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WASCAL to train 3,000 African scientists

The two-day meeting was attended by representatives from four West African countries – The Gambia, Liberia, Nigeria and Ghana.

“In West Africa we have a population of about 348 million and looking at what WASCAL has done so far, producing about 200 research scientists, our projection is to have about 3,000 climate scientists

“In West Africa we have a population of about 348 million and looking at what WASCAL has done so far, producing about 200 research scientists, our projection is to have about 3,000 climate scientists by the year 2020,”
The West Africa Science Service Centre on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use (WASCAL) is to train about 3,000 research scientists by the year 2020.
This is intended to contribute to efforts by member countries of WASCAL to fight the effects of climate change on the West African sub-region and also improve the resilience of West African countries to climate change and climate variability.

The Director, Capacity Building, WASCAL, Professor Janet Olatundun Adelegan, gave the hint yesterday, when she presented a brief on WASCAL’s capacity-building programme, during the opening ceremony of a sub-regional consultative meeting on climate change in Accra.
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The two-day meeting was attended by representatives from four West African countries – The Gambia, Liberia, Nigeria and Ghana.

“In West Africa we have a population of about 348 million and looking at what WASCAL has done so far, producing about 200 research scientists, our projection is to have about 3,000 climate scientists by the year 2020,” Prof. Adelegan said.

She explained that the centre was expected to organise short courses and workshops to complement the major courses which would be demand-driven and focused on the priorities of countries in the sub-region, so as to make them relevant.
Essence of meeting

The Executive Director of WASCAL, Dr Laurent G. Sedogo, said the meeting was the last of three sub-regional consultative meetings that were “aimed at identifying common research and capacity building needs of different member countries for consideration in a final regional meeting in a few months” in Ouagadougou.

He said WASCAL had commissioned national and regional consultative meetings and had so far held 14 of such , to solicit the inputs of partners and customers for their research agenda for 2017 to 2020.

“Our overarching objective is to integrate, as much as possible, the research and capacity-building needs expressed by our partners into our research agenda, so as to make our research findings and the climate services relevant to the needs of the ECOWAS region,” he stated.

Sense of ownership

The Deputy Head of Mission and Head of the Economic Section of the German Embassy, Mr Bernhard Abels, who was the special guest of honour, said the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and Germany wished that through the consultative workshops, member countries would develop a high sense of ownership of the WASCAL programme and agenda.

He said the BMBF also hoped that African countries would increasingly commit human and financial resources to achieve the ultimate goal of significantly reducing the effects of climate change and climate variability on human and environmental systems.

Citing some of the effects of climate change on the West African sub-region, Mr Abels said, “As the main source of livelihood for majority of the populace, rain-fed agriculture is becoming unattractive and unbeneficial for millions of smallholder farmers due to factors such as delayed start of rains, long spells during the season and declining soil fertility.”

He indicated that it was to reduce the impact of climate change that over €30 million had already been invested in infrastructure, scientific equipment, capacity building and research by German and African scientists in the last five years.

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Announcement: Application Process for Doctoral and Master’s Fellowships at the Graduate Studies Program has been extended

Please note: The call for application has been extended to January 22, 2016.

WASCAL (West African Science Service Center on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use) is a large-scale research-focused Climate Service Center designed to help tackle severe challenges posed by climate change and thereby enhance the resilience of human and environmental systems to climate change and increased variability. It does so by strengthening the research infrastructure and capacity in West Africa related to climate change and by pooling the expertise of ten West African countries and Germany. Through the Graduate Studies Program WASCAL’s Capacity Building Program helps educate the next generation of scientists to attain an intimate knowledge of different climate related issues in order to help the region develop suitable management strategies.

The WASCAL Graduate Studies Program supports four Master’s and six Doctoral Programs implemented at ten lead Universities across West African countries. WASCAL provides full scholarships to the Doctoral and Master’s students in all the ten lead Universities with comprehensive training and research support. Doctoral students may spend up to six months at a host institution in Germany. The language of instruction is English. English and French language training programs are provided for all graduate students. Graduate students have access to the research facilities set up through WASCAL funding and located at various watersheds in West Africa. German partner universities collaborate with the Doctoral and Master’s Programs in the areas of curriculum development, visiting professorships and co-supervision of graduate students.

