1. About TAFSA Program

Intra-Africa Mobility to Train Agribusiness and Food System Scientists for African Agriculture (TAFSA) is funded by the European Union (EU). The program is run by 5 African Universities namely, Eduardo Mondlane University (Mozambique); Gulu University (Uganda); Makerere University (Uganda); University of Abomey Calavi (Benin), and University of Pretoria (South Africa). The goal of TAFSA project is to enhance synergetic cooperation amongst selected Agricultural Universities in Africa. Specifically, the project aims at supporting these African universities with research and training of skilful and competent professionals to contribute to the improvement of food systems, and agribusiness to respond to challenges associated with food insecurity and malnutrition, poverty and unemployment.

Through students training and staff mobility, TAFSA project is expected to contribute to:

1. 1. Improving the skills and competencies of students to increase their employability;
   2. Improving the quality of higher education in Africa and its relevance to Africa's development vision; and
   3. Strengthening partnerships and research collaboration amongst African higher education institutions and research collaboration.

Through this project, a total of 56 fellowships are available for training (37 Masters and 19 PhD students). Of these, 25(11 MSc, 14 PhD) are short-term credit seeking mobilities, while 31 (26 MSc, and 5 PhDs) are degree seeking mobility in the areas of agribusiness, consumer science, food security, nutrition, agricultural economics and agricultural policy.

In this fifth call for degree seeking mobility scholarships, the project aims at selecting 11 MSc Scholars as detailed in the program mobility table.

2. Target beneficiaries

Beneficiaries of TAFSA scholarship are categorised into two target groups (TGs).

• TG-I include staff and students from TAFSA project hosting countries i.e., Benin, Mozambique, Uganda, and South Africa. To qualify for TG-1, a candidate must be a former student of a participating university.
• TG-II includes students from all other African countries, with priority being given to students from conflict-affected and disadvantaged countries, including Burundi, Cameroon, Liberia, Mali and Sierra Leone.

3. Selection Criteria

For admission into the TAFSA Master’s degree seeking program, candidate must meet the following criteria:

• Should hold a Bachelor’s degree of at least a second class or equivalent standing from an accredited and qualifying University.                                                                                                             

• Candidates should apply to only one academic programme of their choice in an eligible host institution and country.
• Applicants must apply to a university outside of their home country
• Female candidates and candidates with disabilities are highly encouraged to apply.

Further details on entry requirements into a specific course for study can be found on the host institution website or from the TAFSA project website https://www.tafsa.org

• Details of the programmes for mobility, host institution and numbers(including Gender requirements) are summarised in the mobility table below.

Selection of beneficiaries of the TAFSA Mobility Program will follow a 2- step process i.e.,

1. Admission of the candidate to the host institution for the program applied for, and
2. Selection of candidates for the TAFSA scholarship award.

Selection of scholarship applicants will be carried out by a designated TAFSA admission committee. The committee will evaluate the eligibility for TG-I candidates based on TAFSA’s selection criteria which include the student's academic profile, professional background, and motivation. TAFSA scholarship selection criteria ensure equitable access, inclusion, and will give opportunity to participants from all backgrounds, including those with fewer opportunities such as junior academic staff, professional athletes, disadvantaged people, people living with disabilities and women.

The assessment of eligibility of a candidate will follow the following criteria:

1. 1. Proof that the candidate is from an eligible country;
   2. The candidate fulfils the Target Group (TG) requirements;
   3. The application deadline is respected;
   4. The right application form is used;
   5. All required supporting documents are provided and are official and legible;
   6. The application is in the language of instruction for that host institution and country (see

mobility table below).

4. Language of instruction

The language of instruction varies with the TAFSA project hosting institution/country. This will range from English (Uganda, South Africa), Portuguese (Mozambique) and French (Benin). Details of the language of instructions is provided in the program summary table. Language proficiency may be required for students to be considered for the training. For those students with language deficiency in the language of instruction, they will be offered a language course before the mobility at their home university (short-term mobility), and for long-term mobility students they will be offered a language course at the beginning of the mobility at the host university.

5. Application Process

Intending candidates should follow the following process to apply for TAFSA Scholarship:

1. 1. Apply for admission to a participating University Program of choice under the TAFSA project(see mobility Table).
   2. Upon receiving admission and/or evidence of application for admission, apply for TAFSA Scholarship.

Note: Candidates who apply for the scholarship without evidence of application/admission to host institution shall not be considered in the selection for scholarship Award.

6. Application Deadline

The call for applications and scholarship is open from 11th November 2024 and will close on 15th January 2025. Interested candidates should download and fill the application form, and submit by email to the project coordination office, tafsa21@gmail.com, with a copy to the project coordinator., 3ngiva@gmail.com. Additional information on admission criteria and application forms are available on the TAFSA website https://www.tafsa.org or can be accessed through the following link (see mobility table).

All applications must be submitted by the deadline date (15^th January 2025, 12:00 GMT).

Late and incomplete applications will not be considered

Scholarship Package

TAFSA project offers full board scholarship that includes a monthly stipend, insurance

(accident, travel and health), travel costs, tuition fees and research associated costs.