UB Newsletter: RISE Delegation Visits the University of Botswana

The Science Initiative Group (SIG), headed by its Executive Director Ms. Arlen Hastings, and its Program Associate, Ms. Lori Mulcare, visited and met with the University of Botswana (UB) management, staff, and students on June 24, 2011. RISE was established in 2008 to prepare PhD and MSc-level scientists and engineers in sub-Saharan Africa through university-based research and training networks in selected disciplines. Its primary emphases are on training new staff to teach in African universities and upgrading the qualifications of current staff, specifically the supervisory capacity through co-supervision of students.

The purpose of the visit by the RISE delegation was to meet representatives of government ministries of science, higher education and finance (or equivalents), as well as regional organizations. The objectives were to provide information about the work RISE is doing, including its potential to contribute to local economies, to explain SIG's efforts to scale up and sustain RISE through the involvement of the World Bank and other partners; and to discuss mechanisms to support regional initiatives. Article here.