Abuja, Nigeria, 9-13 September 2024 – The International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe), in collaboration with Agropolis Fondation (AF), Gearbox Pan African Network (GB), and Université d’Abomey-Calavi (UAC), will host the Annual Implementers’ Forum (AIF) 2024 for the Accelerating Inclusive Green Growth through Agri-based Digital Innovation in West Africa (AGriDI) project in Abuja, Nigeria. The forum, which will take place from 9-13 September 2024, marks a significant milestone in the AGriDI project’s mission to foster digital innovation in agriculture across West Africa, with a focus on inclusive growth, particularly for women and youth farmers.

“Digital innovations are transforming the way we produce food, add value to crop produce and enter new markets,”  says Dr Julius Ecuru, Manager, Research Innovation Coordination Units, icipe. “The AIF 2024 in Abuja is an opportunity to share our experience of how we are integrating digital innovations in the food systems transformation efforts in West Africa”, continues Dr Ecuru.  

Funded by the European Commission through the R&I Programme implemented by the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS), AGriDI is a 4-year initiative aimed at creating an enabling environment for agri-based digital innovations in West Africa. The project is designed to increase the uptake of digital technologies by farmers’ cooperatives and SMEs, strengthen collaboration between research communities, industry, and policy actors, and enhance policymaking to support the scaling of agribusiness digital innovations.

Since its inception, AGriDI has implemented a competitive grant scheme, awarding EUR 2.73 million across 9 projects in West Africa. These initiatives focus on co-developing and adapting digital solutions, establishing market linkages, and supporting policy development for digital innovation. The project has already seen the development of impactful digital technologies such as the AGriCef mobile app in Benin, which controls the Fall armyworm in maize, and the SMARTSOIL app in Nigeria, which provides hyper-local soil information to farmers using artificial intelligence.

AGriDI’s contributions extend through its project partners, who are delivering critical solutions across the region. In Northern Benin, the Université de Parakou developed the AGriCef mobile app to combat the Fall armyworm (FAW) in maize, while the Ki@ app provides market updates directly to local farmers via SMS and voice messages. In South-Western Nigeria, the SMARTSOIL app by the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB) leverages digital soil mapping and AI to deliver accessible and affordable soil information to farmers. Additionally, in Ghana, the Driving Market Access and Managing AG Value chains (DigiMakt) app profiles over 12,500 smallholder farmers, providing climate-smart agronomic advice, market information, weather alerts, insurance, and credit scoring. This innovation, led by Esoko Ltd., the Agri-Tech company of the year at the 2023 Ghana Agriculture and Agri-Business Awards, is enhancing financial inclusion in the Bono East and Oti regions. Another significant contribution is the recently launched MarketMap app by SOSAI, offering reliable market information for farmers, processors, and service providers in the agricultural sector.

In a region where 66% of employment is in the agri-food sector—of which 68% are women—AGriDI’s work is pivotal. Digital innovations are not only enhancing crop and livestock production but also improving market access, driving financial inclusion, and addressing climate change. The AGriDI project directly contributes to the implementation of ECOWAS’ regional development policies, the African Union’s Agenda 2063, and the UN Sustainable Development Goals on gender, food, energy, and innovation.

The AIF 2024 will provide a platform for AGriDI’s partners and beneficiaries to share lessons learned over the past two and a half years. Participants will engage in discussions on the digital innovation ecosystem in agriculture, the successes and challenges faced, and the sustainability of current innovations. The forum will also focus on the role of AGriDI in promoting gender inclusion and fostering collaboration between research, industry, and policy sectors. The key objectives of the forum are to discuss digital technologies that enable data access for agri-based decision-making, share knowledge on how data-driven decision-making can improve agri-SMEs and understand the policy landscape for data access in the region.

By the end of the forum, participants are expected to produce nine well-documented case studies, develop sustainability plans for each project, and draft concept notes for national workshops on digital innovation in agriculture. These outputs will be shared across West Africa and beyond, contributing to the broader goal of scaling successful digital innovations across the continent.

