News Archive

August 2016

SSAWRN graduate Nelson Oghenekaro Odume (of Nigeria) has been celebrated among the "top 100 inspiring and aspiring leaders" in South Africa. The recognition was part of the top 100 Young Independents unveiled by the Independent Media group on July 27, 2016 at the Wanderers Club in Sandton, Johannesburg, South Africa. SSAWRN supported Dr. Odume's master's degree and his doctorate.

July 2016


L to R: Program Associate Sarah Rich, Board Member Mohamed H.A. Hassan, Executive Director Arlen Hastings

The planned UN Technology Bank for Least Developed Countries will be a key resource for scientists in the developing world, and SIG Board Member Mohamed Hassan will lead the Council that will draft its principles and policies.

June 2016

© 2016 Sarah E. Rich

Amid high spirits and a sense of accomplishment, RISE, the Regional Initiative in Science and Education in Africa, held the capstone meeting of its inaugural 8-year phase on April 19-22 in Nairobi. Some 80 doctoral and master’s degree recipients and students, joined by academic leaders, gathered to share experiences, learn from one another, and imagine their futures as the architects of Africa’s development.

Since 2008, RISE has been supporting PhD- and MSc-level scientists and engineers in sub-Saharan Africa through five competitively selected, university-based research and teaching networks in locally relevant science and engineering disciplines. With funding from Carnegie Corporation of New York and a secretariat based at the Science Initiative Group (SIG) at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, USA, RISE has been instrumental in nurturing a new generation of African scientists. To date, the RISE networks have trained a total of 180 emerging scientists hailing from 17 African countries.

© 2016 Sarah E. Rich
RISE Graduate Dr. Nelson Odume

The April meeting was a celebration and showcase; a networking opportunity where inter-university partnerships were reinforced and research collaborations established; and a forum to plan the next phase of RISE. Dr. Nelson Odume, Director of the Unilever Centre for Environmental Water Quality at Rhodes University in South Africa, earned both his master’s degree and his doctorate at Rhodes through RISE’s water resources network. “Being part of RISE is a rare privilege to engage with some of the best scientific minds on the continent and to undertake groundbreaking research projects. Thanks to my positive experience as a part of the RISE community, I wake up each day looking forward to contributing to the socioeconomic development of Africa by doing research that meets the needs of the continent.”

June 2016

Bame Sanah Keabetswe in the laboratory at the Okavango Research Institute in Maun, Botswana

This text is from an article on the EuroScience website. The full list of African awardees can be found there.

Thanks to the generous support of the Robert Bosch Foundation, EuroScience was able to open a call for Travel Grants to support African researchers and research administrators with their travel, registration and accommodation costs to attend the EuroScience Open Forum (ESOF) 2016 in Manchester (23-27 July 2016). Every two years, ESOF brings together 4,500 scientists and leading thinkers, innovators, policy makers, journalists and educators from more than 90 countries, to discuss current and future breakthroughs in contemporary science. ESOF therefore serves as an excellent platform where scientists, politicians and other stakeholders can meet, discuss and advance the impact of science and its applications on societal challenges, including ethical issues and policies.

With over 300 applications and just 45 grants to award, the international jury faced a tough selection. After careful deliberation, the jury is pleased to announce that SSAWRN MPhil student Bame Sanah Keabetswe has been awarded a grant to attend ESOF 2016.

Learn more about Bame and her research here, on the RISE Blog.

May 2016

© 2015 Joelia Nasaka
 
Thanks to efforts of Dr. Joelia Nasaka, an Assistant Lecturer at the College of Veterinary Medicine, Animal Resources and Biosecurity (CoVAB), the Mpala Research Centre (MRC) is prepared to host at least 20 Makerere University students of the Bachelor of Wildlife Health and Management, CoVAB for a week. The Centre Management, Science Initiative Group (SIG) at the Institute for Advanced Study, and Princeton University have offered US $5,000 as a contribution to costs required for the students' training.

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