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LEARN Technician Award

Purpose

The LEARN Technician Award will provide funds for up to 6 months for a Technician from a developing country to travel to a New Zealand organisation to receive training on equipment, tools or methods that when applied in their home organisation/country will improve the measurement of and understanding of greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture. The award aims to build capacity amongst Technicians to facilitate their future or ongoing participation in research, development and extension activities or programmes directly related to the mitigation of livestock greenhouse gas emissions.  

The Award seeks to:
  • Attract and support technicians or technical staff from developing countries to work alongside and learn from technicians in New Zealand organisations.
  • Aid the transfer of knowledge on agricultural GHG emissions measurement, modelling and mitigation technologies and practices that assist agriculture to reduce GHG emissions and increase the efficiency of agricultural production systems.
  • Advance the use of tools/techniques to increase the level of scientific skills and technological capabilities within developing countries.
  • Build enduring collaborations between New Zealand institutes and researchers and those in developing countries.

Eligibility Requirements

The Technician Award is open to technicians from developing countries who are members of the LEARN network. The Award will fund a technician from a developing country to travel and live/work in New Zealand to acquire skills in new/unfamiliar techniques and methods in livestock GHG emissions mitigation for up to 6 months.

To be eligible, you must:
  • Have a bachelor's degree or equivalent tertiary qualification or be a technician with at least 5 years work experience.
  • Be a registered member of the LEARN network.
  • Work in collaboration with a New Zealand research organisation.
  • Be resident and normally employed on a permanent contract by a research organisation in a developing country as defined by the Development Assistance Committee of the OECD (DAC) list of Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) recipients. The list is available online via this link.
  • Satisfy New Zealand Government requirements for international entry into New Zealand.
  • Be able to speak and understand English to a level sufficient that you can understand technical concepts that will be explained in English.

Funding

The visit must be between 6 weeks and 6 months duration and be completed within one year of the Technician's Award having been granted.

  • Up to NZ$17,000 for 6 months (pro rata for less than 6 months) will be provided to recipients to cover living expenses only (i.e. not the recipient's salary).
  • Up to NZ$3,000 will be provided for an economy airfare and travel/medical insurance.

All funds will be made available subject to a budget being completed and submitted with evidence and details of costs as estimated at the time of application. All funds will be administered through the New Zealand research organisation collaborating in the application process.

How to Apply

Download the application form and budget sheet from the LEARN or NZAGRC websites. A two stage process applies.

Stage One

An Expression of Interest (EoI) form must be completed and submitted to the NZAGRC Operations Manager - International to determine eligibility.

doc LEARN Technician's award Expression of Interest (0.27MB) 

Stage Two

Once the NZAGRC Operations Manager - International has confirmed eligibility, the candidate will be invited to submit a full application to be considered by an assessment panel.

Submission of full applications can occur anytime throughout the year however, full applications will be assessed on a quarterly basis on the following dates:

  • January 30th
  • April 30th
  • July 30th
  • October 30th

The full application process is as follows:

  1. Develop a proposal for the training programme in close collaboration with a New Zealand research organisation. Complete a budget with all supporting evidence of associated costs.
  2. Complete relevant sections of the application form in English.
  3. Sign and date the declaration.
  4. Attach any supporting documents as stipulated on the application form.
  5. Send completed application documents to the New Zealand organisation participating in this exchange; this is the organisation where you would be based while in New Zealand.
  6. Submission of the application by the New Zealand organisation with all supporting documentation to the Operations Manager (International) at the NZAGRC.
        

More Information

For more information or clarification about the LEARN Technician Award visit the following websites: