EARTHS EARTHS

The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), with financial support from the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), supports academic qualification measures for beneficiaries of the In-Country / In-Region Programme  from developing countries. Every year, the DAAD awards more than 500 BMZ-funded scholarships to junior researchers from Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, South East Asia and South Asia to help finance their Master or PhD programmes in their home country or region. The programme aims to enable trained professionals to address and deal with diverse societal, economic and ecological issues in developing countries. A further objective is to sustainably improve the teaching and research conditions in the partner regions and to strengthen their higher education profile.

As an additional offer, specifically for scholarship holders of the In-Country / In-Region Programme, the DAAD cooperates with German universities in organising a range of summer schools in Germany. These four-week measures give the students and young researchers an opportunity to take part in a high-class academic training in a selected subject area, meet and exchange with peers from across the world, and gain their own, unique experiences of the German society, culture and history.

Target Group
The training programme is directed towards current DAAD In-Country/In-Region scholarship holders (Master and PhD students) in developing countries who have a primary qualification in health sciences, public health, veterinary sciences or a life sciences related field with a human health focus.

Focus of the EARTHS Summer School
The EARTHS Summer School is designed as a four-week training programme which aims to prepare university students and junior researchers for the tasks of teaching and research in their respective institutions. The focus will lie on scientific research methods, selected science communication tools targeting different audiences, and interactive teaching and presenting skills. The facilitators and lecturers will use a mix of teaching methods including interactive lectures, group work, workshops, presentations and plenary discussions during the teaching sessions. The course language will be English throughout.

Organisers
The ‘Hamburg University of Applied Sciences - Health Sciences Department’ will organise the summer school in cooperation with the ‘Bernhard-Nocht Institute of Tropicial Medicine’. 

Location and Date
The EARTHS summer school will take place for 4 weeks in August 2024 in the beautiful harbour city of Hamburg in northern Germany. Classes will be held at the ‘Hamburg University of Applied Sciences’ – Bergedorf Campus and at the Bernhard-Nocht Institute of Tropicial Medicine in Hamburg.

The deadline for the submission of the application, is the 1^st March 2024, 23:59 Central European Time. Applications received after this date or incomplete applications will not be considered.

To apply, the following information and documents are required:

1. Application Form – fill out the online application form, upload all requested documents in the space provided and then submit the online form. Before you start, please take a look at the application form to get an overview of the information you are required to provide. You will receive an automated response once you have successfully submitted the form.
2. DAAD reference number (PKZ number) – in the application form you will be asked for the PKZ number and the ending date of your current DAAD scholarship allowance as well as the study programm for which you are receiving the allowance, please have this ready
3. Statement of Motivation - a letter of motivation specifying why you want to attend the summer school, what your academic interests and professional experiences are, how you feel the summer school could complement these and why we should select you (maximum length 500 words) (please upload as one pdf file and name the file as follows: ‘family name_Motivation_Letter’ e.g ‘Ahmad_Motivation_Letter’)
4. Academic degrees - a scanned copy of your academic degrees (bachelor and master) and a transcript of records detailing the subjects and topics covered and the marks obtained  (please upload as a single pdf-file and name the file as follows: ‘family name_Degrees’ e.g ‘Ahmad_Degrees’)
5. Proof of English language proficiency – such as TOEFL (score 80), IELTS (Band 6.5), Cambridge English certificate or proof of English being the medium of instruction during your studies (please upload document as single pdf-file and name the file as follows: family name_ English proficiency e.g ‘Ahmad_English proficiency’) 
6. Passport and Identitiy Card copy - a scanned copy of the 1st and 2nd page of your passport (please upload as single pdf-file and name the file as follows: family name_Passport e.g ‘Ahmad_Passport’)

The selection committee comprising of professors and staff from the involved institutions will convene in March 2024 to review and rank the applications in a multi-step process. The selection of candidates will be based on a mix of criteria, care will be taken to have a balanced representation of countries, gender, master and PhD candidates and academic and professional experience. 

The selected candidates will be informed about the results of the selection committee in April 2024.

