Recruitment of students has begun in various African universities under a new initiative known as the Regional Initiative in Science and Education (RISE). Fifty-one students have been admitted in universities in five networks. Of the recruited students, thirty-five will pursue doctorates, fifteen will pursue master's degrees, and one will be a postdoctoral fellow. Press release here.
News Archive
March 2009
Sadly, many of the people best placed to address Africa's urgent problems — biologists, chemists, physicians, engineers — go abroad in search of better opportunities. They leave behind under-staffed, under-resourced universities and an upcoming generation of would-be scientists with too few mentors. Donors have been working for decades to mitigate the problem through programmes to support African universities and individual researchers, and there has been some progress.
November 2008
Heather Ferguson ("Scientists from poor countries need the West's help") observes that talented researchers in Africa lack access to postgraduate training, and she argues for affordable opportunities in the west for researchers from poor countries. RISE, the Regional Initiative in Science and Education, goes one step further by providing postgraduate training at universities in sub-Saharan Africa. By combining the resources of multiple universities, RISE offers high quality PhD programs in the sciences in the researchers' home countries. Dr.
October 2008
Academic directors and other representatives of the five RISE networks gathered in Nairobi, Kenya, on October 6-7 to share information about their groups’ research, plans and goals. Participants also heard from private sector representatives from East and South Africa about entrepreneurial opportunities for academic scientists, and they explored potential partnerships with representatives from university consortia outside of Africa.
October 2008
The situation for higher education in Africa might look bleak, but it is far from hopeless. Most institutions recognize the challenges they face and some have begun to reform their policies. For example, to help address the country's chronic skills shortage, Zambia is considering eliminating the mandatory retirement age of 55 years for faculty in the sciences. The University of Nairobi has doubled faculty salaries twice in the past 8 years.
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