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Course Offering

Call for Applications: Gender-Responsive Plant Breeding and Seed Systems Course (12th-17th; 26th-30th September, 2022)

By May 5, 2022February 13th, 2023No Comments
Makerere University (Uganda) and Cornell University (USA), in partnership with the Generating Evidence and New Directions for Equitable Results (GENDER Platform) arm of One CGIAR, have designed a Gender-Responsive Plant breeding and seed systems course targeting interdisciplinary teams of biophysical and social scientists in national agricultural research institutions (NARIs), the CGIAR system, and other agricultural research for development (A4RD) institutions in South Asia. The purpose of the course is to equip participants with the knowledge and skills to identify and address gender issues in plant breeding and seed systems programs to achieve climate resilience outcomes.

Course Objectives

The course will be divided into two parts. Part 1 (face-to-face) targets both biophysical and social scientists, while Part 2 (virtual) targets only social scientists (and is optional for biophysical scientists).

The GREAT Gender-Responsive Plant breeding Course will aim to achieve the following objectives:

Part 1:

  1. Increased ability to articulate the concepts and principles of gender-responsive breeding and seed systems
  2. Enhanced knowledge of how to incorporate gender responsiveness in plant breeding and seed systems
  3. Demonstrated positive attitude and appreciation of the value of GRAR
  4. Strengthened ability to conceptualize, design and conduct GRAR
  5. Enhanced ability to communicate and advocate for gender-responsive agricultural research to a range of audiences within plant breeding and seed systems
  6. Strengthened commitment, and ability to champion GRAR in agricultural research institutions

Part 2:

  1. Increased ability to collect, analyze, interpret and integrate intersectional qualitative and quantitative social data with a focus on plant breeding and seed systems
  2. Enhanced knowledge on how to design a theory of change and track agricultural research programs towards gender-equitable outcomes

Course Dates and Delivery Approach

The course will be blended and delivered both face-to-face and virtually.

  • Part 1: Face-to-face at the ICRISAT campus in Hyderabad, India (6 days)
  • Part 2: Virtual synchronous sessions (5 days, 3 hours per day)

Course dates: 12th-30th September, 2022

  • Part 1 (in person): 12-17th September, 2022
  • Part 2 (virtual): 26-30th September, 2022

GREAT uses a unique delivery approach, designed to foster lasting changes for research teams. Unlike other training programs, we bring biophysical scientists and social scientists together for the initial part of the course to learn how to holistically incorporate gender issues into every phase of the research project cycle. Biophysical scientists learn how to identify and address gender issues relevant to their work, and how mixed-methods research can strengthen their agricultural research programs, enhancing grant competitiveness, product design and adoption, and ultimately resulting in improved outcomes for beneficiaries.

While biophysical scientists won’t become ‘gender researchers’ after a GREAT course, they will know how to plan, budget, manage and deliver projects that meaningfully incorporate gender focused research in their work. In turn, social scientists will develop the skills and tools to play a more integral role in research projects, and both types of researchers will learn how to effectively work together to enhance their research and its outcomes.

Eligibility Criteria

For participants to qualify for the course, they should:

  1. Be a social scientist (e.g., agricultural economics, sociology, gender studies, anthropology, extension etc) or biophysical scientist (e.g., plant breeding, pathology, seed systems, entomology, agronomy etc.)
  2. Be part of a multidisciplinary team working on ongoing plant breeding/seed systems programs affiliated with either NARS, government organizations, international AR4D organizations, or academia.
  3. Be working in South Asian countries of: Bangladesh, India, Nepal
  4. Be early career researchers, e.g., not more than eight years after their most recent post graduate qualification
  5. Be able to commit the full amount of time required to the training. Please note that there are limited slots. Stronger applications including a description of commitment to the course will be prioritized. In addition, certificates will NOT be awarded to participants who do not complete the full training program

Sponsorship

Course costs covered include travel to the host country, tuition fees, board, accommodation and minimal incidental expenses. The course is supported with funds generously provided by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and through the OneCGIAR GENDER Platform hosted by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI).

How to Apply

The application window for the Gender-Responsive Plant Breeding and seed systems course is now open till 30th June 2022. Please fill the application form in the link here. Should you have any specific questions about the application, please do not hesitate to email us at great@cornell.edu cc; alizeff@yahoo.com.

This article was written by the GREAT team.

For press inquiries or for more information, email us great@cornell.edu.

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