Erasmus+: Erasmus Mundus Programme invites applications for the student scholarships for Sustainable Tropical Forestry (SUTROFOR) for the 2020 academic session.
The topic of sustainable tropical forestry is of global importance. Between one and two billion people depend on wood-based fuel; non-wood forest products and services are crucial to the livelihood of more than one billion poor people mainly in rural areas; timber is an important commodity for both the domestic economy and for export; and the citizens in developing countries are increasingly concerned with the fate of tropical forests. The potential for trees and forests to contribute to the sustainable development in tropical and subtropical countries is increasingly recognised and included in poverty alleviation strategies.
This two-year MSc in Sustainable Tropical Forestry (SUTROFOR) prepares qualified graduates to deal with the complex aspects of contemporary tropical forestry. The programme provides the students with:
- a firm theoretical foundation
- ability to function on the international scene, and openness to foreign cultures
- all competencies needed for working as a researcher or in tropical forest practices, e.g. development agencies, consultancies, NGOs, international organisations, ministries, governmental agencies, or district forest offices.
The SUTROFOR Consortium
The SUTROFOR MSc Course is organised by a Consortium which includes five of the best European universities within the field of forest and nature management:
- University of Copenhagen, Faculty of Science, Department of Food and Resource Economics, Copenhagen (Denmark)
- Bangor University, School of the Environment and Natural Resources, Bangor (UK)
- Dresden University of Technology, Institute of International Forestry and Forest Products, Tharandt (Germany)
- AgroParisTech, Paris Institute of Technology for Life, Food and Environmental Sciences, Montpellier (France)
- University of Padova, TESAF Department, School of Agriculture, Padova (Italy)
Worth of Award
- 1000 EUR per year per scholarship holder resident of Programme Country for travel costs
- 2000 EUR per year for travel costs + 1000 EUR for installation costs for scholarship holder resident of a Partner Country whose location is situated at less than 4.000 km from the EMMIC coordinating HEI
- 3000 EUR per year for travel costs + 1000 EUR for installation costs for scholarship holder resident of a Partner Country whose location is situated at 4.000 km or more from the EMMIC coordinating HEI
- A contribution to installation costs is offered only to students of a Partner Country (1000 EUR for the entire course). It is an incentive to help covering the additional costs related to the issuing of visas, residence permits, etc. as well as the temporary accommodation needs upon arrival in the first Programme Country hosting HEI.
- 1000 EUR per month for the entire duration (120 ECTS)of the EMJMD study programme (24 months maximum)
Eligibility
- These scholarships can be awarded to masters students from all countries other than the EU member states and EEA/EFTA states: Turkey, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), Iceland, Lichtenstein and Norway.
- Furthermore, you must comply with the 12 months rule: You must not be a resident nor have carried out main activity (studies, work etc.) for more than a total of 12 months over the last five years in one of these countries.
To be eligible for evaluation your application for a student scholarship must include a certificate – i.e. an official document – verifying your place of residence.
This can either be:
- In the form of a residence certificate issued (signed and stamped) in accordance with your municipality, region or state’s normal registration rules
- In the form of an official letter (signed and stamped) by your current place of work, study or training confirming your current occupation/activity and place of residence.
- In the form of an invoice, which clearly states the date, name and complete address.
Neither of these documents can be more than 12 months old calculated backwards as from the submission deadline.
The verification of residence is to be submitted as part of your application for admission and student scholarship. Without this document you application for a student scholarship will be incomplete and regarded as ineligible.
Selection criteria
If the number of qualified applicants to the programme exceeds the number of places available, applicants will be prioritised as follows:
Eligible applications are assessed using the following five selection criteria:
- Academic excellence
- Recommendations
- Relevant work experiences
- Personal motivation.
Each criterion is assessed using a scale of 1-5 (5 = excellent, 4 = very good, 3 = good, 2 = average, 1 = poor). Evaluation always starts with the academic excellence criterion: this must by at least 4 for evaluation to proceed. Evaluation always stops if any other criterion is assessed at less than 3.
The following weights on each criterion are used:
- Academic excellence (60%)
- Recommendation (15%)
- Work experiences (10%)
- Personal motivation (15%).
As part of the screening, language proficiency is assessed as a threshold: sufficient/not sufficient.
Furthermore, in the selection process EACEA regulations will be taken into account in regards to the provenance of applicants.
How to Apply
Application for this scholarship is online on their website.
Follow your application: Once you have applied for admission, you will find application updates and received messages from the University on the application portal. When you receive a message on the application portal, you will receive an email at the mail address you have registered with your application.
Tips for the application portal
- Use Firefox or Google Chrome as your browser when creating and submitting you application.
- Check the user guide for the application portal when you fill out your application.
- Read the FAQ where you can find answers to the most common questions concerning the application portal.
- Contact Erasmus Mundus Secretariat if you cannot find the answers, you are looking for in the FAQ.
- Contact Service desk if you have technical problems.
Deadline: The application deadline is January 15, 2020.