{"id":14041,"date":"2026-06-20T12:32:41","date_gmt":"2026-06-20T12:32:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.iita.org\/news-item\/nemedussa-consortium-advancing-nematology-education-in-sub-sahara-africa\/"},"modified":"2026-06-29T21:33:08","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T21:33:08","slug":"nemedussa-consortium-advancing-nematology-education-in-sub-sahara-africa","status":"publish","type":"news-item","link":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/news-item\/nemedussa-consortium-advancing-nematology-education-in-sub-sahara-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"Le consortium NEMEDUSSA fait progresser l'enseignement de la n\u00e9matologie en Afrique subsaharienne"},"content":{"rendered":"To develop the research and educational capacity in Sub-Sahara Africa in the field of nematology, or the study of roundworms, a joint Erasmus+ KA2 project was recently launched. The Erasmus+ project, Capacity Building in Higher Education (CBHE): Nematology Education in Sub-Sahara Africa (NEMEDUSSA), is a joint effort by a consortium of Universities from Sub-Sahara Africa and Europe.\n\nThis three-year project (2021-2023) is co-funded by the European Union (Erasmus+ KA2 CBHE) and VLIR-UOS, and is linked to the objectives of the Erasmus+ Programme. The aims are to encourage cooperation between the EU and Partner Countries and support eligible Partner Countries in addressing challenges in the management and governance of their higher education institutions.\n\n\"Nematology<\/a>\n\nSpecifically, NEMEDUSSA aims to increase awareness of nematodes and expand educational and research capacities in higher education and other institutions in Sub-Sahara Africa in this field. Nematodes or roundworms cause significant damage and yield loss to a wide variety of crops often together with other pathogens. Unfortunately, nematodes are often overlooked or misdiagnosed, resulting in the unnecessary use of unhealthy agro-chemicals. Nematodes can also be used as bio-control agents against insect pests and\/or as bio-control agents for environmental health and biodiversity.\n\nDespite the profound adverse impact plant-parasitic nematodes have on productivity worldwide, it is striking how concealed the discipline of nematology has remained, particularly in Sub-Sahara Africa. This project aims to address the need for increased capacity and specialised training in handling these pathogens, so that plant-parasitic nematodes are managed correctly and beneficial nematodes can be implemented as biocontrol organisms.\nTo achieve this, the project focuses on 6 core activities:\n
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  1. Developing Curricula. Develop curricula in nematology on BSc and MSc level for the integration into existing educational programmes in English and French, for both lecturers and students.<\/li>\n \t
  2. Training Staff. Improve the nematological expertise of academic and technical staff to enhance teaching capacity.<\/li>\n \t
  3. Upgrading lab facilities. Increase the number of student microscopes, lab and demonstration equipment to augment hands-on training.<\/li>\n \t
  4. Nematology digital learning platform. Develop an open-access platform to share and disseminate nematological knowledge, develop curricular modules, knowledge clips, etc.<\/li>\n \t
  5. Nematology Network. Enhance cooperation between nematologists in Sub-Sahara Africa by providing networking tools, workshops on relevant topics in nematology and sharing good practices in education, promoting collaboration with a focus on young nematologists.<\/li>\n \t
  6. Creating awareness. Facilitate dissemination activities and involve a range of different stakeholders such as farmers, extension service workers, policy makers, students and private and public sector.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\nGhent University (Belgium) coordinates NEMEDUSSA, in cooperation with:\n