The WASCAL Graduate Studies Program offers its students:

High quality research and education on climate change and its impact on human environmental systems.
Up to six months at a host institution in Germany (Doctoral Programs only!)
Interdisciplinary working approach
International lecturers and supervisors
English language classes
Scholarship and research budget, including a personal laptop computer

Doctoral Programs

West African Climate System
Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), Nigeria
Apply now: Download call for applications and application form and the recommendation letter

Climate Change and Water Resources
UniversitĂ© d’Abomey-Calavi (UAC), Benin
Apply now: Download call for applications and application form

Climate Change Economics
Université Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar (UCAD), Senegal
Apply now: Download call for applications and application form

Climate Change and Biodiversity
UniversitĂ© Felix Houphouet Boigny (formerly UniversitĂ© de Cocody‐Abidjan), CĂŽte d‘Ivoire
Apply now: Download call for applications and application form

Climate Change and Land Use
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Ghana
Apply now: Download call for applications and referee form and application form

Climate Change and Agriculture
L’Institut Polytechnique Rural de Formation et de Recherche AppliquĂ©e, (IPR-IFRA), Mali and University of Cape Coast, Ghana
Apply now: Download call for applications and application form

Time Frame

The time frame of the doctoral programs is three and a half years. During the first three months, students take English and/or French language classes and common courses at the language centers. During the next 6 months student participate in lectures at their Graduate Research Program and prepare their proposals. After their proposals have been approved by their supervisors, the students conduct their field research for 12 to 24 months. For the remaining period of time, students will write up their thesis and are offered to spend up to six months at a German host institution.

Requirements

Candidates applying for a Doctoral Program must have a Master’s degree in a relevant discipline in addition to a BSc degree (second class upper division).
Citizenship in one of the WASCAL member country (BĂ©nin, Burkina Faso, CĂŽte d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Niger, Mali, Nigeria, SĂ©negal, Togo)
Five credits including Mathematics and English Language that are also equivalent to Francophone university grading system
Gender-balanced selection decision
Applicant should show proficiency in English Language.
Meet additional requirement of the lead university

Master’s Programs

Climate Change and Human Security
University of Lomé, Togo
Apply now: Download call for applications and application form

Climate Change and Education
University of The Gambia (UTG), The Gambia
Apply now: Download application form

Climate Change and Energy
Université Abdou Moumouni de Niamey (UAM), Niger
Apply now: Download call for applications and application form

Climate Change and Adapted Land Use
Federal University of Technology, Minna, Nigeria
Apply now: Download application form

Time Frame

The time frame for the Master’s programs is two years. During the first year students participate in the course program of their Graduate Research Program and work on their research outline. Research will be conducted during the second year within a period of six to nine months. Students finish the program with writing up their thesis during the last three to six month.

Requirements

Candidates applying for Master’s Program must have a minimum BSc degree (second class upper division) in a discipline relevant to the respective program.
Citizenship in one of the WASCAL member country (BĂ©nin, Burkina Faso, CĂŽte d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Niger, Mali, Nigeria, SĂ©negal, Togo)
Five credits including Mathematics and English Language that are also equivalent to Francophone university grading system
Gender-balanced selection decision
Applicant should show proficiency in English Language.
Meet additional requirement of the lead university

Application Process

The application process is handled jointly by WASCAL and the individual Graduate Programs. Applications can be submitted online to any of the Graduate Studies Program for the 2015/2015 season until January 22, 2016. The details of the application process can be found at the respective programs pages (see linkes above). Shortlisted candidates will be contacted and invited for interviews by January 29, 2016.

More information on the Graduate Studies Program and on open applications can be found here or at the respective universities websites.

Member Countries

  • Benin
    Benin
  • Burkina Faso
    Burkina Faso
  • Cabo Verde
    Cabo Verde
  • CĂŽte d'Ivoire
    CĂŽte d'Ivoire
  • Gambia
    Gambia
  • Ghana
    Ghana
  • Guinea
    Guinea
  • Mali
    Mali
  • Niger
    Niger
  • Nigeria
    Nigeria
  • SĂ©nĂ©gal
    Sénégal
  • Sierra Leone
    Sierra Leone
  • Togo
    Togo

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WASCAL seeks to become one of Africa’s leading science-based institutions in the provision of climate services in and for West Africa.

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