The Project
The Project: Achieving Research and Knowledge Translation Capacity for Climate Change Resilience, Food Security and Sustainable Livelihoods in West Africa
Applications were invited from PhD students, postdoctoral fellows and early career researchers from participating partner universities, to participate in a project addressing climate change resilience, food security and sustainable livelihoods in West Africa. This international training program was funded by the International Development Research Centre, QES Advanced Scholars West Africa Program and it supported scholar projects to inform progress on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, with preference given to those that focused on, or clearly integrated, SDG 5 (gender equality).
Two Western PhD scholars were placed with Cape Coast and S.D Dombo universities in Ghana for 6 months. 16 West African scholars were placed at Western University as follows:
- 2 PhD and 2 Early Career Scholars from the Université Cheikh Anta Diop in Senegal
- 1 Early Career scholar from the University of Liberia
- 4 PhD and 1 Early Career scholar from Université d’Abomey-Calavi, Benin
- 2 PhD and 1 Early Career scholars from the S.D. Dombo University, Ghana
- 1 Early Career scholar from the University of Cape Coast, Ghana
- 2 PhD scholars from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria
Eligibility Criteria
- Be a citizen or permanent resident of partner countries and be willing to undertake the scholarship in either Canada or West Africa. They could not apply for a placement within their own country.
- Be registered full-time as a PhD student, postdoctoral/research fellow, or early career researcher at own University.
- PhD students were at the thesis research stage and returned to their countries to complete their studies.
Applicants’ research addressed any of these thematic areas:
- Climate change resilience
- Climate change knowledge creation
- Food security and sustainable livelihoods in West Africa
- Developing strategies for sustainable agriculture
- Inclusive resource governance and community outreach strategies
- Using public participatory geographic information systems (PPGIS) for sustainable resource management
- Using open-source remote sensing for environmental change monitoring
Successful candidates participated in leadership development and community engagement activities in their country of placement and also participated in the WhatsApp network of Queen Elizabeth Scholars.
Application Process
Applicants completed the online application form.
- The following supporting documents were uploaded with the application form:
- Official letter of support from their head of department, which included confirmation of current academic status and approval of participation in the project
- Summary of a research project (maximum 1 page) and a work plan
- A statement of their motivation to participate in this project (1,000 words maximum)
- A Curriculum Vitae
Shortlisted applicants were required to provide proof of citizenship (National ID Card or passport) as part of the selection process.
At the end of scholarship period, all scholars provided a narrative report on their experiences and outcomes.
The project was jointly implemented by the following partners:
Universitaire d’Abomey-Calavi, Benin
(6) Waliou AMOUSSA HOUNKPATIN | LinkedIn
S.D. Dombo University of Business and Integrated Development Studies, Ghana
Ibadan University, Nigeria
Cheikh Anta Diop University, Senegal
University of Cape Coast, Ghana
All the scholars reported rich experiences at both their academic and non-academic settings, where they gained new and/or enhanced knowledge, skills and insights into the broad area of focus. Many of them developed manuscripts for publication.
