The University of Rome “Roma Tre”, Italy, is accepting applications for its Master in Human Development and Food Security programme. The Masters Degree programme consists of a theoretic part lasting 9 months (November-July) and an internship or dissertation period of 3 months (August-October). A total of 40 seats will be allocated to foreign (and Italian) graduates holding at least a Bachelors degree. Tutor scholarships offered by the Master HDFS and Barilla G. e R. Fratelli S.p.A. are available to outstanding students who are citizens of countries in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe (including Russia), and Latin America on the basis of academic merit.

The completed application file should be send to the Admissions Office by May 31st, 2012 at the latest. Candidates applying for scholarships must also send the Scholarship Request Form together with their application file by May 31st, 2012.

Please visit here for more information:
http://host.uniroma3.it/master/humandevelopment/Admissions.htm
http://host.uniroma3.it/master/humandevelopment/Scholarships.htm

The Norman E. Borlaug Leadership Enhancement in Agriculture Program (LEAP) is seeking applications for fellowship grant opportunities for students from Sub-Saharan Africa.  The deadline is June 12, 2012.  Applications are requested from Sub-Saharan African students conducting research on topics related to USAID’s global hunger and food security initiative – FEED THE FUTURE.  The focus region is Sub-Saharan Africa.  All topics related to agriculture (as defined by Title XII) and the research strategies of the Feed the Future initiative are admissible.  The Borlaug LEAP fellowship program supports engaging a mentor at a US university and at a CGIAR center to support and enhance the thesis research and mentoring experience.

Awards are made on a competitive basis to students who show strong scientific and leadership potential.  Funds are available for one-year and cannot exceed US$20,000.  For more information on eligibility criteria and to download the application, please visit their website at:

http://leap.ucdavis.edu

SEARCA Graduate Scholarships are open to applicants from Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste and Vietnam who are regular employees of academic, research or government institutions and not more than 35 years old. The topic of research for thesis/dissertation must be in line with SEARCA’s current priority themes:

1) Natural Resources Management
Focuses on management of land and water resources; biodiversity management for food security; and risk assessment and the impacts of climate change on agrobiodiversity

2) Agricultural Competitiveness
Addresses agricultural competitiveness, food security and rural poverty alleviation, natural resources management

Click here to see the universities that qualify for study posts.

Applicants may submit the applications to the respective Ministries of Education of their countries before 30 July 2012.

Click here for the detailed application procedure.

The Food Security Center (FSC) in Germany is inviting applications from M.Sc. and Ph.D. students from Latin America, Africa and Asia to participate in a Summer School on “Food Security for Tropical Smallholders” in Costa Rica. The curriculum of the event also covers the nutritional benefits of under-utilised crops and their application in improving food security. Other topics include effective agricultural methodologies and the application of aquaculture. A total of 12 lucky applicants will be selected for this learning opportunity. Costs for air tickets will be covered by the conveners from your nearest airport to San Jose, Costa Rica, as well as the equivalent of 500 Euro for lodging, meals and local transportation. However, the closing date draws near at 17 September 2011. So, hurry and submit your CV and intention letter to Prof. Dr. Victor M. Jimenez (email hidden; JavaScript is required). Further information can be found here. We bid you all the very best!

The recent “2^nd International Symposium on Underutilized Plant Species: Crops for the Future – Beyond Food Security” which was held from the 27^th June to 1^st July 2011 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia has left its participants intellectually stimulated, challenged and inspired by the exchange of diverse ideas expressed at the symposium of how to best use underutilized crops.

The central theme of this symposium emphasised the potential role of neglected and underutilised plant species (NUS) to contribute to global food security and nutrition, provide a buffer against the consequences of climate change and enhance agricultural biodiversity. The symposium’s goal was to engage all participants to share and discuss strategies that aim to maximise knowledge acquisition, minimise duplication of efforts and identify priority areas for further research and development.

The symposium also included the launch of Crops for the Future Research Centre (CFFRC) by The Prime Minister of Malaysia, Dato’ Sri Mohd Najib Tun Abdul Razak. CFFRC is a new research centre located adjacent to the University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus, dedicated to research and development of NUS. The generous US$ 40 million pledge by the Malaysian Government for building and operating CFFRC over the next 7 years is proof of Malaysia’s vision and commitment to support the diversification of agriculture through greater crop diversity.

Here is a window to the summarized key innovative ideas that have been discussed and exchanged. It also features the great time we have had and the new networks we have established for future collaborations. We are sorry if you were unable to make it this time, but we sure hope to see you at the next symposium to be held again in 2015.
Until then, ciao…

Bakhtiar Affendi, Kwek Mei Jiun, Khoo Teng Kew from CFF and Stefano Padulosi from Bioversity International contributed to this post and linked content.