consortium (AOCC), African Plant Breeding Academy (AfPBA), Plant Breeding E-Learning in Africa (Iowa State University).

 

WHO CAN APPLY AND HOW TO APPLY TO THE SCHOLARSHIP?

The MoBreed mobility grant is open to all students from any of the partner universities (Target Group 1) and secondly to students from other African universities (Target Group 2).

Target Group 1:

This category includes students from all partner universities as follows:

• University of Abomey-Calavi; Benin
• University of KwaZulu-Natal; South Africa
• University of Namibia; Namibia
• Jimma University; Ethiopia
• Ebonyi State University; Nigeria

 

Target Group 2:

Group 2 includes all other African countries. As soon as the call for applications is opened, students or academic/ administrative staff wishing to apply should send their application to: Mrs. Lydia Sognon, lydia.sognon@gmail.com with copy to mobreed.uac@gmail.com. Admission regulations for PhD and MSc Studies are to be found from prospective HEIs website. This application is for MoBreed Project scholarships only. The application form together with other required documents should be sent as a unique PDF attachment to the addresses indicated above. You may download the MS Word version of the application form, and complete it before sending. Applicants are also required to send their proposal together with the application form as ONE SINGLE PDF DOCUMENT. Other required documents are listed in the application form and include:

• Cover letter
• Scholarship Application form (this document)
• Student proposal (guidelines available online)
• National ID or Copy of Passport Data page
• Certificate of degree
• Transcript records
• Support letter from sending HEIs
• Recommendation letter of home supervisor (mandatory for all applicants)
• Enrollment proof in degree course from home institution (for MSc applicants)
• Curriculum Vitae
• Employment certificate (only for staff)
• Certificate of English or French language skills
• Proof of socio-economic vulnerability (if available)

In order to meet the general selection requirements for MSc Mobility Grant, the applicant must have completed the first two semesters of a Master of Science course in Agronomy, Biology or any related field in his home country. Students with Genetics, Biotechnology, and plant breeding background are highly encouraged to apply.

For PhD degree applicants should hold an MSc degree in Genetics, Biotechnology, Plant breeding, Agronomy, Biology or any related fields. Students with Genetics, Biotechnology, and plan breeding background are highly encouraged to apply.

Visit the ‘’Scholarship’’ section for further information.

 

WHAT ARE THE AVAILABLE PROGRAMS?

The fields of study depend on the institution for which you are applying. You will find a detailed list of available programs in the « Programs/Courses » section

 

WHAT DOES THE SCHOLARSHIP COVER?

The scholarship will cover:

• roundtrip 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.

NB: Female PhD scholarship holders will receive additional allowances according to the Intra-Africa Mobility Scheme. Women moving with their children to the host country will receive an allocation for childcare on a per capita basis. In case of breaks for family reasons, mechanisms allowing women to pursue their mobility experience will be discussed.

 

WHAT IS THE DURATION OF THE SCHOLARSHIP?

Applications can be submitted either for a full degree or for a short exchange – at the master and PhD levels. The scholarship covers the entire period of study for which applicants have applied and have been selected. The duration of mobility is maximum 12 months for master students, maximum 48 months for PhD candidates and one month for staff.

 

WHAT ARE THE SELECTION CRITERIA?

The selection among the eligible candidates will be based on their capacity to benefit from the training. The criteria used to assess these prospects are:

• quality of earlier writings by the candidate(s) and quality of other merits;
• originality, feasibility and potential contribution of the planned research to the field of interest;
• integration with a product-focused cultivar or breed development program that serves smallholder farmers;
• practical and realistic time-line;
• ability of plan to include a realistic and feasible molecular breeding techniques;
• importance and relevance of the trait(s) and germplasm to the region;
• enthusiasm of the applicant, and support of home institution;
• possibilities for the Host and Home HEIs to offer adequate supervision with respect to the planned research;
• Gender considerations.

 

HOW TO STAY IN TOUCH?

For more information or further concerns, please contact Mrs. Lydia Sognon, lydia.sognon@gmail.com, International Cooperation Office, University of Abomey-Calavi, Republic of Benin. Contacts of HEIs representative are available on www.mobreed.com

 

IS IT POSSIBLE TO RECEIVE MORE THAN ONE SCHOLARSHIP FROM MOBREED?

NO, students can only benefit from one scholarship from Mobreed.