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The Center for Animal Health and Food Safety (CAHFS) at the University of Minnesota (UMN) is one of five
World Organisation of Animal Health (OIE) collaborating centers focused on Capacity Building of Veterinary
Services for OIE advanced competencies, including research. And has recently gained the status of Veterinary
Public Health Reference Center for FAO. As a globally recognized center of excellence in capacity building and
the Veterinary Public Health Service Unit at the College of Veterinary Medicine, CAHFS mission is to foster the
development of critical thinker practitioners, who will join national and international veterinary services to
improve animal health and food safety worldwide for the betterment of society.
The Rwanda School of Veterinary Medicine (SVM) belongs to the College of Agriculture, Animal Sciences and
Veterinary Medicine-University of Rwanda (UR-CAVM) an institution that has a multifaceted background and
one that has leveraged a diverse and dynamic academic and research environment in various domains of
agriculture, animal sciences, and veterinary medicine, to become the premier institution in Rwanda imparting
good and affordable education, in animal sciences and veterinary medicine at both undergraduate and
postgraduate levels, with the aim of developing the needed capacity to meet national and regional (global)
needs.

Purpose
This fellowship program is the result of a partnership between the School of Veterinary Medicine, at the
College of Agriculture, Animal Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, University of Rwanda, and the Center for
Animal Health and Food Safety College of Veterinary Medicine, at the University of Minnesota.
This Fellowships Program provides opportunities for motivated, independent students to gain training and
research experience, while developing collaborative competencies, with the support of faculty mentors from
both institutions on issues related to animal production, food safety, and the safe trade of animals and animal
products.
Fellows will be expected to contribute to the study in a role that is appropriate for their course of study and
level of training, and specific responsibilities will be discussed and decided between the proposed mentors and
the trainee.

Application Dates

Call for application : Monday, November 1, 2021
Deadline to apply : Monday, November 22, 2021
Award notification : Week of December 6, 2021
Start Date : December 15, 2021, for a 4-month appointment

Eligibility
Applicants must be a current School of Veterinary Medicine, at CAVM, University of Rwanda Undergraduate
Veterinary Medicine, or Animal Production student. Research focus must be on production animal health, food
safety, and veterinary capacity, and service delivery.

Benefits
● The fellowship committee will make available, up to $500, funding to support the research study based
on the scope and budget built by the students with the support of their mentors.
● Be part of the first cohort of fellows participating in this bi-institutional collaboration.
● Students will be invited to participate in a cycle of webinars offered by the UMN-UR partnership to
support their training in research methods.

Mentors
A team of mentors from both universities will be supporting the development of each project to ensure
alignment with the overall goals of the fellowship. Mentors will be assigned through the traditional procedures
used for final year research projects at the School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Rwanda.
Application Components
Please compile the following materials for your Fellowship application :
● Cover Page : Name, Student reference number, Emails, Project Title.
● Proposed Project/Study/Activities (maximum 3 pages) : Briefly describe the proposed project including
background and significance, context and specific issue/problem, and project aims.
● Timeline (1 page) : Include a brief estimated timeline of activities you intend to complete.
● Transcripts (unofficial is acceptable).

All application components should be single-spaced, 11-point font or larger, with 1.5 cm margins or
larger submitted as a single PDF in the order listed above and submitted to cahfs@umn.edu.
You will receive an email confirmation of your submission. Please contact the faculty listed below if you do not
receive this confirmation email.

All submissions are due on Monday, November 22, 2021, at 5:00 pm (Rwanda time).
Questions may be directed to :
– Dr. Emmanuel Irimaso, irimasoemmy@gmail.com or +250788471323
– Dr. Michael Mahero, maher140@umn.edu
– Dr. Sol Perez, mpere