Euroscicon have now introduced a bursary scheme. Euroscion run courses and small conferences with focused expert talks and discussion panels, aimed at communicating science research between academia and industry.

Visit their website to find out more about events they are running this year http://lifescienceevents.com/event-listing

To apply for the bursary, please complete the application form which can be found at: http://eurosciconnews.com/archives/2323

Makerere University/UVRI (MUII) Research Training Programme is pleased to announce their upcoming Short Course – Immunology in the Tropics (March 5-16 2012)

Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI), Entebbe, Uganda.

An intensive two week modular course designed for graduates and laboratory researchers.

The course offers up-to-date lectures, discussion of research papers, cutting edge research talks by international experts, talks on the latest technological developments and advances, as well as practical sessions covering Immunological techniques

For more information and to obtain an application form, please visit  the website http://www.muii.org.ug/March2012.html

or email: mak-uvri.rtp@mrcuganda.org

Application deadline: 31st January, 2012

Please note that we are currently UNABLE to offer assistance in the form of competitive Scholarships for this course.Travel, accommodation and per diem expenses must be borne by the applicant.

International short specialised course

Place: Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium
Duration and dates: 4 weeks. 07 May – 01 June 2012
Credit points: 6 ECTS credit points
Language: English
Registration fee: 1.800 euro. Limited number of scholarships available.

Objectives: At the end of the course the participants are expected to be able to:

• Critically assess the quality and validity of qualitative and mixed methods in international health research in peer-reviewed articles, protocols or research reports.
• Tackle specific research questions and design research strategies (choosing, the appropriate method: quantitative, qualitative, mixed methods) related to specific health problems and socio-cultural settings.
• Relate and apply theoretical concepts and models to specific research questions and infer their implications for methodology.
• Carry out basic qualitative research independently -including research design, data collection, theory based data analysis and presentation.

For More information see the course flyer QMM Folder_2011-2012 or  go to:  www.itg.be/qmm

Please note this course is NOT being run by ICONZ.

Please contact Course Secretary: Nathalie Brouwers
(nbrouwers@itg.be) for more details about this course.

Date: 3 – 5 November 2011

Indaba Hotel and Conference Centre, William Nicol drive, Fourways, Gauteng, Johannesburg, South Africa

The course is jointly organised by ICONZ WP9 (AVIA-GIS, Alexandra Shaw) and WP11.

Objectives:

• to introduce participants to the key principles of livestock economics
• to outline how animal health and its effects on livestock productivity can be assessed in economic terms
• to understand how the costs of interventions should be calculated and how to relate these to estimates of the possible benefits of control
• to understand the link between these information requirements and the ongoing data collection work using questionnaires, key informants and focus groups.

Additional Information:

• Health Economics Course Flyer [PDF 147KB]

The course is jointly organised by UNZA and the ICONZ WP10 and WP11 staff.

Objective – to strengthen the capabilities of participants in relation to the qualitative research to be carried out in the ICONZ project.
Duration – 5 days

Target Group
ICONZ Postgraduate students and staff who are involved in qualitative data collection in the ICONZ project. It is primarily aimed at those participating in WP10 data collections on socio-cultural aspects.

Application procedure
To book a place on the course please send a detailed CV to the Course Manager Christopher Saarnak (cls@life.ku.dk)
The deadline for applications is Friday, 25th March 2011, 13.00 CET

For more details see:

• CSC 2011 Entry [DOC 1.1MB]

The European Course in Tropical Epidemiology ECTE is a short intensive basic course in epidemiology and medical statistics. The course is intended for physicians, nurses, biologists, anthropologists, health program managers, health administrators and other professionals working in the health sector in tropical countries or with an interest in public health in tropical countries. Emphasis is on methodology and the practical application of epidemiological tools in developing countries. ECTE is a collaborative venture of various European Centres of Tropical Medicine and Public Health and is held annually at a different venue. The 2011 edition will be hosted by the Institute of Tropical Medicine and International Health in Berlin, Germany.

Prerequisites – The course is appropriate for those without formal training in epidemiology or statistics. However the course is intensive and applicants should have a good command of English. Student AssessmentAttendance is compulsory and is a requirement in order to receive a certificate equivalent to 5 ECTS. A written group work is presented and examined at the end of the course.

Course Fee 2100 EUR – The course fee includes participation in the course, the course manual and handouts, refreshments during coffee breaks, a reception and the course dinner.
The fee does not include travel, accommodation and meals

Application and selection – The number of participants is limited to 32.
Selection of candidates will be done on a first come first served basis and will be based on their profiles’ match with the course target audience. Applicants will be informed as soon as possible of the decision.

The application process will start in December 2010. The Application Form can be found at www.ecte.org

Application Deadline: April 15th 2011

Deadline for payment of course fees: June 1st 2011

Course Coordinator Dr. Matthias Borchert

• organizer@ecte.org
• http://www.ecte.org/ecte-mailer-e.aspx?ECTE_mail=coord

Course Administrator Ms Gisela Schillings

• team@ecte.org
• http://www.ecte.org/ecte-mailer-e.aspx?ECTE_mail=admin

For more details and to sign up for the course, please go to:

• http://www.ecte.org/

Objectives
The course seeks to provide participants with the basic knowledge and practical ability to select proper statistical tests for given situations, to conduct the analyses and in particular to interpret and present the results. Basic statistical tests will be briefly presented but emphasis will be on multi-variable tests i.e. analysis of variance, multiple linear regression and logistic regression.

Target group
Participants are MSc or PhD students or young researchers within biological or health sciences. Participants are expected to have knowledge of data management and basic statistical analysis. Experience with statistical software, not necessarily Stata, is expected.

Course fee
The course fee is USD1000 per person registered before 1 June 2011. For participants registering after 1 June up to 1 August 2011 the fee will be USD1200. The fee includes tuition, books, handouts, a 6 months STATA software license, and lunches, coffee or tea served during the course hours.

Travel and accommodation
Travel and accommodation is not included in the tuition fee and must be arranged separately.

For Registration please contact:
Kirsten Grønlund Andersen, kga @ life.ku.dk
University of Copenhagen
Denmark.

For more details see:

• STATA 11 [DOC 266KB]

The University’s Global Health Academy has been awarded 15 fully funded studentships across four online Masters programmes within the domain of One World, One Health:

• MSc in Biodiversity Wildlife and Ecosystem Health
• MSc in International Animal Health
• MSc in Global Health and Infectious Diseases (formerly MSc in Emerging and Neglected Infectious Diseases)
• MSc in Global Health and Non-Communicable Diseases

Students enrolled on these Masters programmes become members of the Global Health Academy community which encourages both intra- and inter-disciplinary engagement and communication.

The Global Health Academy initiative cuts across the traditional vertical health structures moving to novel integrated health systems training. Our aim is to promote a global community of practice. For example, in the cases of emerging zoonotic infections, staff and our student vets who are treating these animals will have the opportunity to discuss with medical, nursing and environmental health staff and students who are dealing with the human consequences of these infections. Students taking these courses find them rewarding in the opportunity they present to engage with professionals from industry, medicine, policy and research.

Eligibility

The scholarships are open to candidates who are citizens of one of the following developing Commonwealth countries:

• Bangladesh
• Botswana
• Cameroon
• Ghana
• India
• Kenya
• Lesotho
• Malawi
• Malaysia
• Mozambique
• Namibia
• Nigeria
• Pakistan
• Rwanda
• Sierra Leone
• South Africa
• Sri Lanka
• Swaziland
• Tanzania
• The Gambia
• Uganda
• Zambia

The scholarship includes full tuition fee and resources to enhance student participation, access and research skills. This includes participation in Uganda-based summer school; contribution towards student costs of internet access & printing (journal articles, etc); and a contribution to MSc project costs (materials, travel, etc).

Applying

Applicants who are eligible for these scholarships should apply for one of the four programmes in the first instance and notify the programme director of their intention to apply for the scholarship. The programme director will then give you further information on how to apply The closing date for scholarship applications is Monday 30 May 2011 at 0900 hours BST.