“As we gather in Abuja for the Annual Implementers’ Forum, we celebrate the tangible impact that AGriDI has had on smallholder farmers, agribusinesses, and policymakers. From smart soil mapping in Nigeria to market linkages in Ghana, our digital innovations are making agriculture more efficient, inclusive, and resilient. This forum will allow us to share our successes, address challenges, and ensure that our collective efforts continue to drive sustainable development across West Africa,” says Dr Jonas Mugabe, Project Manager, AGriDI.

As AGriDI approaches its final phase, the AIF 2024 in Abuja will be a crucial event for consolidating the progress made and charting the course for the future of digital agriculture in West Africa. The forum will bring together experts, policymakers, academics, and business leaders to explore synergies and partnerships that will drive the digital transformation of agriculture across the ECOWAS region.

Notes for Editors

The International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (www.icipe.org), headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, is the only research institution in Africa working primarily on insects and other arthropods. icipe’s mission is to ensure better food security, health and livelihoods in Africa, by producing world-class knowledge and then developing solutions that are environmentally friendly, accessible, affordable and easy-to-use by communities. These objectives are delivered through four thematic areas – human health, animal health, plant health and environmental health, resulting in a unique framework to tackle the interlinked problems of poverty, poor health, low agricultural productivity, and environmental degradation in a comprehensive manner.

The ‘Accelerating inclusive green growth through agri-based digital innovation in West Africa (AGriDI)’ intervention (www.agridi.org) supports innovations to address key challenges related to climate change, sustainable use, and management of biodiversity as well as responsible production and consumption among farming communities in West Africa. It is funded through the ACP Innovation Fund of the Organization of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS), financed by the European Union (EU), and implemented by the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe), under its Regional Coordination Unit of the Regional Scholarship and Innovation Fund (Rsif), in partnership with the University of Abomey Calavi, (Benin), and Agropolis Foundation (France) and Gearbox Pan African Network (Kenya).

The PASET Regional Scholarship and Innovation Fund (Rsif) is the flagship programme of the Partnership for skills in Applied Sciences, Engineering and Technology (PASET), an initiative by African governments to address systemic gaps in skills and knowledge necessary for long-term, sustained economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). PASET was launched in 2013 by the governments of Senegal, Ethiopia and Rwanda. Since then, the governments of Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria and Rwanda, have invested in PASET. Other key partners and contributors are the World Bank and the Government of South Korea. In 2018, the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe), was competitively selected as the Rsif Regional Coordination Unit (RCU).

The International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe), receives grant from Carnegie Corporation of New York to support the PASET Regional Scholarship and Innovation Fund (Rsif) – the premier African-owned and managed pan-African science fund

The International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe), will strengthen doctoral training and postdoctoral research in applied science, engineering and technology in Africa (DOCTAS), through the Regional Scholarship and Innovation Fund (Rsif) programme, with support from Carnegie Corporation of New York (CCNY).

Launched in 2015, Rsif is the flagship programme of the Partnership for Skills in Applied Sciences, Engineering and Technology (PASET), an initiative established in 2013 by African governments and partners. Rsif provides doctoral scholarships and competitive grants for research and innovation. At least 40 percent of the scholarships and grants have been awarded to women. In 2018, icipe was competitively selected and appointed as the Regional Coordination Unit (RCU) of Rsif.

Through DOCTAS, CCNY will provide a total of USD 950,000 to Rsif over the next two years. Part of the support will be chanelled through the Rsif Junior Investigator Research Award. It will enable up to five Rsif PhD graduates who hold positions in institutions in Africa to establish research, managerial and other complementary skills, as well as regional and international networks that will allow them to become independent researchers. An additional 20 grants will be given to ongoing Rsif PhD scholars, thus boosting resources for research and outcomes. The DOCTAS initiative will also strengthen the ability of researchers to engage with policymakers, to link research to policy and practice.

