Making it possible for young scientists to stay in Africa

Returning to the department of chemistry at Multimedia University of Kenya after completing his PhD studies at the State University of New York in the United States, Dickson Andala was frustrated by the lack of local laboratories that could analyse his samples he needed for his research.

Fortunately, a solution presented itself in the form of the African Academy of Sciences, or AAS, Affiliates Programme to which Andala was selected as a member of a pioneering cohort in 2016.

The programme, initiated in 2015, aims to nurture and mentor the next generation of African scientists, like Andala, with the ultimate aim of stemming the brain drain in Africa. For Andala, it linked him to research networks which made it possible to do his research in Africa.

“Becoming a fellow of the affiliates programme has opened up research networks. For instance, I now collaborate with, and analyse my samples at, the Botswana Institute for Technology Research and Innovation,” he told University World News.

Improved publishing rates

“This has improved my publications in the field of nanoscience and nanotechnology, for which there are limited advanced research facilities in Africa,” he said.

According to Thomas Kariuki, who assumed the position of acting director of AAS on 7 March after former director Berhanu Abegaz’s six-year term came to an end, most young academics leave the continent because of a lack of infrastructure and opportunities to grow their scientific careers.

“The affiliates programme is designed to provide opportunities for early career scientists to receive mentorship and develop themselves by providing support to attend conferences, symposia and workshops and other activities that will improve their skills in proposal development, grant writing and pitching innovations to help them win more grants, improve their publication records and to contribute in developing the continent," Kariuki said.

Each year 25 fellows who are promising scientists below the age of 40 with PhD qualifications are selected to serve as affiliates for a five-year period. Candidates are selected from all regions in Africa after a rigorous merit-based process.

In addition to the affiliates programme, the African Academy of Sciences has another category of membership: the fellowship for older, more established scholars, whose membership is for life. This number currently sits at 363.

Seeking to dispel the perception that the programme targets scientists engaged in the fields of health, medical and basic sciences, Kariuki said all fields of sciences, including social sciences, are included in the programme.

“The AAS is an academy of all sciences and all knowledge, and applicants from all fields apply, including the social, humanities, natural, physical, biosciences and cultural sciences,” he said.

Kariuki said the AAS also takes very seriously its intention to work with institutions to which the affiliates are attached during the five-year period.

As part of the programme, the AAS organises activities to develop the affiliates’ careers which include training in proposal writing, manuscript preparation, writing and presentation, ethical conduct of research, intellectual property, and reviewing papers and proposals.

Mentoring

The affiliates also receive mentoring from AAS fellows and other scientists from across the continent and diaspora.

According to Kariuki, many African students like Andala train in well-established institutions in the Global North or relatively well-endowed African PhD training centres, but when they return to their home institutions, they face great difficulties trying to develop as independent thinkers and leaders.

“They do not get enough opportunities and resources that allow them to be the generators of new ideas, knowledge and innovative solutions to Africa’s problems,” he said.

While the responsibility to attract and retain well-trained Africans is the responsibility of the various African member states and their national and sub-regional institutions, pan-African bodies such as the AAS can play a catalytic and supportive role to inspire and provide tangible support to such cohorts, he said.

“The support provided by AAS will assist young scholars develop into research leaders in their respective fields. AAS has created broad African and global partnerships to identify sources of financial resources and opportunities for training and mentorship," Kariuki said.

An injection of financial support recently came from AAS senior adviser and globally renowned scientist Kevin Marsh, who donated US$400,000 in 2016 to help set up and support the affiliates’ initiative. The donation was derived from a US$1 million prize he had won for his own scientific work.

A range of programmes

According to Kariuki, the AAS is working on other programmes for developing young professionals. Among them is an agreement it has inked with the Council for the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings and the Foundation Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings of Germany. In terms of the agreement, AAS will support the participation of early-career scientists in the natural sciences and economic sciences in the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings held annually in Germany.

The AAS is also developing a tracking system that will monitor all grantees and fellows and is developing tools to help measure the productivity of fellows in terms of publications.

With the initial cohort expected to serve until 2020 when their five-year term expires, the academy hopes to see a significant rise in knowledge output.

A second cohort consisting of 22 young scholars was announced in early March. The group is made up of scholars from 12 African countries including Ghana, Nigeria, Benin and Cameroon (West Africa); Egypt, Tunisia and Morocco (North Africa); Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda (East Africa); and South Africa and Zambia (Southern Africa).

For Andala the past year as an affiliate has been an exciting experience, helping him to expand his research networks and access funding opportunities.

He said among his hopes for the programme is that it reaches and motivates an even higher number of upcoming scientists.

“Similarly, we need more joint funding and partnerships between and among fellows and affiliates to attain a bigger impact in Africa,” he said.