Agricultural Transformation by Innovation (AgTraIn)
FELLOWSHIPS OPPORTUNITIES 2015
The call is now open
Deadline every year the 1st of November 2014
The Agricultural Transformation by Innovation (AgTraIn) invites grant applications from doctoral candidates around the world leaving behind the 28 EU member states and EEA_EFTA states for the Erasmus Mundus Fellowships programs.
You apply by writing a project proposal with a specific research topic. See below Research topics 2014
You cannot create this topic yourself -during the summer several research topics will be published on the AgTrain website: You choose one and write a proposal based on this topic.
You cannot conduct fieldwork in your home country.
Applications must be submitted through the online application platform: Apply now
■Applicants must have a very good second university degree (MSc degree).
■Applicants must be doctoral candidates from any countries other than the 28 EU member states and the EEA-EFTA states (Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, Lichtenstein).
■Applicants must not be a resident nor have carried out her/his main activity (studies, work, etc.) for more than a total of 12 months over the last five years in one of the 28 EU member states or EEA-EFTA countries (Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, Lichtenstein).
■Third-Country doctoral candidates, who have previously received an Erasmus Mundus Masters scholarship, can also apply.
■Applicants must be proficient in English language
Start date
Selected doctoral candidates should expect to start their doctoral studies around 1 September every year.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Fellowships Research Topics 2014
No / Title / Keywords / Institution 1 / Institution 21 / Strategies for sustaining small-scale fisheries in Mediterranean sea / Artisanal Fishery,
Stakeholders, Sustainability, Labelling, Indicators, Mediterranean / Catania / Montpellier
2 / Reducing the impact of feedstuff transport by a better utilisation of plant wastes for livestock in the dry Mediterranean areas: a way to improve meat quality? / livestock, wastes
disposal, meat quality, alternative feed resources / Catania / Cork
3 / Integrated crop-livestock-tree systems for smallholder farmers in the Amazon / integrated farming
systems, agroforestry, resource use efficiency, co-innovation, livelihoods,
Amazon / Wageningen / Montpellier
4 / Assessment and Optimization of Multiple Uses of Organic Matter in Crop-Livestock Systems in Kenya / smallholder production, livestock, organic matter, soil quality, fodder,
market opportunity, policy / Montpellier / Wageningen
5 / Modelling PES (Payments for Ecosystem Services) using product bundles (water conservation, biodiversity and soil carbon sequestration) to prevent deforestation in tropical montane cloud forests (TMCFs) and meet the socioeconomic needs of their farmers in Latin America / Tropical montane cloud
forests; Coffee plantations; Payment for Ecosystem Services; product “bundles”
in PES schemes / Madrid / Montpellier
6 / Improving degraded soils – an interdisciplinary assessment of the factors and mitigation possibilities for impoverished peoples of the dry lands in Chile / Soil reclamation, Smallholder incomes, Management strategies, LCA / Copenhagen / Catania
7 / Developing Food value chains for Small and medium Scale Cassava Farmers in Ghana / small and medium rural
agriculture, postharvest loss, food security / Cork / Madrid
8 / The potential economic and nutritional impact of indigenous fresh fruits and vegetable production and consumption in rural communities / Fruits and leafy
vegetables, nutrition, food security
income generation, consumption, sufficiency and sustainability / Cork / Catania
9 / Assessing sustainable fertilisation strategies for Coffee producers in Central America / Coffee, N Fertilisation,
Agroforestry, N2 fixation / Montpellier / Copenhagen
10 / Impact of innovation and research systems in the agricultural and food sector of the countries of the South / innovation system,
impacts of innovation, innovation economy, intermediaries, innovation policies / Montpellier / Madrid
What is AgTraIn Fellowships
A fully integrated three-year Ph.D. Programme with focus on
- Agricultural development, commercialization and farmer innovation in developing countries.
- Applied research, joint supervision and mobility periods for students and staff.
- Joint research with leading research and industry organizations in Africa, Asia, Europe and South America.
ABOUT AgTraIN
Agricultural Transformation by Innovation (AgTraIn) is a three-year world-class Joint Doctoral Programme (180 ECTS). AgTraIn is part of the Erasmus Mundus programme initiated by the European Commission to enhance and promote European higher education throughout the world. The language of the programme is English. AgTraIn has a policy of equal opportunities for men and women and people with special needs.
The AgTraIn Objective and Focus
The main objective of the AgTraIn programme is to develop an elite European school within the topic of successful development and transformation of farming systems in the developing world. Thematically, the AgTraIn programme deals with agricultural production chains, the natural resource base and the involved communities. The scope of AgTraIn will range from the technical aspects of agricultural production, over post-harvest management, processing and value-addition, to market access and commercialisation. A key feature of the programme is the involvement of key stakeholders in identifying research questions and participating in project formulation. The emphasis is on applied research.
The AgTraIn Consortium
The AgTraIn programme provides you with a single entry-point access to top-level and up-to-date research on agricultural transformation within the scientific fields of the programme. The programme is jointly developed and delivered by a six-university consortium consisting of
- University of Copenhagen, Denmark
- Universita degli Studi di Catania, Italy
- University College of Cork, Ireland
- Universidad Politecnica de Madrid, Spain
- Montpellier SupAgro, France
- Wageningen University, The Netherlands
In addition, a string of globally important institutions and networks in the AgTraIn scientific fields have joined AgTraIn as Associate Partners:
- Institute Agronomique et Veterinaire Hasan II, Morocco
- Kasetsart University, Thailand
- Makerere University, Uganda
- University of São Paulo, Brazil
- Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM), Uganda
- Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA)
- Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center (CATIE), Costa Rica
- CGIAR Challenge Programme on Climate Change Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS), Denmark
- Promoting Local Innovation (PROLINNOVA), The Netherlands
- Young Professionals Platformon Agricultural Research for Development (YPARD), Germany
Fellowships
Every year approximately 8-10 fellowships will be available to academically outstanding applicants. There is one annual call for applications; short-listed applicants are invited to present and discuss their proposals.