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My dream is to mentor young scientists

Posted on July 26, 2021 by Maureen Agena

Richard Kipyegon Koech is a Kenyan RSIF Scholarship recipient pursing a PhD in Material science and engineering at the African University of Science and Technology (AUST), Abuja-Nigeria and currently at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) on a sandwich programme.

Throughout his academic journey, the dream of being one of the best scientists with the ability to address societal challenges and to mentor young scientists has always lingered in his mind. Getting the RSIF PhD scholarship opportunity was a step towards fulfilling this dream, because the scholarship has already opened doors for him to connect with renowned researchers in his field of research. The RSIF scholarship has also helped him to build a network of people from diverse disciplines who have shaped him in ways unimaginable.

When Koech joined African University of Science and Technology (AUST), one of the PASET African Host Universities (AHU) in Abuja, Nigeria in 2018, he did complete the required core courses while working on the literature review and writing his research proposal. While at the AHU, Koech also got opportunities to participate in workshops and conferences which provided avenues for him to interact with experts in different areas of material science. In one of the workshop that was organized by the Joint Undertaking for an African Materials Institute (JUAMI) in Kampala-Uganda, Koech interacted with many researchers from various regions across Africa and US from whom he got exposure on various hands-on activities on materials characterization.

He is currently progressing well with experimental work on the fabrication and characterization of perovskite solar cells at WPI which is one of the PASET international partner institution (IPI). Being in WPI portends well for him as a student and an upcoming researcher. He joined the energy research group; led by Professor Wole who is a renowned researcher in material science; through which he has been able to deepen his understanding on various aspects related to solar cells, light emitting diodes and energy storage devices. Together with the research team, he has co-authored seven publications in peer reviewed journals. With this teamwork, and the support he receives from his supervisors, he has a lot of hopes that he will accomplish his research goals in WPI and broaden his research collaboration network.

As a student, nothing is as good as seeing the hope of achieving what your heart has always yearned for. Koech has always hoped to be among the best researchers who will inspire many young scientists and with the progress he is making he sees this dream slowly turning into a reality. With the skills he has acquired, he hopes to be seriously involved in research and training other upcoming researchers in his field of specialization.

He admits that Covid-19 is a disaster that has affected everybody in different magnitudes. As a researcher and a family man, Koech says that the effects of Covid-19 have not spared him. Throughout the lockdown period that was meant to curb the spread of Covid-19, he could neither go to the lab to do the experiments nor visit his family back in Kenya. He had to convert his room into a study area and had to spend most of the time doing the write ups; as his research work was mostly experimental and needed physical presence in the Laboratory. Many challenges came along with this, spanning from boredom, psychological disturbance to those related to long period of physical inactivity. Covid-19 therefore affected his research plan which he is now trying to catch up with to be able to finish on time.

He is very grateful for the RSIF scholarship and calls upon more African Governments to come together and invest in the fund so that more bright and talented African youths can have their dreams turned into realities. Investing in the youth is the best way to transform the African continent given the nature of its demographic distribution.

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My Communication internship experience with RSIF

Posted on July 26, 2021July 29, 2021 by RSIF PASET

By Yvonne Ndegwa, Former communications research intern February-April 2021) at RSIF

“…. This is the defining global health crisis of our time…” Words uttered by WHO Director-General Dr Tedros more than a year ago, but which still ring true today. The pandemic has been a defining moment in the human experience and has drastically changed how we do things. Its fatal effects have been felt the world over and will surely live an indelible mark on our history books. The pandemic also left so many people jobless with the far-reaching economic strain of the pandemic felt by organizations, with their workforce bearing the brunt of it all through job cuts, unpaid leave, and uncertainties of whether the status quo will ever be restored. It also meant that job seekers like me would have to work even harder to secure employment, if any. It was therefore very humbling and almost felt undeserving that in such times, I got to work with the Regional Scholarship and Innovation Fund (RSIF) as a Communications Research intern for a period of three months. Truly, this is an opportunity that I do not take for granted given the prevailing situation.

My internship has been the most fulfilling and motivational experience because I got to do what I love and offer myself to a project that makes Africa and the African people better-something that is close to my heart. Through the scholarships offered under the fund, researchers can advance their research and solve some of the problems that plague Africa. The fund also enables links with industry leaders and partners who are able to work with African universities that host RSIF students to transform what would have otherwise just been ideas, into innovative projects that offer solutions and opportunities for growth and development of the continent. I am very proud to have been engaged with a project whose heart and soul beats for the African people.

