Master Research Programme on Informatics for Climate Change

WASCAL is funded by BMBF, multilateral and bilateral partners and its 11 West African member countries, namely: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, The Gambia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal and Togo. WASCAL’s mission is to provide information and knowledge services at the local, national and regional levels to West African member countries to cope with the adverse impacts of climate change. They do this through capacity building support to young West African scholars in fields of climate, natural and social sciences and by delivering climate and environmental services in member countries.

The Master Research Programme in Informatics for Climate Change (MRP-INFORMCC) is aimed at training a critical mass of experts with adequate scientific computation and climate data management skills in West Africa.

Focus Areas

• This Master’s programme includes all aspect of data management and administration of high-performance computing facility that will be used to run regional climate models and its auxiliaries for operational and research institutions and universities in West Africa. Students will be exposed to interdisciplinary and trans-disciplinary approaches to climate data analysis and management skills as well as operations and maintenance of HPC systems. Upon completion of their study, the students are expected to acquire adequate knowledge in:
  • Climate and environmental data storage and management
  • Climate data analysis techniques and provision of climate data service
  • Operation, installation, and maintenance of the HPC
  • Current licensed climate data analysis software/packages
  • Use of open sources climate data analysis packages

Costs Covered

• The scholarship includes:
  • Monthly stipend to cover accommodation, and living expenses for the period of studies;
  • Payment of university fees;
  • Research budget;
  • A personal laptop computer on loan for the duration of the programme.

Programme Duration

• The 24 months full time programme has the following components:
  • Preparatory phase: four (04) months of language proficiency courses in English language for francophones and lusophones at the University of Cape Coast in Ghana; and French language for anglophones, at the University of Lomé in Togo;
  • Lectures – 14 months, comprising 3 semesters at the Université Joseph KI-ZERBO (UJKZ);
  • Research proposal preparation;
  • Internship/Field/Research work/ – 4 months. Students are expected to select topics that are in line with the research agenda, mission and objectives of WASCAL;
  • Final thesis write-up and defense – 2 months.

Eligibility Criteria

• Candidates applying for Master Research Programme in Informatics for Climate Change must have a minimum of BSc degree (second class upper division) or equivalent in Computer Science, Physics, Chemistry, Health sciences, Meteorology and Climate science, Geography, Biological sciences, Geoscience, Environmental Economics, Agriculture, Mathematics, Statistics, Computer Engineering, Electrical engineering, Electronic Engineering.
• Other general requirements include:
  • Citizen of WASCAL member country.
  • Proficiency in English Language.

For more information, visit WASCAL.