Download - TWAS: Building STI Capacity in Africa
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TWAS: Building STI Capacity in AfricaRomain Murenzi, Executive Director, TWAS
Africa Forum on STI, Nairobi, 1-3 April 2012
+ Let us first listen to some leaders on the continent
President Jacob ZUMA (February 2010, 14th African Union Head of States Summit):
“We need to expand our science and technology capacity. Further than that, we need to improve cooperation in technological development.
An excellent example of this is South Africa’s bid to host the Square Kilometer Array (SKA) radio telescope. This is a truly African initiative. While the central location would be in the Northern Cape in South Africa, remote stations will be hosted in Namibia, Botswana, Mozambique, Mauritius, Madagascar, Kenya, Ghana and Zambia.
Hosting the Square Kilometer Array will underscore Africa’s capability in science and innovation. Because this high-tech facility is about 50 to 100 times more sensitive than any other radio telescope on Earth, the Square Kilometer Array will be able to probe the edges of our Universe. It will help us to answer fundamental questions in the fields of astronomy, physics and cosmology, and may even detect intelligent life elsewhere in the universe.”
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+ Let us first listen to some leaders on the continent
HE President Paul Kagame (February 2010, 14th African Union Head of States Summit):
“The undersea cables that now land on our shores in West, South, North and East Africa bring a world of information and opportunity. But it is we, the leaders in this room, who have to carry these networks over mountains and across deserts; to Africa’s greatest cities and smallest villages; and bring a world of knowledge and prosperity to our citizens.”
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+ Let us first listen to some leaders on the continent
Africa Development Bank, Dr. Donald Kaberuka (February 2010, 14th African Union Head of States Summit):
“Africa has far too often been painted with a pessimistic brush, but the manner in which we have demonstrated resilience during the financial turbulences, the exponential growth of ICTs in Africa truly provides evidence of a continent on the move, and an opportunity for leapfrogging in many domains which will change, and is already changing, many facets of our societies and economies - from commerce, services, education and even governance. The African Development Bank will continue to be your partner, be it in:
rolling out more broadband infrastructure. strengthening institutions responsible for reform and regulatory policies or
closing the infrastructure funding gap by crowding in additional foreign investments.“
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+ Bill Gates
“For centuries people assumed that economic growth resulted from the interplay between capital and labour. Today we know that these elements are outweighed by a single critical factor, Innovation.
Innovation is the source of US economic leadership and the foundation for our competitiveness in the global economy.
Government investment in research, strong intellectual property laws and efficient capital markets are among the reasons that America has for decades been transforming new ideas into successful businesses
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+ TWAS
1032 Members in 91 countries 889 Fellows in 74 countries in the South 144 Associate Fellows in 17 countries in the North 15 Nobel Laureates
In Africa 96 African Fellows, including
the Minister of Science for Zimbabwe the African Union Commissioner for Science and Technology a Member from Senegal on the high-level panel of scientists appointed
by the Director General of UNESCO
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+ TWASHQ and Regional Offices
NairobiAfrican Academy of Sciences
BeijingChinese Academy of Sciences
Rio de JaneiroBrazilian Academy of Sciences
AlexandriaBibliotheca Alexandrina
BangaloreJ.N. Centre for Advanced
Scientific Research
Trieste ICTP
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+ TWASObjectives
Promote excellence in scientific research
Strengthen South-South and South-North collaboration
Respond to needs of young scientists
Engage in dissemination of scientific information
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+TWASProgrammes and activities
- PhD training- Human capital
mobility- Research
support- Honouring excellence
Scientific capacity and excellence in
the South
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+South-South Fellowships
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Fellowships available per year
• PhD fellowships 161 per year• Postdoctoral fellowships 115 per year• Visiting scientists 26 per year• Research and advanced training 20 per year
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322 per year
One of the largest South-South fellowship programmes in the world
