Mozambique

Mozambique is a country of multiple opportunities and challenges. Rich in natural resources such as gas, gold, iron, heavy sands, coal, graphite, paradisiac beaches, fertile soils and unexploited forests, the country is, yet, a global reference of complex disasters emerging out of armed conflicts, climate-change induced disasters and institutionalized governance failures to a point that disasters are, to say, a part of everyday life of millions of people. With about 30 million inhabitants and a GDP of 15 billion, Mozambique ranks as one of the poorest countries in the world – Bottom 10 on the UNDP human development index (UNDP, 2020) and has been under continuous conflicts and disasters over his history. Established in 1962, Eduardo Mondlane University (Universidade Eduardo Mondlane-UEM) is the oldest, number one, and most prestigious university in Mozambique. By 2024 it was ranked by Edurank, amongst the 32 best African universities. UEM offers 204 different programs (104 BSc; 85 MSc and 15 PhD) across its 11 faculties and 6 high education schools. It has an annual intake of around 5,000 students with a global of around 50.000 students. The university vision is to become an international, regional and national reference on scientific knowledge production, innovation and dissemination putting research as the backbone for teaching and outreach. Within the UEM, COLOCAL sits within the Faculty of Agronomy and Forestry Engineering (FAEF), one of the 11 faculties. FAEF provides teaching research and extension activities related to food systems, forest and environment management. It has around 1,000 students across 3 BSc programs, 11 MSc and 3 PhD programs. FAEF is number 2 in terms of publications within the UEM and one of the most prestigious around the country being engaged in policy formulation, training highly qualified cadre of experts including ministers, directors and reputable managers within and outside the country.