Selected candidates will be required to send a legally binding signed ‘Declaration of acceptance’, within ten days of notification, by email. With this declaration students commit to immediately apply for their visa and to attend the full 4-week summer school course provided that the visa is granted.  Failure to show-up for the course or undue absenteeism will be considered a breach of contract. This will be reported to the DAAD and the student’s scholarship institution at home with potential consequences for the DAAD scholarship allowance.

Selected candidates will also be required to send a ‘Letter of endorsement’ within ten days of notification, by email. The ‘Letter of endorsement’ certifies that you are a regular student of the university and that the university has no objections to your attending the summer school. The letter needs to be signed, dated and stamped from your PhD supervisor (for PhD candidates) or head of the degree programme (for M.A. candidates). A template of both the declaration and the letter of endorsement will be sent to you with the notification of being selected, by email. Further details on terms and conditions will be communicated to the selected applicants together with the invitation letter.

During the summer school the participants will be guests of the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences. Certain expenses will be covered:

• Course costs: the overall course costs of 6750€ per student will be fully covered for mainly by the DAAD through funds provided by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
• Travel: each student will be provided an economy class return flight ticket from the student’s city of residence to Hamburg and back (on provision of a scanned copy of the visa)
• Accommodation: will be arranged in a regular student’s hostel for the duration of the course (from 01st – 31st August 2024). Students hostels in Germany provide accommodation in single rooms, however males and females share the same hostel. Accommodation will be arranged in single rooms with shared bathroom and kitchen facilities. Accommodation might also be arranged in shared rooms (single sex) if single rooms are unavailable and during excursions
• Travel in Hamburg: a travel card allowing students to use the public transport in Hamburg for the duration of the course will be provided
• Health insurance: full emergency health insurance and accident insurance cover will be provided to each student for the duration of the course
• Excursion expenses: only entrance fees, accommodation and travel expenses for excursions will be covered. Other expenses such as food etc. will have to be paid for by the students themselves
• Meals: afternoon meals at the student’s cafeteria of the university will be provided. Other meal and subsistence costs will have to be covered by the students themselves
• Visa costs: in general, DAAD Scholarship-holders do not have to pay visa fees for Germany, this may however vary depending on the rules of the visa issuing authority. All costs associated with the visa application process including the visa fees will have to be paid for by the candidates themselves. It will be the sole responsibility of the candidate to immediately apply for and obtain the visa.

Further details on terms and conditions will be given to the selected applicants together with the invitation letter.

The summer school addresses university students and young researchers from developing countries. To be eligible for application the candidates are required to meet the following criteria:

• Applicants must be an active scholarship holder of the DAAD’s In-Country / In-Region scholarship programme, as of 1st January 2024 (if your scholarship expires before or starts after that date, participation is not possible)
• Applicants should hold at least a Bachelor’s degree and be enrolled in a Master’s program with a human health focus: 
  • Medicine, Pharmacy, Ethno-botany, Physiology, Psychology, Medical Physics etc.
  • Public Health, Epidemiology, Health Science etc.
  • Veterinary Medicine or Entomology or Food Science etc. with a human health focus
  • Any equivalent life science discipline with a human health focus
• Applicants who already hold a Masters degree and are enrolled in a PhD program in one of the above mentioned fields may also apply.
• Applicants must have an excellent command over both spoken and written English language
• Applicants should not be older than 40 years of age
• Having worked or working in a research project and/or holding work experience of at least 6 months in one of the above fields (at Bachelor, Master or more senior level) is desirable
• Having gained international exposure through, working, studying or researching abroad is an asset but not required

People with disability are explicitly encouraged to apply! Should you have questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact the coordinators at the university or the team at the DAAD.

Kindly note that applying for and attending one of the summer schools must not compromise your regular study programme commitments or duration. This should be considered especially by those applicants that have reached the final year of their scholarship. Attending a summer school will not be accepted as justification for extension of your current In Country/In Region scholarship.

Please note that participation is possible only once: If you have attended one of the In-Country / In-Region programme’s summer schools in the previous years, it will not be possible to participate again in 2024.

