Pre-Announcement: funding for Wildlife Malaria Network (WIMANET) 1st Summer Training School The Wildlife Malaria Network 1st Summer Training School will take place from 1st - 5th September 2024 in Field station Mohelno, Mohelno, Czechia. The training school will consist of five days of lectures and practical activities designed to introduce students to a broad range of research activities and skills related to working with Wildlife Malaria Parasites. Topics will include sample collection and storage, analysis of haematological parameters and an introduction to parasite identification, analysis of genetic sequence data, collection and identification of vector species, and methods to analyse community-level data. Specific topics will be tailored to the requirements of the selected students. Geographical restrictions on funded places apply according to COST funding rules, and more information on eligibility can be found in the Annotated Rules for COST Actions (https://www.cost.eu/uploads/2023/11/COST-094-21-Annotated-Rules-for-COST-Actions-Level-C-V1.4-Final-.pdf). All teaching materials will be available through the WIMANET website (https://wimanet-science.github.io/web/) after the course has concluded. Applications are open to anyone interested in learning techniques to work with wildlife malaria parasites, but applicants must have an eCOST profile and have applied to be a member of WIMANET in order for their application to be approved. You can apply to join WIMANET here: https://www.cost.eu/actions/CA22108, and more information about the network can be found here: https://wimanet-science.github.io/web/ The call for applications for the Wildlife Malaria Network 1st Summer Training School will open on 1st March and close on 31stMarch. Applications must be e-mailed to the Grant Awarding Co-ordinator, Dr Alexandra Conduneanu (alexandra.corduneanu@usamvcluj.ro ), and to the WIMANET account (wimanet.science@gmail.com). The application consists of the following documents: - a motivation letter detailing the benefits for the applicant and relevance of the training school to current research, - Anticipated travel budget in Euros (costs of transport to Vaclav Havel Airport Prague, and travel insurance) - a support letter from the Home Institution, - a CV, including a list of academic publications if applicable. The applications will be ranked by the Core Group based on: - benefits to the applicant in terms of career progression - benefit and contribution to the development of the COST Action The selection will follow the COST policies on inclusiveness (gender, age, geography). The final ranking will be approved by the Action Chair and Co-Chair. All researchers who applied to the call will be informed of the outcome of their application by 19th April. The selected researchers should wait for the official invitation from the Grant Holder before booking any travel arrangements. Please direct any questions to wimanet.science@gmail.com, and please alert any students who may be interested and not on the evoldir mailing list to this opportunity. Best wishes, Jenny Dr Jenny Dunn (she/her) Senior Lecturer in Animal Health and Disease, Postgraduate Research co-Lead, Chair, Wildlife Malaria Network COST Action, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Lincoln, Joseph Banks Laboratories, Lincoln, LN6 7DL, UK Twitter: @jennycdunn Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.co.uk/citations?user=0GP7Tv0AAAAJ&hl=en Wildlife Malaria Network: https://www.cost.eu/actions/CA22108/ "JDunn@lincoln.ac.uk" (to subscribe/unsubscribe the EvolDir send mail to golding@mcmaster.ca)