Notification

A Selection Committee will meet in June 2011 to select the winners. The winners of the scholarships will be announced in July/August 2011.

• http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/student-funding/postgraduate/e-learning/global-health-academy

AIM: The workshop aims to assist participants develop skills necessary for writing scientific papers, theses, proposals, and communicating scientific information in written and oral forms.

Specifically, the workshop will:

• teach practical skills in scientific writing and graphical data analysis
• make participants aware of the conditions and traditions by which the scientific publication industry operates
• enable participants to choose an appropriate forum for publishing their results
• build institutional capacity as new skills are transferred afterwards
• improve the project management skills of participants

DEADLINE: 19 March 2011

COST OF PARTICIPATION:

Registration fee for University of Nairobi students and employees is KES 1,500.
Students and staff from other institutions, Kshs 42,000 or USD 500

PAYMENT DETAILS

Payment should be done in Kenya shillings or dollars equivalent to the cost of course

Mode of Payment:

Electronic Money Transfer, Bankers Cheque (for individual paying students) to the Training Centre in Communication KES A/C No 1230000552, OR USD A/C No 120100087 NIC Bank , The Mall, Westlands.

For a place on the course, please apply in writing to:

Ms. Joy Owango
TCC Office, Gecaga Institute Bldg.,
Tel: + 254 (020) 8086820
Cell: + 254 733 792316, +254 702 926288
E-mail: joy.owango@tcc-africa.org,info@tcc-africa.org
School of Biological Sciences, Chiromo Campus
By 19 March 2011 the latest.

Successful applicants will be notified by 23 March 2011.

Additional Information:

• TCC Course Announcement [PDF 29KB]
• TCC Application Form [DOC 90KB]

The Global Health Academy at the University of Edinburgh has been awarded 15 MSc fully funded studentships from the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission for 4 on line MSc programmes across the domain of One World, One Health namely Biodiversity Wildlife and Ecosystem Health, International Animal Health; Global Health and Infectious Diseases (formerly Emerging and Neglected Infectious Diseases) and Global Health and Non-Communicable Diseases. The studentships offers students a number of online programmes in human and animal health, students enrolled on these programmes become members of the Global Health Academy Community which encourages both intra- and inter-disciplinary engagement and communication. The scholarships are open to candidates who are citizens of a developing Commonwealth country and include full tuition fee and includes resources to enhance student participation, access and research skills.

Additional Information:

• CSC 2011 Entry [PDF 119KB]

Online Postgraduate Opportunities:

• Biodiversity, Wildlife and Ecosystem Health – Flyer [PDF 389KB]
• Emerging and Neglected Infectious Diseases – Flyer [PDF 213KB]
• International Animal Health – Flyer [PDF 213KB]
• Global Burden of Chronic (Non Communicable) Diseases – Flyer [PDF 238KB]

Venue: Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA), Chuo Kikuu, Morogoro, Tanzania 24th January – 4th February 2011

COURSE DESCRIPTION
Date 24 January ‐ 4 February 2011.
Venue and organizers Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA), Morogoro, Tanzania.
The course is jointly organised by SUA and Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.
Objective The main objective of this PhD course is to strengthen the capabilities of participants in relation to research planning, management and reporting in order to meet the organizational, logistic and scientific challenges associated with implementation of PhD projects.
Duration and number of participants The duration of the course is 2 weeks and can accommodate up to 30 participants.
Target group The course is targeted at graduates of Master level in biological disciplines, veterinary science, medicine and social science, who already or intend to pursue research training at PhD level or the equivalent.
Participation is open to candidates from SUA, Danida financed students, ICONZ PhDs, and other related applicants.
Priority will be given to applicants already enrolled in a PhD programme.

Application procedure Please contact the course manager Christopher Saarnak (cls@life.ku.dk) with a detailed CV if you are interested in attending the course. Deadline for application: Wednesday 1st December 2010, 13.00 CET.

