The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) and the Center of Excellence on Sustainable Agricultural Intensification and Nutrition (CE SAIN) at Royal University of Agriculture (RUA) in Cambodia signed a Memorandum of Agreement in November 2021 to establish the CE SAIN-SEARCA Joint Graduate Scholarship Program.
The joint scholarship program aims to contribute to the institutional capacity and human resources development of RUA staff. These Scholarship recipients from RUA will pursue their PhD studies at Kasetsart University in Thailand and conduct research focusing on agricultural extension models, agricultural research commercialization, and the bridging of agriculture internship to employment competencies. These areas of expertise significantly contribute to RUA's 10-year Strategy 2021-2030 to develop human resources in agricultural education and communication.
CE SAIN was established in 2016 by the United States Agency for International Development through Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Collaborative Research on Sustainable Intensification at Kansas State University. Among its functions, CE SAIN aims to support the institutional capacity and human resources development of RUA.
Likewise, RUA is a beneficiary of SEARCA’s Institutional Development Assistance (IDA) program. IDA intends to empower and equip strategically located universities with the necessary resources to cater to the demands for human resources required to boost economic development in the region. To date, SEARCA’s IDA-partner universities include RUA, Savannakhet University (SKU) in Lao PDR, Yezin Agricultural University (YAU) in Myanmar, National University of Timor Leste (UNTL), and Thai Nguyen University of Agriculture and Forestry (TUAF) in Vietnam. Before this, CE SAIN and SEARCA signed their first joint scholarship program for the project titled, Development of Innovative and Sustainable Aquafeed Using Local Agro-Residual Resources. Recipients of this joint scholarship will study at Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM).