“The Corporation’s Higher Education and Research in Africa program is  pleased to support icipe and Rsif to implement the DOCTAS initiative, which will further our long-term commitment to collaborate with, and support  universities and research organisations in Africa.” – Claudia Frittelli, Program Director, Carnegie Corporation of New York.

“We welcome the support from CCNY, which will be anchored in Rsif’s pan-African vision for scientific research and innovation capacity building. In just five years, Rsif has become one of the largest academic and research networks for nurturing the continent’s talent and leadership in applied sciences, engineering and technology.” – Dr Segenet Kelemu, Director General & CEO of icipe.

Rsif directly contributes to national developmental agendas; the African Union (AU) Science, Technology and Innovation Strategy (STISA) 2024; the Continental Strategy for Education in Africa (CESA); and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2030. The importance of Rsif is signified by rising investments in the Programme by African governments including: Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda and Senegal. Further contributions have been provided by the World Bank, the Government of South Korea, and the ACP Innovation Fund of the European Union, through the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS).

Rsif has a unique approach that combines intra-Africa doctoral exchange and international training. This is achieved through a network of African Host Universities (AHUs) – competitively and rigorously selected universities; and international partner institutions (IPIs) – globally recognised universities, research institutes, public and private companies. This hybrid model ensures that the Rsif Phd scholars are initiated into research on challenges facing the continent, and that they also advance their scientific skills, broaden international networks, and strengthen industry linkages, among other outcomes.

Having started off with 15 PhD scholarships in 2018, by 2023 about 300 young African scholars (about 37 percent of them being women), from 24 African countries had been awarded Rsif PhD scholarships. The Rsif scholars have published a total of 142 peer-reviewed journal articles. Ten of the 15 cohort 1 scholars have completed their studies and they now hold various positions in universities in Africa, and eight of them have been awarded junior investigator research grants by Rsif.

Rsif also promotes research excellence, capacity for innovation, as well as enabling environments for entrepreneurship and research commercialisation in Africa. The Programme  provides grants and support to faculty in AHUs to implement projects that are aligned to national and regional development priorities. A total of 32 research and innovation grants have been awarded; and through a special agreement, 12 research and innovation grants have been provided to faculty and researchers in Mozambique.

Notes for Editors

The PASET Regional Scholarship and Innovation Fund (Rsif) is the flagship programme of the Partnership for skills in Applied Sciences, Engineering and Technology (PASET), an initiative by African governments to address systemic gaps in skills and knowledge necessary for long-term, sustained economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). PASET was launched in 2013 by the governments of Senegal, Ethiopia and Rwanda. Since then, the governments of Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria and Rwanda, have invested in PASET. Other key partners and contributors are the World Bank and the Government of South Korea. In 2018, the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe), was competitively selected as the Rsif Regional Coordination Unit (RCU).

The International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (www.icipe.org), headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, is the only research institution in Africa working primarily on insects and other arthropods. icipe’s mission is to ensure better food security, health and livelihoods in Africa, by producing world-class knowledge and then developing solutions that are environmentally friendly, accessible, affordable and easy-to-use by communities. These objectives are delivered through four thematic areas – human health, animal health, plant health and environmental health, resulting in a unique framework to tackle the interlinked problems of poverty, poor health, low agricultural productivity, and environmental degradation in a comprehensive manner.

The Regional Scholarship and Innovation Fund’s call for applications for Cohort 5 will be open until May 26, 2023. The program will run for 3-4 years, including 6-12 months in a ‘sandwich’ training at an international partner university, research institute or private company.

Eligible candidates should be citizens of Rwanda or Nigeria; hold a relevant Master’s degree; meet the admission requirements of the Rsif African host university they are applying to; their research goals aligned with Rsif priority thematic areas and contributing to Africa’s development.

Rsif is the first Pan-African science fund that provides doctoral scholarships for African scientists in Applied Sciences, Engineering and Technology. Rsif aims to train quality PhD students and post-doctoral researchers at selected African universities (African Host Universities) to address the human resource gap of highly qualified specialists in the fields of applied sciences, engineering, and technology and to contribute to improving research and innovation capacities in those fields in Sub-Saharan Africa. Rsif focuses on transformative technologies that have a far-reaching positive impact on society.

The doctoral scholarships are funded by African Governments and key partners (World Bank, Government of Korea) through the Partnership for skills in Applied Sciences, Engineering and Technology (PASET). More investors are encouraged to join. Rsif is implemented by icipe as the Rsif Regional Coordination Unit.

Visit: https://apply.rsif-paset.org/for more information.

For additional information on Rsif and PASET, please visit www.rsif-paset.org| Kindly sign up for our newsletter for Rsif news.

Contact: Rsif Regional Coordination Unit Email: rsif@icipe.org Phone: 254 (20) 8632000

The Partnership for skills in Applied Sciences, Engineering, and Technology (PASET) has announced that the World Bank and its partners will conduct an Implementation Support Mission (ISM) from 28^th – 31^st  March 2023, to evaluate the progress of the Regional Scholarship and Innovation Fund (Rsif) implementation.

The Rsif program, which is the flagship initiative of PASET, supports PhD and post-doctoral training, research and innovation at selected universities in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) to enhance the institutional capacity for quality research and innovation for economic growth and the eradication of poverty. The program focuses on five Priority Thematic Areas, that is, ICT (including artificial intelligence, robotics, bid data.), food security and agribusiness, minerals, mining and materials engineering, energy (including renewables), and climate change.

With the help of African governments, the World Bank, and the Government of Korea, Rsif has supported over 291 PhD students, of which over 37% (104) are women. It has also provided 44 research and innovation grants through 15 African ‘Host’ Universities (AHUs). Rsif’s accomplishments underscore its commitment to bridging the science, engineering and technology gap in the African continent.

The Regional Coordination Unit of Rsif is managed by the International Center of Insect Physiology and Ecology, icipe, which is headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya. PASET’s Rsif program benefits from icipe’s over 50 years experiences in research, innovation and capacity building in the agricultural sciences.

The World Bank, icipe and its partners will meet face to face at icipe’s Duduville campus and virtually from 29-31 March to discuss implementation progress of the initiative. They will also visit the University of Nairobi and Kenyatta University during the Implementation Support Mission to meet with students, staff and the private sector to review research and innovation grant projects financed through Rsif and pay courtesy calls to the Vice-Chancellors of both universities.

“The visit by the World Bank and its partners presents a unique opportunity for stakeholders to interact with one another and discuss the progress and challenges of implementing the Rsif program,” said Dr. Moses Osiru, the Rsif’s Regional Coordination Unit Manager at icipe. “We invite the media to attend this event and engage with the stakeholders on the progress of the Rsif program.”

The visit is a significant step towards achieving PASET’s goal of promoting socio-economic transformation in sub-Saharan Africa through the strengthening of applied sciences, engineering, and technology.

For additional information on Rsif and PASET, please visit www.rsif-paset.org|Kindly sign up for our newsletter for Rsif news.

Contact: Rsif Regional Coordination Unit Email: rsif@icipe.org Phone: 254 (20) 8632000

The International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe) based in Nairobi, Kenya; Agropolis fondation (AF) based in Montpellier, France; Gearbox Pan African Network (GB), based in Nairobi, Kenya and Université d’Abomey-Calavi (UAC) based in Cotonou, Benin have formed a consortium to implement a project called Accelerating Inclusive Green Growth through Agri-based Digital Innovation in West Africa (AGriDI). The AGriDI project is sponsored by the 11^th European Development Fund (EDF) of the European Union through the Organization of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) under the ACP Innovation Fund, a component of the OACPS Research and Innovation Programme.

The AGriDI project aims at strengthening innovation systems and fostering adoption of Agri-based digital technologies in West Africa (ECOWAS countries). Digital technologies offer potential to make it easier and more efficient for farmers and small business owners, especially women and youth, to produce and market their goods and services, leading to greater profits. AGriDI will increase identification, adaptation, and use of Agri-based digital technologies by farmers and SMEs (especially women and youth). This will in turn enhance agricultural production and marketing through strengthened linkages between research communities, industry, policy actors, and improved policy environment.

The consortium is pleased to announce that nine third-party proposals (see below list) have so far been selected for funding after a thorough technical review and a due diligence check. The third-party projects will start from March 1, 2022, for a duration of two years.

icipe, AF, GB and UAC congratulate and wish the consortia responsible for implementing the selected projects success in delivering the expected outcomes and impact of the AGriDI project and look forward to working with them towards this goal. We also register our strong appreciation to the 122 applicants who responded to the AGriDI project call with proposals. See list of nine projects selected for funding by AGriDI

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For media and interview inquiries contact: E-mail: agridigrants@icipe.org
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Notes for Editors

The International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (www.icipe.org), headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, is the only research institution in Africa working primarily on insects and other arthropods. icipe’s mission is to ensure better food security, health and livelihoods in Africa, by producing world-class knowledge and then developing solutions that are environmentally friendly, accessible, affordable and easy-to-use by communities. These objectives are delivered through four thematic areas – human health, animal health, plant health and environmental health, resulting in a unique framework to tackle the interlinked problems of poverty, poor health, low agricultural productivity and environmental degradation in a comprehensive manner.

In July 2018, icipe was competitively selected and appointed by the World Bank and PASET as the Regional Coordination Unit (RCU) of RSIF. Its mandate includes overall coordination, planning, management and monitoring and evaluation of RSIF activities. Specifically, icipe is coordinating capacity strengthening of selected African universities and partnering institutions in PhD training, research, and innovation in PASET priority sectors. In addition, icipe facilitates the creation of partnerships with governments, universities, and national and international research organizations, for example, through sandwich training and collaboration with centres of research excellence. Furthermore, icipe introduces African governments and other potential strategic partners to PASET, with the aim of growing RSIF and ensuring continued continent-wide reach and support.

The Partnership for skills in Applied Science, Engineering and Technology (PASET) was launched in 2013 by the governments of Senegal, Ethiopia and Rwanda with facilitation by the World Bank. It aims to address systemic gaps in skills and knowledge in sub-Saharan Africa’s priority ASET fields, and to build the capacity of African education and training institutions to train high-quality technicians, engineers and scientists to meet the demands of the economy. Since 2013, more than 20 African countries, as well as representatives of Brazil, China, India, Singapore and Korea have participated in PASET’s various activities. PASET is currently led by the education and higher education ministries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Rwanda, Senegal and Tanzania, along with Korea and the World Bank. The PASET governance bodies, comprising the PASET Governing Council (GC) and the PASET Executive Board (EB) provide strategic direction for implementation of the RSIF project by the Regional Coordination Unit (RCU). The GC is responsible for the overall strategic direction and vision of the RSIF, while the EB interacts with the RCU more regularly, monitoring the regular progress of activities and providing overall guidance. The PASET Consultative Advisory Group provides guidance to the GC and EB on regional priorities, goals and technical aspects of the RSIF.

The Regional Scholarship and Innovation Fund (RSIF) is the flagship program of PASET, an initiative by African governments to address systemic gaps in skills and knowledge necessary for long-term, sustained economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).  RSIF aims to support PhD training, research and innovation in African universities that are selected as centres of excellence in fields identified by PASET as priority economic sectors for growth and development: ICTs including big data and artificial intelligence; food security and agribusiness; minerals, mining and materials engineering; energy including renewables; and climate change.  A competitive grants scheme, RSIF has two components: (i) the general fund, which supports PhD training, research and innovation projects annually and (ii) the permanent fund, with proceeds going to the general fund. Students from SSA countries, primarily faculty of SSA universities lacking PhD degrees, are eligible for RSIF scholarships.  RSIF builds capacity in the region to sustainably support those PhD scientists beyond their training as they go into academia, industry, or become entrepreneurs. The RSIF operates through three windows: Window 1 offers scholarships for PhD students and capacity building for RSIF African Host universities; Window 2 offers research grants and Window 3 offers innovation grants. RSIF focuses on transformative technologies that have a far-reaching positive impact on society.

(Featured photo from GAEU Consulting)

The entire higher education, science and technology community has been challenged by the COVID-19 pandemic. The RSIF Regional Coordination Unit’s response has been enabled by a closer engagement with students and the faculty members and informed by a mix of surveys, consultations, and adoption of best practices to support clients during the COVID-19 period. The response has been across our  operational areas, including PhD student support, research and innovation projects; and university capacity building.

A. Student Support

When COVID-19 was declared an international pandemic in March 2020, 12 of 15 RSIF Cohort I scholars were doing their international sandwich programme in Korea and USA, while 67 RSIF cohort II scholars had just accepted their scholarships and were due to travel to the 11 RSIF African Host Universities to start their doctoral studies. All 11 AHUs were subsequently closed, and students were forced to engage from distance. Like other actors in the higher education sector, RSIF has had to respond to the rapidly evolving context of university closures, travel restrictions and lockdowns. Fortunately, university staff were able to continue to engage with PhD students and they have focused the time to work with supervisors and other staff on theory, literature and writing. Cohort 2 students have taken advantage of this time to work with supervisors to register and develop their research proposals. For cohort two students, students have struggled with access to laboratories and equipment for which access has been limited.

icipe, RSIF’s RCU has provided the following support to RSIF Students:

1. Support for registration: all 67 students were supported to register from distance by working with AHU contact persons, faculty and administrators.
2. On-line orientation and support: The student orientation training for the 67 RSIF Cohort II students were successfully implemented online with all students attending. The other trainings for students were all reviewed and revised for online delivery.
3. Continuous online learning support: The scholars were provided with online training and coaching for their academic writing, empowering them to continue writing their proposals while they waited to travel to their AHUs. Students worked towards identifying research topics, supervisors, and developing research proposals from distance with online support. icipe remained open during the pandemic to ensure continuous support to students and other programs. An online briefing session was held with all scholars and information shared about the COVID-19 situation to confirm that their scholarships would continue.
4. Training on use of e-resources: All students from cohort 1 and Cohort 2 were trained on access to e-resources and how to access and evaluate scholarly information resources; information resource search strategies; available open access resources including research4life; innovative solutions used in scholarly research writing; and to gain practical skills on Mendeley as a reference management and citation tool.
5. Psycho-social support and self-study from home: Recognising the challenges posed by the Pandemic to students and their families, a series of webinars were organised with some focusing on how to deal with mental health for academics and sharing coping strategies.
6. Evaluation of student needs: To support the planning and design of online support to students, a number of surveys were undertaken to guide implementation. These were used to prepare online support and training workshops.

“During the COVID-19 lockdown, it has become far more challenging to balance academics with being a full-time mother. Finding the time and space to read, think deeply, and write is difficult, to say the least. Recently, I had to give an online presentation of my research and found it very hard to concentrate and do well with my daughter demanding my full attention in the background… I change hats between mom and researcher throughout the day, giving her my full attention during playtime, and taking advantage of her nap time and early bedtime for four hours of uninterrupted research time.” (RSIF Cohort I scholar)

Other relevant publications:
– Studying abroad during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Experiences of Three African Women PhD Students.
– A year of great promise, anxiety, lost opportunities, University World News

B. RSIF Research and Innovation Grants

The PASET EB approved the award of 14 Research and Innovations Grant projects in May 29,2020 in the midst of the global pandemic and increasing measures by governments to contain the spread of the virus. Despite the temporary closure of the 11 AHUs, the RCU was able to engage team members of the successful projects to provide online support to facilitate the grant award process. Virtual workshops were held in June 29 and 30, 2020 to provide project teams with support to revise their project documents to meet the requirements of RSIF and the overall objectives of the grants. The workshops were each attended by over 20 university staff including officers from technology transfer officers for the participating universities. Further, the RCU provided teams with one-on -one technical support virtually to help them complete their grant project documents i.e (proposals, budgets, workplans and result matrices) and coordinated the signing of Project Grant Agreements to finalize the formal contracting process.

The RCU has designed a technical assistance plan to provide support virtually to project teams to ensure regular engagement with project teams. The RCU will also continue to monitor the impact of the pandemic on implementation of their activities.

C. University Capacity Building

Capacity building activities are aimed at preparing PhD scholars to undertake quality PhD research for successful completion of the doctoral program, and to enhance post-PhD employability and a successful future career in academia, research, and innovation. The activities also support faculty to enhance their training delivery. To help universities respond to COVID-19 icipe has provided:

1. Linked all 11 AHUs to two training workshop on ‘The use of Online Educational Resources in Higher Education’ and on ‘Online Educational Resources as a Response to the COVID-19 Crisis’ co-organized by EPFL (Switzerland) and UM6P (Morocco): In partnership with the University Mohammed VI (UM6P), RSIF AHUs have received training on the two topics above and accessed numerous resources and training courses in the form of line materials. Two webinars were organized focused on higher education and COVID and on the use of online resources including explaining processes to train/support professors interested in integrating MOOCs or OER into their existing courses and to train on key concepts linked to integrating OER, including pedagogical ‘grain’ (block), pedagogical scenario (lesson plan) and learning objectives.
2. Training on ‘Helping Faculty Deliver their Courses Online during the COVID-19 Crisis’: An online teaching webinar organized by RSIF on 17th June: “An RSIF Solution Session: Continue Teaching Your Course Online during the Covid-19 Crisis” with Dale Johnson, Director of Digital Innovation at Arizona State University . The objective of the webinar was to provide African University faculty and lecturers with some basic knowledge to make the rapid change from classroom to online teaching during the time of Covid-19 to ensure the continuation of learning. Approximately 80 university faculty from East, West and Southern Africa attended, including participants from nine AHUs.
3. Access to online resources and publications: RSIF is providing access to 15,000 online resources including linking to new resources that have become freely available during the time of COVID-19. A training was organized for staff and scholars on how to use e-resources.
4. Videoconferencing facilities for AHUs: RSIF is in the process of purchasing a set of video conferencing facilities for each of the 11 African Host Universities.
5. Strengthening university innovation and delivery: RSIF identified staff of the 11 AHUs to participate in a training with the Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) on COVID-19 and 3D printer assembly as well as printing of face masks, face shields and respirator parts in April 2020. The training involved a total of eight sessions and was attended by staff of all the eleven universities. Universities were able to learn practically how to print various PPEs and supplied these to hospitals and to the public.

D. Next steps and way forward

As we look ahead, we continue to work with students and supervisors to develop timetables that mitigate delays in research and graduation timeframes, optimizing online interaction and work. While there are some positive consequences in terms of quick adoption of online tools during the pandemic, RSIF recognizes the challenges its scholars face during the COVID-19 pandemic. The RCU is providing extra support (e.g., close communication, a mental health webinar) to help them complete their outstanding research and data analysis and return home.  The 82 RSIF scholars are being trained to be part of the rising tide of African science. With their innate talent and innovativeness and the knowledge, skills, and networks gained during their doctoral studies, they will contribute to advancing science, reducing gender gaps in STEM research, and, ultimately, socio-economic transformation in Africa.