Since the start of our doctoral academy in October 2021, we now have a group of 11 doctoral students from the three partner countries Benin, Burkina Faso and Niger. This group met for the last time at the University of Abomey-Calavi (UAC), as the scholarships for the first cohort will expire in March 2025.

The workshop program included a range of activities such as the presentation of individual research projects, a visit to an agroecological farm, a visit to the “Venice” of Africa – Ganvie, insights into international funding schemes, a drone flying workshop to further strengthen our joint expertise in the fields of GIS and remote sensing and finally, a stronger approach to the “third mission” agenda by promoting stronger public relations, e.g. through entrepreneurial activities and science communication.

Thus, we used the joint time to further strengthen scientific skills of our PhD by taking up the Visual Thinking approach and linking it to Graphical Abstract creation. The results were diverse: digital and manual images, from pictogramic to drawing styles, from summaries of PhD theses to the representation of conceptual frameworks. Productive and well-received sessions with lots of discussion, critical thinking, understanding of each other’s research and sharing of ideas.

We look back on almost 4 years of work, with enriching discussions, logistical and administrative hurdles, growing personalities and responsibilities in West Africa, and look forward to 2025, including the possible extension of Pro-RUWA 2.0 to realize our vision of improved higher education conditions and capacities.

A blessed and joyful new year,

your Pro-RUWA team

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Scientific staff / project coordinator Martin Wiehle Faculty of Organic Agricultural Sciences (University of Kassel) More blogs from this author

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