MANILA, Sept. 16 — The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) is now offering graduate scholarships to eligible officers and staffers of the Philippine Carabao Center (PCC) to strengthen the local agency’s capacity in biotechnology, bio-informatics, genomics, breeding, and other related courses.
SEARCA director Gil C. Saguiguit Jr. said this was made possible after PCC entered into an agreement with SEARCA to upgrade the technical capacity of its staff, particularly in such areas as livestock research and application of biotechnology.
PCC is an attached agency of the Department of Agriculture (DA) that is spearheading the implementation of the Carabao Development Program that aims to conserve water buffaloes and maximize economic gains for buffalo-based village enterprises.
It also leads national research and development efforts on livestock biotechnology.
Saguiguit said the scholarship project will provide PCC officers and regular staff the opportunity to take up graduate studies in reputable universities in the Philippines, United States, Canada, and Australia.
For international scholarship grants, the areas of specialization are livestock biotechnology, genomics, bioinformatics, policy, and development studies.
On the other hand, the areas open for local scholarship grants are policy, planning and development, knowledge management, and biotechnology.
The graduate scholarships will also cover social science courses related to planning, policy and development studies, and knowledge management.
Saguiguit said that officers and regular staff of PCC who plan to pursue advance degree leading to molecular livestock biotechnology, genomics, bioinformatics, policy, development studies and knowledge management and related fields can apply for the scholarship.
For applicants to be eligible for the program, he or she must have received an offer or have been admitted to any of the selected study posts.
Applicants shall submit all scholarship documents to PCC which shall initially screen and endorse shortlisted applicants to SEARCA.
All shortlisted applicants will then be interviewed by SEARCA as the final step in the selection process.
The scholarship is granted for a maximum of four semesters or two years for a master's degree program and six semesters or three years for a doctoral program.
Saguiguit said the grant shall cover tuition fees, monthly stipend, book allowance, annual health insurance, thesis/dissertation expense, domestic travel allowance, and round trip airfare.
He added that a scholar may seek additional grant for thesis/dissertation work from other sources provided that the scholarship is not sufficient to cover all of the necessary expenses for the research. (PNA)
