Southeast Asian University Consortium for Graduate Education in Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC)

DAAD Offers Scholarships for International Deans' Course in Southeast Asia 2012/2013

The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) has forged linkage with the University of Applied Sciences Osnabrück, the German Rectors' Conference (HRK), the Centre for Higher Education (CHE) and the Alexander-von-Humboldt Foundation (AvH) to organize the International Deans' Course in South East Asia 2012/2013.

Heads of departments or vice-deans aiming at taking over a dean position in the near future, or a dean with only minorexperiences in performing the position are eligible to apply for this three-part intensive training course.

The International Deans' Course in South East Asia, which is part of the DIES (Dialogue on Innovative Higher Education Strategies) programme aims to bring together a group of about 30 deans, vice-deans, and heads of departments - many of them alumni of DAAD and Humboldt Foundation - from universities of the Southeast Asian Region to prepare them for the challenges of holding a dean's position in a changing higher education landscape. Issues such as strategic faculty management, financial management, quality assurance, and leadership will be key parts of this course. A soft skills workshop and an exchange with German university leaders about higher education reforms will also be included.

Travel costs, board, and lodging as well as a substantial part of the tuition fee will be covered by the DAAD with funds from the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Applications must be received (via e-mail) by February 15th, 2012. Send applications to:

Application form and motivation letter forms can be downloadedhere. Further information on the application requirements, DAAD DIES Programme, and the International Deans' Course can be found at www.daad.de/dies and www.international-deans-course.org.

DAAD is a long-time partner of the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) through its graduate scholarship program, awarding around 332 graduate scholarships for around 35 years now

SEARCA Announces IDRC Scholarships for Agriculture and Food Security in the Uplands

The emerging concerns in agriculture and food security in the uplands of Southeast Asia require the continuous strengthening of the knowledge and research skills of target human resources in the region. To answer this need, the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) through financial support of the Canada's International Development Research Center (IDRC) is inviting qualified candidates from Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Vietnam to pursue science-based master's degrees in the fields of related to agriculture and food security in the uplands in leading universities in the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Interested applicants may email their expressions of interest to:

The Manager
Graduate Scholarship Department
Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA)
College, Laguna 4031, Philippines
Email:  ecc@agri.searca.org

To download poster on the graduate scholarship for agriculture and food security in the uplands, click here.

UGM Research Explores Bio-mulch as Replacement for Plastic Mulch

A research on the use of bio-mulch in sandy land at Congot beach, Jangkaran Village, Temon, Kulon Progo, Yogyakarta, Indonesia as an alternative to plastic mulch is being done by Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) Faculty of Animal Science. "The research is just one activity under a bigger research program on the development of pastures in sandy land," said Dr. Bambang Suwignyo, a faculty member of UGM and a SEARCA alumnus who finished his PhD program at the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB). Bio-mulch is a residual hay/feed that is no longer consumed by cattle.

Dr. Suwignyo initiated the use of sandy land for forage and pastures development for cattle feed in 2005. He explained that farmers usually use plastic mulch in sandy land, which is dry and has high evaporation rate. However, plastic mulch is expensive and less environmentally friendly, so many farmers have raised complaints.

According to Dr. Suwignyo, this particular kind of bio-mulch also serves as a fertilizer when it is not yet decomposed. The 2.5 month research on a 300 m2sandy land suggests that bio-mulch may replace the function of plastic mulch. He also added that although the research has only reached the data analysisstage, there are indications that the use of plastic mulch and bio-mulch has the same result.

 

 

SOURCE: UGM News|30 January 2012

Invitation to Explore Taiwan's Biodiversity, Agriculture and Culture

The call for applications for National Taiwan University's Biodiversity, Agriculture and Culture of Taiwan (BACT) Summer Program is now open to qualified students of SEARCA partner universities in the Southeast Asian region.

The summer program, which runs from 23 June to 22 July 2012, gives the participants an opportunity to experience hands-on the abundant flora and fauna, as well as the rich cultural heritage that Taiwan has got to offer.

Selected undergraduate and ongoing master's students from the UC-member universities will enjoy waived program fee, which covers course materials, program T-shirt and bag, all the accommodation and two thirds of meals, travel expenses and insurance within Taiwan. Cost of international round trip airplane ticket an personal incidental expenses shall be borne by the selected students.

Applications from students of UC-member universities must be received by SEARCA on or before 11 May 2012. Application documents must be emailed to:

The Manager
Graduate Scholarship Department
SEARCA, Los Baños, Laguna
Email:  ecc@agri.searca.org gsd@agri.searca.org

For a complete list of application requirements, visit: http://homepage.ntu.edu.tw/~ntuciaeae/CIAEAE/Apply.html
Click here to know more about the BACT Summer Program.

UQ and Partners Boost Sustainable Development of High Value Crops in the Pacific

Dr. Michael Furlong of the University of Queensland (UQ) School of Biological Sciences, is leading an international collaborative project to boost the sustainable development of high-value crops in the Pacific Islands.

The USD 3.47 million five-year project with funding from the Australian Centre for International Agriculture Research (ACIAR) started on November 2011 and will end on 30 June 2016. The project aims to determine emerging pest and disease problems and their effects on newly intensified crops.

Dr. Furlong and his research teams plan to work hand-in-hand with policy makers and farmers across the region to enhance long-term livelihoods of farmers and sustainably produce more intensive crops.

Dr. Furlong said that, "An overall aim of the project is to strengthen and sustain research capacity in the region through collaborative research projects and work with local farmers to encourage the adoption of improved crop management practices. The project will enable UQ to continue its applied research in biological control and other environmentally friendly methods of insect pest management developed in previous ACIAR projects." He also added that the project hopes to develop and implement national strategies for insecticide resistance management of a key pest in the region, which has become resistant to many of the insecticides that are currently available to farmers.

UQ will take the lead in implementing the project in close collaboration with the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), the Asian Vegetable Research and Development Centre (AVRDC) - The World Vegetable Centre, and national government ministries responsible for agriculture in Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, and Solomon Islands.
   

For more information on this ACIAR project, visit the ACIAR website at aciar.gov.au.

 

 

SOURCE: UQ News|24 February 2012

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