With such empathetic, compassionate, and supportive colleagues, this communication internship has helped me achieve my goal of gaining a world of exposure and experience in how communication can be tailored to drive change. Part of my role as a Communications Research intern was to support in social media engagement between RSIF and its audience- a responsibility that I performed diligently, and which drove our social media platforms spiralling towards the right direction. On Twitter for example, our engagement grew remarkably by almost 30% within 3 months and this is important because in the global village we live in now, almost all your audiences are online and traditional platforms of engagement are not as effective as they used to be. Because of the lessons I learned from the cooperation of my colleagues, I am confident that I will continue to grow and develop professionally and in my personal endeavours.

Within my internship, there were two distinct learning experiences that stand out to me as the most influential aspects of my development: social media is a tool for change and teamwork makes the dream work.

Throughout my internship experience, I was able to develop and foster a truly positive working environment, all through the support, cooperation, and guidance of my colleagues. Through the application of time management, organization, discipline and consistent practice, my presentation skills as well as my interpersonal skills improved remarkably. Additionally, my development both with managing the daily processes within the office and planning and delivering effective content on our social media platforms directly impacted the publicity gains of RSIF.

As I say goodbye, I am pleased by the gains we have made so far and extremely proud of the growth we continue to experience. I am encouraged by the overarching purpose of RSIF for Africa and I believe that through the fund, quality research will translate into transformational change which will tap into the potential of Africa and its people. I have grown remarkably as an individual and as a professional and will use all that I have learnt during my internship to advance and elevate my abilities.

Many thanks to the RSIF team for making my stay a smooth one filled with learning opportunities. To my supervisor, Dr. Moses Osiru, thank you for giving me the freedom to explore my creativity and inspiring growth through your strong leadership abilities. RSIF is indeed headed in the right direction under your leadership. I also wish to thank Kristin Seljeflot, whose dedication and commitment to her work was a great source of inspiration and for offering her guidance and support to ensure I made the absolute best of my time at RSIF. To the rest of the team, I am greatly indebted to the support and cooperation you have accorded me- I wish you all the best as you continue to discharge your duties. RSIF is a fund whose impact will be felt for generations to come and I am happy to have been part of such a programme. I look forward to reading about RSIF in the various news outlets and social media platforms.

I am confident in my own growth and development. I would not have the knowledge or skills I have today if it were not for my internship experience with RSIF, and I look forward to where my career in communication takes me in the future.

This perspective has been shared by Yvonne Ndegwa who was a communications research intern for three months (February-April 2021) with the Regional Coordination Unit of the Regional Scholarship Innovation Fund of PASET at icipe. She is a graduate of the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) in Kenya and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Corporate Communication, Media Studies and Management. Before joining icipe, she worked at the Central Bank of Kenya as a Communications Assistant. She also has experience working as a Personal Assistant to the Director in IONEC East Africa and a Corporate Communications Intern at Kenya Pipeline Company Limited.

icipe holds orientation workshop for 102 newly recruited PASET-RSIF PhD Scholars

Posted on July 8, 2021July 13, 2021 by Sakina Kahindi

The International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe), the Regional Coordination Unit for the PASET Regional Scholarship and Innovation Fund held a five-day orientation and training workshop between 28 June and 2 July 2021 for the recently recruited third cohort RSIF PhD Scholars. The 102 scholars will join the doctoral scholars selected in the previous years: 69 scholars from the second Cohort and 15 from the first, bringing the total number of PASET-RSIF scholars to 184, from 20 African countries. Fully funded by African governments, the government of Korea and the World Bank, the prestigious program provides full PhD scholarships to citizens of Sub-Saharan, research and innovation grants towards using science to solve African challenges. 40% of the 184 scholars are female, a big step towards in achieving one of the program’s objectives, which is to address imbalances in the number of women and disadvantaged groups in ASET fields in Africa. Read more about the RSIF gender strategy here

The aim of the orientation was to introduce the new RSIF scholars to the RSIF program, the African Host Universities, and the RSIF team, and to make clear the guidelines for the program, and to each other, so that they are facilitated to begin their PhD program. It also aimed to clarify the expectations for their research and study. The training provided the scholars with an introduction to key skills that are necessary for undertaking doctoral study, including on science communication, PhD proposal writing, research methods, data analysis and use of social media to promote their research. Other topics included strategies for a successful PhD, PhD proposal writing, and the role of social media in higher learning. The training was delivered virtually.