• Research Methodologies Course 2011 [PDF 156KB]

A Blueprint for Canine Rabies Elimination and Human Rabies Prevention

In an effort to help countries find and implement realistic solutions to reduce the burden of rabies throughout their territory, the Global Alliance for Rabies Control, Partners for Rabies Prevention and FAO’s Regional Central Animal Health in Bamako, under the coordination of Dr Tiziana Lembo, have launched the new on-line “Blueprint for Canine Rabies Elimination and Human Rabies Prevention”.

The Blueprint for Rabies Prevention and Control has been developed by global rabies experts to serve as a guide for countries that would like to prevent human rabies by eliminating canine rabies within their borders.

Currently, the Blueprint is available in English and French. Additional languages are soon to follow and will help increase the website’s usage in other countries. More chapters addressing wildlife rabies control will also be added in the future.

• http://www.rabiesblueprint.com/

Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária, Universidade Eduardo Mondlane, Maputo, Mozambique – 16-27 of August 2010

The central goal of this course is to render the participants familiar with brucellosis, cysticercosis and tuberculosis burden evaluation and control strategies in different contexts with special emphasis on the different diagnostic methods, their advantages, disadvantages and applicability in different contexts. The course will cover the biology of the microorganisms responsible for brucellosis, cysticercosis and bovine tuberculosis; their routes of transmission between infected animals and from animals to man; laboratory diagnostic techniques for brucellosis, cysticercosis, and tuberculosis, and laboratory equipment and biosafety aspects for the diagnosis of the three diseases.

The two-week course will be composed of seminars, discussion sessions, laboratorial practical sessions, diagnostic test application to animals and final discussion and assessment.

• Diagnostics Course – more information [PDF 909KB]

Makerere/UVRI Infection and Immunity Research Training Programme is pleased to announce their upcoming Short Course in Immunology “Immunology in the Tropics”.

Please find listed below a leaflet which gives you more information about the course:

• Immunology in the Tropics – Flyer [PDF 827KB]

An awareness of what intellectual property is and how it can be protected can be very useful for students working in academia and in partnership with Industry. With this in mind the European Patent Academy, an institution of the European Patent Organisation, has worked with patent experts to develop a comprehensive patent teaching kit.

The self-explanatory kit allows university teaching staff to give basic introductory lectures on patents without the need for special expertise in intellectual property. It consists of PowerPoint slides, speaking notes and background information and is designed to be taught to students across all faculties, but in particular those studying natural sciences, engineering, law, medicine and business administration. There are specific add-on modules tailored to different faculties.

A free copy of the teaching kit can be obtained through the following website by either downloading the kit directly or by ordering a hard copy http://www.epo.org/teaching-kit. Here you can also find information on upcoming “train the trainers” workshops on lecturing with the teaching kit.

Please find listed below a leaflet which gives you more information about the teaching kit, its goals, its structure and the contents of the modules:

• Patent teaching kit [PDF 152KB]

“Afrique One” Postdoc Fellowships in Ecosystem and Population Health The African Research Consortium for Ecosystem and Population Health is seeking to appoint eleven post-doctoral research scientists to its prestigious 4-year fellowship program. The Consortium comprises eleven African Universities and Research Institutes in Chad, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Senegal, Tanzania, and Uganda, and is funded through the Wellcome Trust’s African Institutes Initiative. The fellowship program seeks to support the next generation of African science leaders in the field of ecosystem and population health. We are looking for the very best post-doctoral scientists to develop independent sustainable science programs in each of the consortium’s core institutions. Fellowships come with competitive salaries and substantial research support budgets that include graduate studentships, technician salaries, travel funds, and consumables. All areas of science that fall within an Ecosystem and Population ealth remit may be supported but successful applicants must be able to demonstrate a long-term commitment to leading and developing science programs relevant to their countries research needs, and that enhance existing research activities in their chosen institutions. Applications should be made to individual participating institutions, and should comprise: a full CV, 3 letters of reference; and a 4000 word outline of their research plan. The deadline for applications is February 1st 2010. Late submission will be considered in the event that positions are not filled. Applicants must be able to take up the position by September 1st 2010. Full details of the application procedure are available at www.afriqueone.net.

