The Agriculture University of Tirana held an information session dedicated to the research grant program funded by the Albanian-American Development Foundation (AADF) in collaboration with the Butrint Management Foundation (BMF).
The event aimed to inform the Agricultural University of Tirana's academic and research staff about funding opportunities, application criteria, and priority areas of support, encouraging the participation of the university's researchers in research projects with national and international impact.
Representatives of the Albanian-American Development Foundation (AADF) presented the structure of the program, the application requirements, deadlines, and procedures, and also held an open discussion with participants to clarify issues related to the preparation of project proposals.
The program provides a funding pool of 2.5 million ALL (Albanian lek) for Albanian research teams, while collaborators from the Albanian diaspora will be funded through a separate budget. The application deadline is 15 August 2026, and the selected projects will have an implementation period of one year.
During the presentation, it was highlighted that the Agricultural University of Tirana has strong potential to apply in several of the program’s priority areas, including hydrology and geology, agriculture, cultural heritage management, and visitor management.
Particular attention was given to the research priorities identified for the Butrint area, including studies on climate change and its environmental impacts, monitoring biological indicators in Lake Butrint, research on lichens affecting cultural monuments, as well as projects that use Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technologies for data analysis and management.
In the field of agriculture, particular emphasis was placed on the importance of developing projects that address the monitoring, prevention, and control of Planococcus citri (the citrus mealybug), a pest that has affected the Konispol area in recent years and is considered one of the priorities of this call for proposals.
In addition, in the areas of cultural heritage management and visitor management, the involvement of the Agricultural University of Tirana’s Department of Tourism was recommended, along with collaboration with other academic institutions to develop joint research projects.
Application and information link: https://www.iie.org/programs/research-expertise-from-the-academic-diaspora/apply/for-albanian-resident-scholars
