The International Credit Mobility Project supports the mobilities of students and teaching staff amongst the project partners in the Czech Republic and South Africa, between the period of 2020 to 2023. The main project partners being the Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences at the Czech University of Life Sciences Prague (CZU) and Mammal Research Institute at the University of Pretoria (UP). The objective of these mobilities is focused on the exchange of teaching staff and Ph.D. students between these two partner institutions.

Participants will be provided with the opportunity to expand their professional network, skills, and research while young scientists will be exposed to different research teams, research techniques and data collection areas which may aid in the completion of their postgraduate degrees. The students will not only be able to develop their research skills but also establish new contacts for future collaborations and research possibilities as young scientists. This project aims to expand the interdisciplinary aspect of future wildlife management, conservation and biodiversity research conducted by the collaborating members at these two institutions.

Background:

The Department of Animal Science and Food Processing within the FTA recently initiated a new study programme entitled “Wildlife and Livestock Production, Management and Conservation”, an industry of which South Africa is infamous for. South Africa is an ideal location and target country due to its abundant wildlife, biodiversity and focus on wildlife conservation. Of the total area in South Africa, wildlife (game) farming accounts for more than 16 % of land used by over 9000 wildlife farms, with more than 50 % of these farms located in Limpopo (situated 3.5 hours out of Pretoria). Within this geographical area rich in wildlife, the University of Pretoria is one of the few universities in South Africa providing the opportunity for students to study Wildlife Management. Furthermore, the Mammal Research Institute at the University of Pretoria is dedicated to research and teaching on the biology and ecology of African mammals, including the conservation of indigenous mammal fauna in the context of sustainable human development, and they are conducting cutting-edge research on the behaviour, physiology, ecology and taxonomy of aquatic and terrestrial mammals. The FTA maintains a research herd of African eland antelope in the Czech Republic, where research activities focus primarily on the husbandry, behaviour and production potential of these animals. In 2019, collaborative research on these eland antelope began between the Animal Physiology and Behaviour Research Team (APB) at FTA and the Mammal Research Institute (MRI) UP, investigating the use of non-invasive hormone monitoring to assess various important husbandry practises.

Available Mobilities:

Within the framework of this project, the following mobilities will be organized:

• Two Ph.D. students from South Africa, visiting the Czech Republic for a total period of 6 months.

• Two Ph.D. students from the Czech Republic, visiting South Africa for a total period of 6 months.

• One staff mobility from South Africa to the Czech Republic, for a total period of 16 days, with the purpose being training-focused.

• Two staff mobilities from South Africa to the Czech Republic, for a total period of 20 days, with the purpose being teaching-focused.

• Three staff mobilities from the Czech Republic to South Africa, for a total period of 30 days with the purpose being teaching-focused.

Mobility Objectives:

In accordance with the internationalisation strategies of both partner institutions, these mobilities aim to:

• Support long-term incoming and outgoing students’ mobilities, and the preparation of their qualification work,

• Support the pedagogical activities of academic staff abroad,

• Strengthen research capacity and linkages, thereby increasing the number of joint international research outputs,

• Improve and update teaching texts and handbooks, laboratory and fieldwork protocols.

Within the framework of the recently established collaboration between the APB and MRI,  outgoing student mobilities will focus on laboratory training at the expert laboratory within the MRI, and have the opportunity to collect data from surrounding wildlife farms within the area of Pretoria and Limpopo. Incoming Ph.D. students may expand on their knowledge and skill set through attendance of the various postgraduate courses available in wildlife management, conservation and research skills at FTA, aiding in developing their professional skills, as well as participate in the research activities at the common eland Research Farm in Lany (CZ). Staff mobilities will focus on knowledge transfer in terms of African wildlife, conservation and management, with regards to the scopes of the two research groups from FTA and UP. Furthermore, focus meeting will allow for establishing new research projects, developing new data collection and laboratory protocols during these mobilities, to support the new collaboration between these two institutions.

Selection of candidates, requirements, and proof of participation:

Announcements for candidates will be done periodically between 2021 and 2023, through the webpages and social media of FTA and UP. Interested candidates are to provide their CV and a motivational letter to the project board, consisting of members from both FTA and UP, and their respective international relations offices. The project board will evaluate the applications and, thereafter, the most suitable candidates will be interviewed based on their wildlife management and conservation knowledge, intended research aims, research skillset, and previous projects involving African wildlife. As both institutions provide postgraduate studies in English, the level of proficiency of the candidate in English will be considered. The candidates that move forward into the next round will submit their CV, motivational letter and Learning Agreement to the International Relationships offices, who will conduct the final selection together with the project board.

After acceptance, the applicant’s study, teaching and/or research plan will also be discussed and approved with the project board. Students and staff who participate in the training mobilities will be required to submit a report and present a seminar upon return to their home institution to disseminate the acquired knowledge. This report will be used to disseminate ad promote the activities of the mobility project. They will also be required to submit an evaluation of the project after completing their mobility. Incoming students participating in the mobilities will receive Transcript of Records from CZU to acknowledge their participation, while outgoing students will be provided with a certificate of training by the International Cooperation Division at UP. All participating staff will receive an official certificate, together with the recognized activities at the respective institutions, and signed by the respective deans.

Project acknowledgements and visibility:

Participants are required to recognize and acknowledge the support of Erasmus+ throughout the abovementioned activities, including within media outputs, presentations and publication of results generated under this project.

Contact information:

For further information or queries regarding these mobility opportunities, please contact Czech Republic-South Africa Project Coordinator, Dr Tersia Needham (Ph.D.) at needham@ftz.czu.cz, or our International Relations Office of the Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences at internationaloffice@ftz.czu.cz.