The Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences (FTZ), Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, participated in the international conference “Competence-based Doctoral Training in Agricultural Value Chains and Rangeland Management in East Africa: Collaborative Curricula and Stakeholder Engagement”, held on 2 September 2026 at the University of Nairobi, Kenya. The conference marked the culmination of the three-year Erasmus+ project ADVALUE, which focused on strengthening doctoral education, research capacities, and transdisciplinary cooperation among higher education institutions in East Africa. The event brought together university representatives, doctoral students, researchers, policymakers, and stakeholders from the agricultural sector to discuss challenges and future directions for doctoral training and sustainable agricultural value chain development.
The conference programme focused on the quality and relevance of doctoral education in East Africa, stakeholder engagement, and the role of universities in addressing research and development gaps in sustainable agriculture and rangeland management. Participants attended keynote presentations by representatives of academia, research institutions, and government organizations, followed by a high-level panel discussion on strategies for strengthening doctoral education. The programme also featured poster presentations by doctoral students from Kenya and Uganda and parallel workshops addressing sustainable and inclusive agricultural value chains, transdisciplinary university-community engagement, and the future of rangeland management in Africa.
FTZ played a prominent role in both the project activities and the conference programme. During the internal ADVALUE conference, Dr. Petra Chaloupková presented the outcomes and future implementation of Module 4, focusing on agricultural value chains, while Dr. Jana Mazancová contributed to discussions on the sustainability strategy of the project. During the public conference, Dr. Jana Mazancová served as an invited keynote speaker and delivered a presentation entitled “Analysis of the Present Challenges of Doctoral Education and Future Strategies”, addressing current challenges and future developments in doctoral education. Dr. Petra Chaloupková participated as an invited speaker with her lecture “Sustainable and Inclusive Value Chain Perspectives in Kenya and Uganda” and subsequently facilitated a workshop on sustainable and inclusive agricultural value chains. The active involvement of both FTZ representatives highlighted the faculty’s long-term commitment to international cooperation, capacity building, and the advancement of higher education and research in Africa.