During the opening session on 28 June, Dr Moses Osiru, the Manager, RSIF Regional Coordination Unit (RSIF-RCU) welcomed scholars and other participants on behalf of Dr. Segenet Kelemu, Director General and Chief Executive Officer of icipe. Opening remarks were delivered by Prof. Aminata Sall Diallo, Executive Director of the PASET Executive Board. Prior to that, Mr. Michael Hughes, Advisor to the Minister of Education, Rwanda and Rwanda’s Representative to the PASET EB highlighted the importance of the RSIF program to developing science, technology and innovation on the Continent. The PASET EB thanked icipe for the role they play in implementing the RSIF initiative on behalf of African Governments. Fatoumata Thiam, a cohort one student beneficiary shared her academic journey to encourage the new scholars to stay focused and not to disappoint the African governments, who are investing in their education.

Trainers at the orientation included Dr. Daisy Salifu, Biostatistician, Data Management, Modeling and Geo-Information Unit, icipe; Prof. Baldwyn Torto, Principal Scientist and Head, Behavioural and Chemical Ecology Unit, icipe; Dr Rob Skilton, Head Capacity Building and Institutional Development, icipe; and Ms. Elizabeth Murimi, Mr. Bonface Nyagah, Ms Maureen Agena and Sakina Mapenzi from the RCU.

The 102 scholars selected for RSIF’s Cohort 3 will study in the 11 RSIF African Host Universities located across the continent: University of Rwanda, Rwanda, Bayero University, Nigeria, Kenyatta University, Kenya, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Tanzania, University of Ghana, Ghana, University of Nairobi, Kenya, Université Gaston Berger, Senegal, Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology, Tanzania ,University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria, Université Félix Houphouët-Boigny, Côte d’Ivoire.

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RSIF Holds Orientation Training Workshop for Cohort II scholars. See Link
RSIF Cohort lll Orientation Material. See Link

I am on a mission to improve cowpea breeding in Africa

Posted on July 5, 2021July 9, 2021 by Maureen Agena

The Republic of Benin in West Africa is his home country and Frejus SODEDJI, is a young male scientist and proud beneficiary of the RSIF Cohort one scholarships that were awarded in 2018 to 15 students from across Africa. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. degree in Genetics and plant breeding under the PASET-RSIF funded Scholarship hosted by the Africa Center of Excellence in Climate Change, Biodiversity, and Sustainable Agriculture of the University Félix Houphouët-Boigny, in Ivory Coast.

What it meant to recieve a PhD Scholarship

Receiving the PhD scholarship was an absolute privileged which he says is helping him to achieve his career goals and to contribute effectively to the transformation of Africa. The scheme of the scholarship has given him the unique opportunity to work closely with renowned scientists on specific questions in the field of his expertise. Besides exposure, the scholarship has enabled Frejus to grow his network and visibility in ways unimaginable through his participation to several forums and debates around research and development in Africa, both at continental and international levels.

With this unique opportunity, he has set as a core mission to improve cowpea, a legume grain crop that plays a significant role in food and nutrition security in Africa. His research has established the genetic diversity of cowpea germplasm from different origins and the variation of micronutrient content in their sprouts as well as strategies to increase them, which adds value to the crop and will be instrumental in strengthening the food system in Africa. Some of the outputs from this work have been accepted for publication in high-impact factor Journal while others are under review.

The Sandwich programme

As the world is faced with the pandemic, COVID-19, Frejus has been fortunate enough to be in South Korea, thanks to the PASET-RSIF sandwich programme, where the regulations in terms of protective measures against the spread of the virus are being well implemented. However, he, like many other scholars has experienced lockdowns, quarantine periods, and some shifts in the working calendar, which restrained access to laboratory facilities, delayed communication and timely achievements of goals, and not to mention the perpetual anxiety of a new outbreak of infected cases in the institution which automatically collapse all activities and communications.

Frejus is thankful to all the stakeholders of the PASET-RSIF programme for their engagement in higher education in Africa and their pledge that there will be constant support from all stakeholders to this life-changing initiative. He calls upon the various stakeholders to monitor the indicators of success over time while addressing the shortcomings so that the scholars build to contribute to ‘ a prosperous Africa that we all want and are committed to.