+South-South Partnerships
12 programme partners for TWAS Fellowships in 8 developing countries
PARTNERS cover• stipend • accommodation
TWAS covers• travel and visa
costs • administrative costs
Brazil MalaysiaChina MexicoIndia (4) PakistanKenya Thailand
+ Training: Postgraduate PhD Fellowships 2007-2010
Brazil 103China 62India 51Malaysia 30Mexico 1
Pakistan 27Total 274
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124 out of 274 PhD fellowship holders are Africans
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• Obtained PhD in 2007
• Thesis on the kinetics and thermodynamics of the absorption of some heavy metal ions on modified kaolinite clay
• 25 publications (2005-2011)
• Member, Global Young Academy (GYA) President, Nigerian Young Academy (NYA)
• Currently Senior Lecturer in materials chemistry at Redeemer’s University, Nigeria
Emmanuel Unuabonah (Nigeria) with supervisor and colleagues at the Institute of Soil Science, CAS, Nanjing, China
2011 prize winner of AU-TWAS Award for Young Scientists
Postgraduate PhD Fellowshipat Chinese Academy of Sciences
+ OWSDOrganization for Women in Science for the Developing World
First international forum to unite eminent women scientists from developing and developed worlds
Objective: strengthen women’s role in development process and promote representation in S&T leadership.
OWSD in Africa 1,500 members from Africa
80% of PhD Fellowships go to women in African countries
National chapters / focal points in Nigeria, South Africa, Sudan and Tanzania
Recently launched South Africa National Chapter
Collaboration with ASSAf on Gender and Science Education
Founding President from Swaziland, Prof. Lydia Makhubu, Swaziland
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+• OWSD fellowship at
Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (CIMAP), India
• Research: Application of biotechnological techniques to medicinal plants and conservation (DNA sequencing and tissue culturing)
• Results: 5 publications as a result of her fellowship
• Currently: Lecturer, College of Medicine, University of Lagos, Nigeria
OWSD Postgraduate PhD Fellowship at CIMAP, India
Joy Odimegwu, (Nigeria) with supervisor (left) studying tissue culture plantlets in the growth chamber
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+ Human Capital Mobility
Postdoctoral fellowships (South-South) Visits from Sub-Saharan Africa to Germany
(South-North) Associateships to centres of excellence
(South-South) TWAS Research Professors Visiting Scientists Programmes Support for scientific meetings
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+ Human Capital Mobility:Postdoctoral Fellowships 2007-2010
Brazil 34China 56India 42Kenya 1Malaysia 25Mexico 6Pakistan 13Thailand 1
Total 178
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103 out of 178 postdoc fellowships holders are Africans.
+ Human Capital Mobility:Africa-Germany
Joint programme with DFG (German Research Foundation)
Post-doctoral researchers from sub-Saharan Africa (not South Africa) to Germany for up to 3 months to collaborate with German scientists
TWAS covers visa, heath insurance, travel
DFG covers subsistence costs
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2010-2011: 30 visitsBenin 1
Burkina Faso 1
Cameroon 6
Ethiopia 1
Kenya 2
Malawi 1
Nigeria 11
Sudan 3
Tanzania 1
Uganda 2
Zimbabwe 1
+ Human Capital MobilityZimbabwe–Germany
DFG Cooperation VisitDr Maxwell Barson, from the Department of Biological Sciences, University of Zimbabwe, visited the Department of Ecology and Parasitology, Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT)
September–October 2011
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+ Human Capital Mobility:Joint Associateship Scheme
Collaboration with UNESCO, Italian government and centres of excellence in the South
Associate appointed for 3 years, visits centre twice
Over 100 centres selected TWAS provides travel support and
subsistence contribution (up to USD300 per month)
Host centre provides living expenses Currently, only three participating host
centres in Africa (Botswana, Ethiopia, South Africa)
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2007–2011: 49 out of 126 awarded to Africans Algeria 1
Benin 1Botswana 1
Cameroon 9
Côte d’Ivoire 1
Egypt 3
Eritrea 1
Ethiopia 1Kenya 1
Nigeria 22
Sudan 5
Tanzania 2
Tunisia 1
+ Human Capital Mobility:Joint Associateship Scheme Nigeria – ThailandDr. A.O. Obadina, Department of Food Science and Technology, University of Agriculture, Nigeria, studying food fermentation at the National Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology in Thailand
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+ Support for Research22
Equipment, consumables,
literature
Individuals
Units
Basic Science
Applied (COMSTECH)
Basic Science
TWAS Grants for research projects (based on merit)
Between 1986 and 2011, TWAS awarded a total of 2,024 research grants. Of these, 566 went to African grant holders.
