Extreme weather variability experienced in many parts of sub-Saharan Africa due to the
adverse impact of climate change has caused a rapid decline in food production. The lack of a critical mass of trained graduates with knowledge in relevant areas such as genomics and digital technologies to mitigate the effects of climate change has further worsened the situation.
Students are invited to develop their research proposal on a selected crop listed in Table
- We will develop cross-country and cross-region collaboration with these five focal areas:
grains (Fonio and Finger millet), Legumes (Bambara groundnut and Mung bean/green
gram, roots and tubers (Taro), Leafy greens (Amaranth) and oil crops (sesame).
P.S. The hosting university reserves the right to change the crop and/or modify the
subject depending on the gap in the literature.
3-Scholarship: duration and financial support
For PhD students, the maximum duration of a scholarship is 36 months for a degree
seeking mobility, For MSc students, the maximum duration of a scholarship is 12 months for credit
seeking mobility,
The scholarship includes subsistence allowances (including the return ticket of the
students during his mobility and settling-in allowances), participation costs, contribution
to research costs and insurance in line with EACEA procedures.
PhD students will receive a monthly stipend of 1230 Euros. This includes (1) travels
cost to and from the host institution and (2) settling allowance.
MSc students will receive a monthly stipend of 890 Euros. This also includes (1)
travels cost to and from the host institution and (2) settling allowance.
Research costs, tuition fees, costs related to training, participation in conferences and
insurance costs are covered by the host institution following EACEA guidelines. Note that
the supervision team in the host institution must approve participation in conferences and special training.
4- Eligibility
To apply to this call, students should have proficiency in Plant breeding, Biotechnology,
Biology or any related fields. Students showing interest inapplying digital technologies
to the above-mentioned field are encouraged to apply. In addition, to be eligible for a
scholarship ‘’students’’ must comply with the below criteria at the time of the application
for a scholarship:
a) at the time they apply for a scholarship, candidates must be national of and resident in an African country.
b) be registered/admitted in or having obtained a degree in a HEI from:
b-2) HEI not included in the GENES II consortium but established in an EACE A eligible
country (Target group 2). This target group includes students registered/admitted
in or having obtained a degree from another HEI other than Ebonyi State University,
University of Abomey-Calavi, Jimma University, Egerton University, North-West
University, University of Zimbabwe, but established in Africa.
Ebonyi State University, Nigeria
University of Abomey-Calavi, Republic of Benin
Jimma University, Ethiopia
Egerton University, Kenya
North-West University, South of Africa
University of Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe
b-1) one of the HEIs included in the GENES II consortium (Target group 1). This target
group includes students from all partner universities as follows:
c) have sufficient knowledge of the language of the courses in the host countries.
d) Should also meet the enrolment criteria of the university he/she would want
to apply to
The consortium involves Francophone and Anglophone countries and will promote
bilingual aptitude in students throughout the implementation of the project. Language
courses will be offered to help students improve their skills.
Students having benefited from scholarship(s) under the previous intra-Africa Academic
Mobility Scheme are eligible to receive scholarship under this current call.
5- Number of available scholarships for this first call
The GENES II project is opened to all students from the partner universities (Target Group
1) and those from other African universities (Target Group 2). Currently, twelve (12) PhDs,
and sixteen (16) MSc are available.
Egerton University Scholarship Application for PhDs and MSc Positions