RUFORUM Field Attachment Programme Award: An Internship Programme for MSc. Students

Abstract: 
At the core of its operations and business RUFORUM manages a Competitive Grants System (CGS) comprising three competitive granting mechanisms. These are the Graduate Research Grant (GRG); Community Action Research Grant (CARP); and the Field Attachment Programme Award (FAPA). Through the CGS RUFORUM’s 29 member universities are encouraged to conduct participatory research involving faculty and students working in partnerships with the farmers and other agencies involved in research and development. The FAPA awards ensure that RUFORUM funded research has a wide reach and impact. Making research known or sharing research findings at any level of society not only adds value to the research but also validates the work that has been done. The field attachment programme awards are designed in such a way that students are encouraged to follow through with the dissemination of their research and to enable them to link more closely with the agencies working in their area of research. It is established for those students who have developed a useful intervention, product or service as part of their MSc. studies and who have handed in their thesis, have no more stipend due from the GRG or CARP, but who could make a more meaningful impact if they stay on for a few more months and provide advisory services related to their research. Through the FAPA students are exposed to real world experiences and establish contacts with development, private sector and government agencies.
Au centre de ses opérations et de ses activités, RUFORUM gère un système compétitif des subventions (CGS) comprenant trois mécanismes concurrentiels subventionnaires. Il s’agit de la bourse de recherche post-universitaire (GRG), la bourse de recherche-action communautaire (CARP) et la bourse du programme d’attachement sur terrain (FAPA). Grâce au CGS, 29 universités membres de RUFORUM sont encouragées à mener des recherches participatives impliquant les professeurs et les étudiants qui travaillent en partenariat avec les agriculteurs et d’autres organismes impliqués dans la recherche et le développement. Les bourses du FAPA assurent que la recherche financée par RUFORUM a une large portée et un impact. Faire connaitre la recherche ou partager les résultats de recherche à tous les niveaux de la société, non seulement ajoute de la valeur à la recherche, mais aussi valide le travail qui a été fait. Les bourses du programme d’attachement sur terrain sont conçues de telle manière que les étudiants soient encouragés à donner suite à la diffusion de leur recherche et à leur permettre d’être en liaison plus étroite avec les organismes qui travaillent dans leur domaine de recherche. Il est établi que ces étudiants qui ont développé une intervention, un produit ou un service utile dans le cadre de leurs études de maîtrise et qui ont remis leurs mémoires, n’ont plus d’allocation régulière de GRG ou CARP, mais celle qui pourrait avoir un impact plus significatif s’ils y restent pour un peu plus de mois et fournissent des services consultatifs liés à leur recherche. Grâce au FAPA, les étudiants sont exposés à des expériences réelles du monde et établissent des contacts avec le développement, le secteur privé et les organismes gouvernementaux.
Language: 
Extended abstract under Strengthening S&T Capacity in Africa
Date of publication: 
2012
Country: 
Region Focus: 
East Africa
Collection: 
RUFORUM Conferences and Workshops
Agris Subject Categories: 
Licence conditions: 
Open Access
Notes: 

The 2012 RUFORUM Biennial Conference is the third in the series. The main objective of the Biennial conferences is to provide a platform for agricultural research for development stakeholders in Africa and beyond to actively exchange findings and experiences, while at the same time learning lessons towards improving performance of the agricultural sector and ultimately people’s livelihoods. The biennial conference is RUFORUM’s most comprehensive meeting for the diversity of stakeholders in agriculture. It is especially dedicated to graduate students and their supervisors, grantees in RUFORUM member universities and alumni. It is a platform for peer review, quality control, mentorship, networking and shared learning. The third Biennial Conference was attended by 657 participants. This record contains an extended abstract accepted under the theme Strengthening S&T Capacity in Africa