371-11 Training Plant Breeders for Africa: Successes and Challenges at Makerere University, Uganda.
See more from this Division: ASA Section: Global Agronomy
See more from this Session: Global Agronomy Oral
Abstract:
Coursework was initiated for PhD’s, and both levels have two intense coursework semesters, coordinated across courses, including social sciences and other skills. E-curriculum materials to enhance coursework have been developed by Iowa State University (“Plant Breeding E-Learning in Africa”), in cooperation with Makerere, Kwame-Nkrumah University of Science & Technology (Ghana), University of KwaZulu-Natal (S Africa) and AGRA. AGRA sponsors cohorts of 15 MSc students, their internships with private and public seed suppliers, and an in-house cowpea breeding program. Students’ theses target critical regional needs, with most embedded in cultivar development programs where their results contribute to the breeding pipeline.
Challenges include students’ inadequate backgrounds, limited skills of independent study, reasoning and synthesis, compromised English, inadequate staffing and funding, institutional politics, sub-optimal facilities, and insufficient mentoring/supervision.
Successful approaches have included:
-- Selecting students jointly with national educational and research institutions
-- Students’ accommodation, classes and research being on the university farm
-- Employing our MSc graduates to teach and direct the program after completing external PhD’s
-- Engaging MSc teaching assistants from previous cohorts
Funding through World Bank’s African Centers of Excellence affirms and stimulates the success of Makerere’s Regional Center for Crop Improvement (MaRCCI).
See more from this Division: ASA Section: Global Agronomy
See more from this Session: Global Agronomy Oral