• http://www.afriqueone.net/

Global Health Academy has been awarded 5 Masters scholarships from the University (2 for MSc by research and 3 for E-DL courses) for 2010-11. If you know anyone that would be interested in applying for International Animal Heath or Emerging and Neglected Infectious Diseases or Non Communicable Disease on line courses or undertaking a residential Public Health Masters, Centre for International Public Health Policy (CIPHP) please let them know to look at the new website http://www.globalhealthacademy.ed.ac.uk/.

• Global Health Academy – http://www.globalhealthacademy.ed.ac.uk/
• MSc International Animal Health – http://www.internationalanimalhealth.ed.ac.uk/
• MSc in Emerging and Neglected Infectious Diseases – http://www.enid.mvm.ed.ac.uk/
• New for 2010 – MSc Biodiversity, Wildlife and Ecosystem Health – http://www.web.mvm.ed.ac.uk/

The training and technology work package (WP 11) is an overarching WP involving all 22 partners in the ICONZ consortium. The objective is to strengthen capacity on the neglected zoonoses (NZ) in African countries at all levels. The work package will provide inventory of currently available relevant training options and needs, develop and implement at least 4 training courses in relevant topics, and develop electronic learning modules on specific diseases, GIS and interventions. To produce the inventory a questionnaire survey at all partner institutes (in collaboration with WP2) addressing needs for capacity building, opportunities and available training options for NZ will be undertaken during the first year of the project. This is likely to be followed up by site visits to further explore opportunities and needs. Based on the inventory ICONZ partners will decide on relevant course topics. At least 4 courses will be developed and implemented at relevant partner institutions for appropriate participants. Topics may include diagnosis, epidemiology, disease burden assessment and control of NZ, basic research methodology, and research ethics. Course implementation will take place during the second and third years of ICONZ. From the third year onwards an e-learning course based on material generated from the pig-associated parasite package (WP7) directed at different target audiences will be produced and evaluated. E-based GIS training will additionally be provided. Finally, community-level “toolkits” for NZ will be developed in collaboration with partners of WP5-8. These ‘toolkits’ will include simple instructions for prevention and control of NZ.

For further information please contact, Maria Vang Johansen, email: mvj@life.ku.dk

As part of the ICONZ-project, the possibility is offered to participate in a course on the use of GIS in spatial epidemiology. Each ICONZ partner can apply for one free ICONZ scholarship for this course. This course will start in February 2010 and end in July 2010. At the end of the course a certificate will be delivered.

This course will be presented as a post-graduate distance-learning program during which the participant will be supplied with study material. On-line discussion forums will be used for contact sessions with a tutor and fellow students. The 6-month module consists of two parts. In the theoretical part, the different aspects of a GIS project, data requirements and analysis techniques will be tackled in relation to the building of spatial epidemiological models and analyses. The second, main part of this module consists of hands-on exercises using ArcGIS-software (ESRI).

For African participants, a free one-year educational license has been obtained from their respective regional ESRI-offices. EU-Participants are invited to contact their national ESRI dealer to request a one-year educational Arc-GIS license (ArcGIS and Spatial Analyst). A full operational academic license costs around 4000 U$ (ArcView + Spatial Analyst extension) and can be purchased through the local ESRI-provider. The possibility exists to supplement the license with a non-obligatory yearly maintenance contract with ESRI, including future updates and assistance of the ArcGIS-helpdesk.

Subscriptions to this course can be forwarded to egoossens@avia-gis.be.

Download the extended course description for additional information (requires a PDF viewer such as Adobe Reader).

• Training Course Flyer [PDF 247KB]
• Download Adobe Reader

We are very pleased that every African partner country has sent a scientist who will be actively involved in the work on assessing the burden of zoonoses and the cost of their control in fieldwork their country. Those attending are: Doctors Mamadou Niang (Mali), Mohammed Bouslikhane (Morocco), Claudio Gule (Mozambique), Reuben Adama Ocholi (Nigeria), Athumani Msalale Lupindu (Tanzania), Denis Muhanguzi (Uganda) and Chummy S. Sikasunge (Zambia).

Download the workshop flyer for additional information (requires a PDF viewer such as Adobe Reader).

• Workshop Flyer [PDF 196KB]
• Download Adobe Reader