Objectives

1. to provide a better understanding of quantitative and qualitative research methods including basic statistical analysis, epidemiological research methods, and traditional and innovative science communication methods.
2. to enable participants to conceptualize and develop a research project using appropriate research methods to operationalize it and explore funding options.
3. to learn and apply interactive and participatory forms of instruction and develop didactic skills that lead to more sustainable learning outcomes.
4. to gain an insight into the culture, way of life and some historical aspects of Germany and to get to know university life, fellow students and lecturers.
5. to intensify and maintain international cooperation and networking in the field of life sciences, especially in health sciences and public health.

EARTHS Programme Topics:

• Teaching and didactic skills (interactive workshop)
• Developing a research project
• Basic statistical methods
• Epidemiology and study designs
• Basics of qualitative research methods
• Scientific writing and literature search
• Research ethics (if time permits)
• Insight into the German health care and social security system (if time permits)
• Cultural and extra-curricular activities

• Mid January 2024 - Opening of online application process
• 1^st March 2024 - Deadline for submission of application
• April 2024 – Acceptance letter sent to the selected candidates
• April/May 2024 - Selected candidates send legally binding signed ‘Declaration of Acceptance’ and ‘Letter of Endorsement’ within 10 days of notification, certifying that they wish to attend the online summer school and that they will immediately apply for their visa
• May/June/July 2024 - Visa application process
• June/July 2024 - Booking the flight tickets – these will be sent by email to the selected participants after we receive a scanned copy of their visa.
• August 2024 - EARTHS 2024 Summer School

The summer school activities will start on 02^nd / 03^rd August, the classes will formally start on 5^th August 2024 and end on 30^th August 2024. The students will arrive between 01^st/03^rd August depending on availability of flights.

• Selected candidates who send in their declaration of acceptance will receive an invitation letter from the DAAD to facilitate the visa application process.
• Candidates will be required to immediately apply for their visa for Germany (since getting an appointment may take a while) and collect it preferably by the end of June 2024.
• It will be the sole responsibility of the candidate to apply for and obtain the visa. All costs associated with the visa application process including the visa fees (if charged) will have to be paid by the candidates themselves.
• Candidates will be required to send a scanned copy of their visa by e-mail along with other documents which will be specified later.

Once the  EARTHS summer school coordinator receives a scanned copy of the visa, possible flight dates and options will be sent to the student. Flights will only be booked after confirmation by the student, following which  an E-ticket will be sent to the candidate along with other information regarding accommodation, travel, etc.

In order to apply for the EARTHS 2024 Online Summer School, interested DAAD scholarship holders are required to fill an online application form and upload the requested documents (e.g. degree certificates, proof of English, motivation letter etc). The link to the online application form is provided below. 

Please take a look at the pdf version of the application form provided here, before you start filling out the online application form. This will help you to collect and organise all the required information in advance.

Apply now using the online application form (this needs to be filled out)! 

 Application deadline is 1^st March 2024, 23:59 Central European Time

The Hamburg University of Applied Sciences (HAW) is the academic coordinator of this programme and will conduct this summer school in partnership with the Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine (BNITM). The administrative coordination and oversight of the programme lies with the DAAD.

The Hamburg University of Applied Sciences (HAW) is one of the largest applied science teaching and research institutes in Germany with over 17,000 students. A wide range of Bachelor and Master programmes in engineering, IT, life sciences, design and media as well as business and social sciences are offered. In the Health Sciences Department, undergraduate and postgraduate training in both German and English language is offered to students seeking to specialize in epidemiology, health economics, health promotion and public health since over twenty years. It has renowned professors, highly qualified lecturers and a wide network of external experts with long standing experience in the field of Health Sciences. Website: www.haw-hamburg.de/english.html

The Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine (BNITM) in Hamburg is Germany's largest institution for research, services and training in the field of tropical diseases and emerging infections. Research topics include clinical studies, epidemiology and disease control as well as the biology of the respective pathogens, their reservoirs and vectors. The institute runs a range of courses in the field of tropical medicine, diagnostics of tropical diseases and tropical medicine for nursing staff. The BNITM has an international collaboration with the Ghanaian Health Ministry and the University of Kumasi and operates a modern research and training center in the West-African rain forest, which is also available to the external researchers. Website: www.bnitm.de/en/

Impressions of the last years

The last summer schools

EARTHS 2023

EARTHS 2022

EARTHS 2021

EARTHS 2020

EARTHS 2019

EARTHS 2018

EARTHS2017