Presently, the 40 students of the regional masters' 3rd cohort are ending their course in semester 3 for specialisation (July to December 2022). Four disciplines are concerned, including 3 professional masters degrees and a research master in 4 different professions: Management of Protected Areas and Biosphere Reserves (GAP/GRB), Forest Management Techniques (TAF) and Integrated Management of Tropical Forests and Lands (AGIFT).
Remember that this specialization is made possible by the regional mobility provided in this programme. Indeed, the 17 GAP/GRB Masters were trained at the Ecole de Faune de Garoua (EFG, Cameroon); the 11 TAF Masters completed part of their practical training in a forestry company in the North of the Republic of Congo, within the CIB OLAM Agri company. The 12 AGIFT research Masters continued their studies in DRC, either in the Luki Biosphere Reserve or in the Mangrove Marine Park (RAMSAR site).
January to June 2023 is the final stretch of the programme. Indeed, all these 40 learners have been admitted to an academic internship to carry out their final year research in several countries. Eight GAP masters students have been admitted to an internship at the Southern African Wildlife College (SAWC, South Africa), within the partnership that exists between this prestigious South-African institution and ERAIFT.
Public defenses of these research results are to be held in June 2023, online or in class, with an international and interdisciplinary jury. The 3rd cohort, consisting of 40 students from 8 countries, will complete its cursus at the end of June 2023.
The third cohort's departure for the internship frees up space for the start of the fifth cohort, which begins its course in February 2023. Thus the 3rd, 4th and 5th cohorts will run in parallel until June 2023, giving 129 students registered in the Master's programme at ERAIFT (in addition to the 26 doctoral students registered on the role).
ERAIFT expresses its sincere thanks to the European Union for funding this training programme and to AGRINATURA for supporting ERAIFT in the implementation of the programme.