+ Grants to Research Units 23
45 out of 81 grants awarded to Research Units in Africa
Virima Mudogo,Department of Chemistry, University of Kinshasa, Dem. Rep. of CongoMacromolecules extracted from indigenous medicinal plants with potential antimalarial or anti-sickle cell anaemia effects
+ TWAS: Honouring Excellence
TWAS prizes given for significant contributions by scientists in the South
Prizes for young scientists awarded on behalf of TWAS by organizations in the South
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+ PRIZES
The Ernesto Illy Trieste Science Prize TWAS Prizes The Abdus Salam Medal for Science and Technology TWAS Prizes to Young Scientists in Developing Countries AU-TWAS Young Scientists National Awards TWAS Medal Lectures The TWAS-AAS-Microsoft Award for Young Scientists The C.N.R. Rao Prize for Scientific Research Atta-ur-Rahman Prize
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African Union–TWAS Young Scientists National Awards
Two prizes of USD5,000 each are awarded per year and per participating country in • life and earth
sciences• basic sciences,
technology and innovation
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13 participating countries• Benin• Burkina Faso• Cameroon• Egypt• Ghana• Guinea• Lesotho• Malawi• Nigeria• Senegal• South Africa• Sudan• Zimbabwe
• 2010: 5 prizes • 2011: 12 prizes
+ The TWAS-AAS-Microsoft Award for Young Scientists in Computer Science
This prize recognizes young scientists in Africa whose research in computer science promises to have a positive impact in the developing world
EUR 7,000 to each winner
3 prizes to 3 African countries each year
2009-2011: South Africa 3,Algeria 2, Egypt 2, Nigeria 1, Tanzania 1
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+ TWAS Objectives for Africa
What should the African Development Bank and assembled officials do if they want to begin implementing these programmes or to scale up an existing African pilot?
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+ TWAS Objectives for Africa
• Scale up AU-TWAS prizes to all African countries (13 at present)
• Develop a research grant programme dedicated only to Africa (equipment and consumables)
• Increase number of associateships awarded to Africa
• Increase number of African participant centres of excellence
• Expand fellowships to 1,000 per year
Training Mobility
Recognition
Support
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+ In conclusion
STI capacity in Africa
AfDB support
TWAS infrastruct
ure, track record,
programmes
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► South Korea did! Brazil did! India did! China did!
► Why not This Region Africa?
► I share the OPTIMISM DR. NGOZI Okonjo-Iweala. On May 14, 2010, Honorable Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala shared a riddle and a “big idea” with fellow Harvard alumni.
“What trillion dollar economy has grown faster than Brazil and India between 2000 and 2010 … and is projected by the IMF to grow faster than Brazil between 2010 and 2015? “The answer may surprise you: It is sub-Saharan Africa!” The “big idea” the Honorable wanted to impart was that sub-Saharan Africa is on the verge of joining the ranks of the BRICS – the rising powers of Brazil, Russia, India and China, whose wealth and clout have increased dramatically in the last decade
+ In conclusion
STI capacity in Africa
AfDB support
TWAS infrastructur
e, track record,
programmes 32
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Romain Murenzi, Executive Director, TWAS
r m u r e n z i @ t w a s . o r g
www.twas.org
TWAS gratefully acknowledges the financial support of the: • Government of Italy• Swedish
International Development Cooperation Agency
• United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization