COSIMENA Funded Summer School: Strengthening Transboundary Research in One Health in the MENA Region

The DAAD Regional Office Cairo invites you to apply to participate in the COSIMENA-funded summer school entitled “Strengthening Transboundary Research in One Health in the MENA Region”. The summer school is organised in cooperation with Badr University near Cairo and Leipzig University in Germany within the framework of the DAAD project “Clusters of Scientific Innovation in the Middle East and North Africa” (COSIMENA).

1. Aim & Scope

The emergence of novel infectious diseases during the last decades raises many questions about the readiness of the scientific community to identify sources and routes of transmission, infectivity to humans and or animals, recommendation of safety measures, germ distribution in the environment, and the presence of animal reservoirs or vectors; all of which directly impact the prevention of communicable diseases. Given the current factors of ease of international travel, climate change, and rapid and sometimes irreversible changes to environments and ecosystems; the spread of communicable diseases within and across state borders has markedly accelerated. Effective prevention of infectious diseases requires trans-disciplinary, multisectoral, complex approaches that are able to fully account for the myriad and dynamic human, animal, and environmental factors and interactions as a complex adaptive system. The concept of One Health in which the health of humans, animals, and ecosystems are an intricately interconnected network provides an approach that can more accurately account for these complex and dynamic processes resulting from human, animal, and environmental interactions, changes, and adaptations. As a result, neglected diseases like Rabies are considered in the United Nations’ sustainable goals (SDGs), within SDG 3 “ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages”, as an infectious agent that should be eliminated by 2030. To achieve this, collaboration between scientists and communities across continents is a must.

The COSIMENA-funded summer school aims to build a solid network between researchers coming from the MENA Region and Germany in order to forge future collaborations that address health problems and develop efficient hygiene management systems in the context of One-health-Approach. In other words, it aims to foster intercultural cooperation between academic institutions between Germany and the MENA region. Distinguished speakers from partner institutions in Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, Libya, Saudi Arabia, and Germany will present research ideas in interactive sessions with the participants and open the floor for them to discuss their research projects as well.

2. Formats

Scientific Lectures: Lectures in which participants can work together and gain inputs from trainers and experts and discuss with fellow participants.
Workshops: In such workshops, participants will work in groups on assignments and small projects in which they create innovative content tied to the theme and the programme.

3. Who can apply?

Target group: master and doctoral students from faculties of Medicine, Veterinary Medicine, and Natural Sciences in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and Germany with an interest in cultural exchange and are willing to work collaboratively in intercultural group settings.

4. Logistics

The DAAD Regional Office Cairo will cover all costs related to mobility and accommodation in the scope of the summer school. Accommodation will take place in Cairo with three meals a day provided. Extending of travel stay after the specified dates for arrival and departure must be paid by the participants themselves.

4.1 When?

The COSIMENA-funded summer school will take place from September 28^th (arrival day) to October 8th, 2024 (departure day).

4.2 Where?

The program will be held at Badr University and the Tolip Family Park (Km26, Cairo Suez Road) in Cairo, Egypt, and eventually the DAAD Regional Office Cairo.

4.3 Mobility & Accommodation

The arrangements for participants will be taken care of by the DAAD and partner universities. This will include covering the costs of visa, flights or other transportation, accommodation, and boarding during the duration of the programme. Additionally, a transfer from the airport to the accommodation in Cairo will be arranged.

The logistics of the program are designed to provide a comfortable and convenient experience for participants, allowing them to fully engage in the activities of the summer school without having to worry about travel and accommodation arrangements.

Kindly note that no daily allowance is provided to the participants!

5. How to apply?

Please prepare the following:

CV in English (including publications if any)
Motivation letter in English, outlining why you want to take part in the summer school, how you could personally benefit from the programme, what kind of own research/graduation project you are working on, and how it is related to the theme of the programme. The length of the motivation letter should range between 200 and 250 words.
Graduate diploma, master’s certificate (if already available) and/or transcripts
Support letter from your supervisor or institution

Only complete applications can be accepted. Incomplete applications will not be taken into consideration.

Deadline for applications is 17 July 2024, 13:00 clock (Cairo Local Time)

Please apply here: https://www.daad.de/surveys/646924?lang=en

After your registration, in case of selection, you will receive a confirmation email with all the necessary information by Mid/End August.

For those unable to participate in person, the activities of the summer school may be streamed online via ZOOM or MS-Teams.

6. Certificate of Participation

Participants are expected to be part of all activities taking place in the summer school. A certificate of participation will be issued at the end of the programme, provided that the participant has attended the entire summer school.