Author Archives: Els Hegger

Master and PhD thesis possibilities in Mozambique and India

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 The International Livestock Research Institute (www.ilri.org ) offers thesis possibilities for Masters and PhD students of various disciplines in their imGoats project (2011-2012/13) in India and Mozambique. The project entitled ‘Small ruminant value chains as platforms for reducing poverty and increasing food security in dryland areas of India and Mozambique’ aims to transform the livelihoods of goat keepers in India and Mozambique through a transformation of their subsistence level goat production into a viable and profitable enterprise. The project goal of imGoats is to  increase incomes and food security of the poor in a sustainable manner by improving performance of goat value chains in India and Mozambique . The specific objectives of the project are (a) to pilot sustainable and replicable organizational and technical models to strengthen goat value chains in India and Mozambique that increase incomes, reduce vulnerability and enhance welfare amongst marginalized groups, including women and (b) to document, communicate and promote appropriate evidence-based model(s) for sustainable, pro-poor goat value chains.

The target group is about 500 vulnerable households in the semi-arid Inhassoro district in the Northern Inhambane province of Mozambique, of which 25% will be Female Headed Households and 20% households living with HIV and AIDS. In India, the project operates in Udaipur district of Rajasthan state and Dumka district of Jharkhand state, covering a total of 5000 scheduled caste and scheduled tribe and landless households. CARE International in Mozambique (http://www.care.org/ ) and BAIF in India (http://dev.ikf.in/baif/index.asp ) are leading the development aspects and local project administration in their respective project sites. More information on the project can be obtained at www.imgoats.org.

For more information on specific Msc and Ph D thesis research areas, please see here. For other information or questions please contact Ranjitha Puskur (r.puskur@cgiar.org) or Birgit Boogaard (b.boogaard@cgiar.org ) of the International Livestock Research Institute.

Brochure of Rural Sociology available!

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Finally, it is there! The brochure of our group, Rural Sociology. The brochure contains all necessary education information offered by our group. You will get inspired by the enthusiastic interviews held with students and former students! Have a look at the digital version here. Or ask for a hard copy by sending a message to els.hegger@wur.nl.

Thesis possibility with Dutch Sustainable Development Organisations

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The thesis assignment is commissioned by Dutch Sustainable Development Organisations, COS Gelderland & OIKOS. There is an additional option to include your internship.

 The assignment is a feasibility study of a private network of (young) migrants, (inter)national students and others active in local sustainable development organisations. In order to encourage regional cooperation and to improve the quality of the activities by exchanging knowledge.

 Wageningen UR Science Shop accepted the assignment of COS Gelderland & OIKOS to do this feasibility study of the project ‘Participand’. The research will make you familiar with ‘Action Research’ and is a chance to achieve work experience in the field of the Science Shop and Dutch Sustainable Development Organisations. The research will start mid September.

Are you interested? Please contact project leader Margriet Goris (cocreation@live.nl or 06-28109539). The research is guided by Ina Horlings of the Rural Sociology Group (lummina.horlings@wur.nl or 06-51126725).

Internship possibility with Stroom Den Haag

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 In 2009 Stroom Den Haag (www.stroom.nl) kicked off the program Foodprint. Food for the city. The program takes place over the course of several years and focuses on the influence food can have on the culture, shape and functioning of the city, using The Hague as a case study. The program invites artists and designers to develop appealing proposals on the subject, while at the same time establishing a clear connection with entrepreneurs, farmers, food experts and the general public. 

Foodprint as a project ends in 2012. To mark the end of the three year project, a book will be published and a symposium organised around the same theme: How do we feed our cities of the future (2050) in a sustainable way? Stroom is looking for a student to assist them with the organisational work but also to do additional research. For instance, there is an idea to create a visual essay with a timeline starting around 2050 B.C. (Sumerian clay tablets being the oldest judicial document, communicating about barley) with on it the most important laws and inventions in the field of production and trade of food in urban areas.

If you are curious about the possibilities, please contact Els Hegger (els.hegger@wur.nl).

Afstudeermogelijkheid bij OIKOS

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De Wetenschapswinkel Wageningen heeft een opdracht van COS Gelderland & OIKOS aangenomen om een haalbaarheidsonderzoek te doen voor het project ‘Participand’. Projectleider is Margriet Goris; het onderzoek wordt begeleid door Ina Horlings van Rurale Sociologie.

Met het project ‘Participand’ wil COS/OIKOS diverse doelgroepen -migranten, (inter)nationale studenten en anderen actief op het gebied van duurzame internationale ontwikkeling- bijeenbrengen om ondersteuning te bieden, samenwerking te stimuleren en om de kwaliteit van de activiteiten door kruisbestuiving te verbeteren.

Het onderzoek bestaat uit twee delen; inzichtelijk maken van wat er op dit gebied gebeurt in Wageningen en omgeving en hoe dit functioneert. Om vervolgens aanbevelingen te genereren voor een faciliteit die de verschillende initiatiefnemers in staat stelt hun werk te verbeteren door interactie met zusterorganisaties van verschillende oorsprong en culturele afkomst.

Het project omvat literatuuronderzoek, inventarisatie van initiatieven, interviews maar ook het organiseren van groepsbijeenkomsten met de verschillende initiatieven in samenwerking met de projectleider.

We zoeken een (Nederlands sprekende) masterstudent die zijn of haar afstudeeronderzoek op dit terrein wil doen. Het onderzoek start bij voorkeur rond half september.

Meer informatie tot 12 augustus bij Ina Horlings: lummina.horlings@wur.nl of 06-51126725; of na 8 augustus bij Margriet Goris: 06-28109539 (cocreation@live.nl).