MAINSTREAM Third mobility call-2026/2027

MAINSTREAM Project:

Mobility 4 Agricultural International Networks Supporting Thematic Resilience and Enhancing Adaptation and Mitigation

Background:

MAINSTREAM strives to influence a common agenda for addressing education and skills improvement for the agricultural knowledge systems (focusing on climate change resilience) both at regional and country levels targeting transformations with the:

1. Tertiary agricultural education community (networking, South-South exchanges, leadership and entrepreneurship programmes, etc.);
2. Policy and industry actors

The project provides pathways for institutional modernization and internationalization reforms, leveraging the consortia existing partnership on agriculture education and skills with other public and private organizations involved across the continent to drive innovative solutions and value addition in interdisciplinary agricultural programmes at master and doctoral levels and further inspire their inclusive implementation. The inclusion aspect shall particularly be seen with the African women population (often with intersectional vulnerability) who are underrepresented in HE agricultural programmes, even though they make up half of the farm labour force. Mobility scheme shall also be used to break cross-African gendered perceptions of agriculture that underestimate women and girls´ participation and to further provide for a gender-sensitive learning environment and institutional culture as well as for addressing infrastructure, support services and safety. MAINSTREAM aims to provide credible and standing solutions defying low academic and mobility of workforce across Africa, increasing the focus on applied research in climate-sensitive Agricultural Education and Training, addressing limited appeal and participation of vulnerable and underrepresented groups, including

youth and women, in agricultural learning systems, and promoting a set of supportive cross-regional measures for policy considerations. Thus, the project facilitates agricultural programmes graduates to access meaningful community development engagements across the continent.

Participating Institutions:

1. Mountains of the Moon University (MMU, Uganda)
2. Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University Of Science and Technology (JOOUST, Kenya),
3. Universite De Kara (Togo),
4. Universite Du Sine Saloum El-Hadj Ibrahima Niass (USSEIN) (Senegal),
5. University Of The Free State (South Africa),
6. Arsi University, (Ethiopia)
7. Hochschule Weihenstephan-Triesdorf (HWST, Germany)

Mobility Groups:

The Mobility of the scholarship is categorized into two groups- Target groups I and II

1. Target Group 1: Applicants in this category should be registered/admitted in orhave obtained a degree (or equivalent) from one of the African Beneficiaries included in the MAINSTREAM Project, (i.e. Mountains of the Moon University (MMU, Uganda), Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University Of Science and Technology (JOOUST, Kenya), Universite De Kara (Togo), Universite Du Sine Saloum El-Hadj Ibrahima Niass (USSEIN) (Senegal), University Of The Free State (South Africa), Arsi University, (Ethiopia)
   1. Target Group 2: Applicants in this category include students registered/admitted in /or who have obtained a degree (or equivalent) from any other university out of the consortium partner universities involved in the MAINSTREAM project.

Mobility Level:

Masters or Doctoral level mobility:

Master students will receive a scholarship for a maximum period of six months in order to do research for their master theses or attend a course relevant to their study. The project will support a total of 70 Master´s students in the process of mobility within the MAINSTREAM project.

PhD candidates will receive a scholarship for a maximum period of twelve months to do research for their dissertation or attend a course relevant to their study programme.

Please note that this mobility scholarship is a short-term credit-seeking opportunity to either attend a course relevant to the students’ overall programme or conduct research that contributes to the overall attainment of the degree. It is NOT a scholarship for a full Master/PhD programme.

Mobility Flow:

The Mobility Flow explains the partnering universities that the two groups of applicants canapply to. Applicants registered/admitted in or have obtained a degree (or equivalent) from one of the partnering universities and cannot apply to the same university or country.

1. Target Group I- Master’s degree Applicant

The table below highlights Eligible Institutions for Target group I Masters and PhD Applicants

*Please Note that the scholarship only supports students who move from an institution from one country to an institution within the consortium partners in a different country. Therefore, there must be mobility across different countries.

• Target Group I- Doctorate Degree Applicants

The table below highlights Eligible Institutions for Target Group II Masters & PhD student Applicants

Scholarship Programs and Host Institutions

*Please note that students applying for a research stay do not have to fit into any of the programmes as long as their proposed research is relevant to the general project theme of climate change. The indicated programmes are relevant for students applying for a credit seeking stay involving taking on some modules within the indicated programmes.

Available Scholarships per Institution.

Scholarship Benefits:

1. Participation costs (tuition and registration fees)
   1. Medical Insurance for the duration of the stay at the host university
   1. Monthly subsistence allowance (€890 for Master’s students and €1,230 for PhDstudents)

• Additional support for scholarship holders with disabilities so that they can ably participate in this mobility
  • Please note that the scholarship holder will have to pay for his/her own flight ticket, visa costs and accommodation while at the host institution using the stipend.

Eligibility:

• Applicants must be Master’s or PhD students currently enrolled at a recognized higher education institution across Africa in a programme related to climate change.
• Applicants who have previously benefited from a MOBAF 2022–2027 (Intra-Africa Mobility) scholarship are not eligible to apply.

Application Documents:

1. Completed onlineApplication Form
   1. Detailed curriculum vitae including key relevant work experiences to support their application
   1. Scanned copies of academic certificates/testimonials or transcripts
   1. A one-page concept document of planned academic activities
   1. Each application MUST be accompanied by a motivation statement including how the mobility scholarship relates to your current study program or research and also clearly show how its relevant to climate change (max 500 words)
   1. A signed recommendation letter from your academic supervisor
   1. A copy of a national passport bio page or national ID in the absence of a passport

How to Apply for the Scholarship:

To apply Click the Link below: https://mainstreamafrica.org/application-call-for-phase-iii/

Application Deadline: The deadline for the application is 22nd August 2026 by Midnight GMT +1. Results will be announced by the end of November 2026

*Women and persons living with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply

Contact Details

For further enquiries or guidance on the scholarship call, kindlycontact the following persons

For general inquiries about the MAINSTREAM project, please visit the project website at https://mainstreamafrica.org/ or Contact the project coordinator Assoc. Prof. Violet Kisakye at kviolet@mmu.ac.ug