Summer School Kenia 2018

Announcement DAAD Summer School Kenia 2018
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Venue: Karatina University, Kenya

Time: 06.10-14.10.2018

Announcement and Call for Abstracts:

The German Alumni Summer School is a joint interdisciplinary program being organized by
the Faculty of Geography, Department of Cartography, GIS and Remote Sensing (Prof. Martin
Kappas) the Faculty of Biology and Psychology, Institute of Zoology and Anthropology,
Department of Conservation Biology (Dr. Jolanta Slowik) and the overseas cooperation partner
is Karatina University, School of Natural Resources and Environmental Studies, Department

of Natural Resources (Prof. Peninah Aloo; DVC Academic, Research and Student Affairs and Dr.

Mugo Mware; Dean of School of Natural Resources and Environmental Studies, University of Karatina).

This Alumni seminar is being organized within the framework of the DAAD Alumni program
for developing countries and is financed by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and
Development (BMZ) of the German government.

The Summer School aims to provide a platform to researchers, academicians, practitioners and
entrepreneurs to share their knowledge and experiences from diverse disciplines ranging from
natural and social sciences to humanities with an interdisciplinary approach.

The Alumni Summer School aims to set as a goal, the promotion of sustainable development through higher education, cooperation between Universities and the strengthening of both local and international professional links between the German Alumni.
The actual topics dealing with assumptions and difficulties in the identification, categorization and implementation of sustainable development will be on the priority agenda. Thereby the competences of alumni for solving socio-economically and environmentally relevant problems will be discussed and expanded. This German Alumni seminar also aims to offer a new platform for future collaborations in education and research between African and German Universities.
During the Alumni Summer School, an international post-graduate program on “Biodiversity conservation, Land Use/Cover change and global climate change” will be initiated between the University of Göttingen, Faculty of Geography, Department of Cartography, GIS and Remote Sensing, Karatina University, School of Natural Resources and Environmental Studies, Department of Natural Resources and the University Dschang, Conservation Biology and Forestry.
Capacity building of Alumni will be worked out to enhance and upgrade to the latest state of knowledge and expertise for supporting and realizing the UNO 2030 Agenda and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). The expertise of the Alumni will be exercised to enable their capabilities for enacting an active role play in their respective home countries as multipliers for t knowledge and skill transfer. This will additionally facilitate to restructure their respective universities’ curricula and students training for sustainable development. This implies the creation of economic progress in harmony with social justice and in accordance with the earth’s ecological limits.
Multiplication function of the Summer School will be ensured through the contribution of representatives from science, economics, political institutions and NGOs like the WWF, DAAD and GIZ-Africa (Kenya delegates who will also be invited. This summer school will therefore provide an opportunity to researchers, academia and business practitioners to interact in a common platform and share their expertise and practical development experiences on new challenges and emerging issues.

Program:

The summer school program will include:

Keynote talks by the invited experts
Plenary sessions - Research papers and case studies to be delivered as oral presentations by the participating alumni, invited representatives of governmental bodies, NGOs & research institutes
Discussion on the initiation and promotion of the ‘International Post-graduate program on biodiversity conservation, land use/cover change and global climate change’ between University of Göttingen, Karatina University (Kenya) and University of Dschang (Cameroon)
Discussion and promotion of 'Global Universities Partnership on Environment for sustainability GUPES’
Discussion and promotion of the DAAD program ‘The global goals powered by Alumni Portal Deutschland’.

Field trips:

There will be a planned excursion to the UNEP (UNO) office in Nairobi and Mount Kenya National Park.

As an example of bringing sustainability into campus operations, there will be a demonstration of the project “Establishment of a Botanical Garden and Nature Trail for Environmental Education and Community Awareness Creation at Karatina University, Kenya”, co-financed by the Rufford Foundation UK.

Registration and Cost Coverage:

There is no registration fee for the invited delegates and the German Alumni.

The following costs will be covered by the DAAD:

International return ticket (economy class airfare)
Airport transfer to and from the place of accommodation in Nyeri
Transport to the field excursion sites and park entrance fees
Accommodation and living expenses during the official period of stay for the summer school
Travel health insurance and visa application fees only

Eligibility criteria for applicants:

German Universities Alumni from the developing countries of the Sub-Saharan Africa, who have stayed in Germany for at least a minimum of three months for study or research purposes.
Working in the field of natural sciences – Biology, Ecology, Geography, Geosciences/Geology, Agriculture, Forestry, Ecological economics, Agronomy, natural resources management, climate change, wildlife tourism and management, sustainable development, economic sociology and anthropology.
Institutional affiliations may include research and education, NGOs, government agencies, local community representatives and related stakeholders
Multipliers, e.g. people who are in a position to spread the acquired knowledge and experience
Women alumni are especially encouraged to apply

Submission of Application with abstract:

The application in English must include the following documents in one single PDF file:

A cover letter, stating your motivation for participation and your special interest in the topic.
A brief CV with personal and professional background information. Also indicate your previous stays in Germany (reason and duration), with proof of stay for scientific research purposes, study or work for at least 3 months, wherever applicable. Please insert a passport size portrait photograph in the CV
An overview on seminars, workshops or conferences attended in Germany following completion of studies in Germany, including those funded by the DAAD
Abstracts must be affiliated in relevance to the summer school scope and objectives, covering any of the listed topics and should also be related to your field of work or research. It should not exceed 450 words with font type ‘Arial’, font size 12 and 1.5 line spacing.
Abstracts should be written in English, the official language of the Summer School

In your application you are expected to state that if selected, you commit to participate in the entire program of the summer school (all days of plenary session, excursion and social program). You are also expected to give your approval that you might appear in pictures which are published in the DAAD webpage.

The deadline for the submission of complete application as instructed above is the 30th of June, 2018.

Please send your complete application electronically as a single PDF file to the email addresses stated above.

Dr. Margaretha Pangau