RUFORUM Field Attachment Programme Award: An Internship Programme for MSc. Students

At the core of its operations and business RUFORUM manages a Competitive Grants System (CGS) comprising three competitive granting mechanisms. These are the Graduate Research Grant (GRG); Community Action Research Grant (CARP); and the Field Attachment Programme Award (FAPA). Through the CGS RUFORUM’s 29 member universities are encouraged to conduct participatory research involving faculty and students working in partnerships with the farmers and other agencies involved in research and development. The FAPA awards ensure that RUFORUM funded research has a wide reach and impact. Making research known or sharing research findings at any level of society not only adds value to the research but also validates the work that has been done. The field attachment programme awards are designed in such a way that students are encouraged to follow through with the dissemination of their research and to enable them to link more closely with the agencies working in their area of research. It is established for those students who have developed a useful intervention, product or service as part of their MSc. studies and who have handed in their thesis, have no more stipend due from the GRG or CARP, but who could make a more meaningful impact if they stay on for a few more months and provide advisory services related to their research. Through the FAPA students are exposed to real world experiences and establish contacts with development, private sector and government agencies.