Contact Frejus SODEDJI via frejusariel@gmail.com

Nicknamed “Professseur” by my peers, I was inspired to pursue a PhD

Posted on July 5, 2021July 22, 2021 by Maureen Agena

Jean Baptiste HABINSHUTI from Rwanda is a PASET-RSIF Scholar in Material Science and Engineering at African University of Science and Technology (AUST) in Nigeria. Being a recipient of RSIF PhD scholarship opportunity meant a lot to him. First, it was an avenue to upgrade his academic qualification, but it also gave him a chance to realize his high school dream to earn the title of professor after having been nicknamed “Professseur” by students from his community for organizing science tutoring sessions during high school holidays. Little did they know that it was a catalyst for him to build himself and achieve his personal goals and development.

He was awarded PASET-RSIF scholarship to pursue a PhD degree in Material Science and Engineering in the thematic area of Mining, Mineral and Materials Engineering at AUST (Nigeria). At AUST, the PhD program comprises two components: course work and research. To-date, Jean has completed his course work and is now on a sandwich program at Worcester Polytechnique Institute (USA) for part of his research. His research has four projects, of which he has completed two of them, while one is ongoing. He has one manuscript for publication under-review and he is working on the second one.

Why study material Science and engineering?

Jean believes that his study will add significant value to African mineral resources. The research focuses on processing and extraction of tantalite ores using simple, affordable, and environmentally friendly techniques. He is exploring how these techniques can be applied in mining and processing of African tantalite ores and add value to the mineral resources from Africa instead of exporting them in their raw form. By working closely with academic institutions, relevant investors and governments, and other stakeholders within sub-Saharan Africa; this specialized knowledge will be integrated in the region and transferred to the future generation.

When the Covid-19 pandemic spread to Africa, Jean, like many other scholars away from home had worries about his family and they were also worried about him. Getting updates about the Covid-19 status in his country was part of his daily activities. Regular calls to his family and relatives to raise their awareness and help them understand the importance of implementing and following the government preventive policies, was a need. USA was one of the most affected countries in both confirmed cases and mortality, something that caused more worries to Jean, his colleagues and his family. Consequently, staying indoors was the only way to avoid being exposed to the virus. Psychological instability resulting from repetitive activities and being away from the family members begun to affect him and other colleagues.

COVID-19 and the future

All his social life was affected by COVID 19 and as far as his research work was concerned, he had done some of the preliminary experiments before the pandemic paralyzed the activities in the University. When the University was closed in March 2020, access to facilities such as the Laboratories and Libraries became impossible and some activities shifted to remote access. The regular meetings with supervisors for discussion and presentation of research progress also slowed down significantly.

Covid-19 affected Jean’s research work plan because there was no laboratory work during the pandemic. The University has since resumed laboratory access with some restrictions. He admits that he has quite a lot of work to do, as recommended by his advisors, and he is currently trying to maximize on literature review, such that when things normalise, most of his time will be focused on laboratory work. However, there is a clear delay in his work plan, but he is committed to squeeze himself and work hard as he can see the possibilities of meeting the planned timeline to achieve his goals and objectives on time. The only big challenge is about his sample stuck in France due to radioactive material detected in. He, with the help of his host University tried to work on the shipment of other samples from Africa, but the samples were missed completely. FedEX has requested that he file claim to the shipping agency.

Jean is very grateful to RSIF and all collaborators of the program for giving him such an opportunity to shape his future, that of his family and his Country. He urges the management of RSIF to be aware of the impact and delays caused by the pandemic and work collaboratively. The University must do their best to allow access to facilities and tools that enable students to achieve their academic targets on time. RSIF should communicate with student advisors and encourage them to respond as fast as possible when students write to them seeking guidance and or recommendations.

Contact Jean Baptiste Habinshuti via jhabinshuti@wpi.edu

My knowledge and dreams are transformed into meaningful skills because of RSIF

Posted on July 5, 2021 by Maureen Agena

What it meant to get scholarship for this PhD?

Jeanne Pauline Munganyinka is a PASET/RSIF Scholar studying for a Ph.D at the African University of Science and Technology in Abuja (AUST) and currently on a sandwich programme at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI)Worcester in Massachusetts, United States of America. Having been among the RSIF first cohort in 2018, Jeanne Pauline admits that the scholarship has helped her transform her knowledge and dreams into meaningful skills in her field.

As a young girl, her desire was to attain a PhD. But she never thought that she would have enough money to afford one. Getting the RSIF scholarship was a dream come true because it gave her the opportunity and means to achieve her childhood dream. Traveling to the United states for her Sandwich programme was the biggest hightlight, because she says, it was an opportunity to unlearn so many things and appreciate the differences in education from her own home country Rwanda and the country of her host University Nigeria.

The progress

Supervised by Prof. Grace Ofori-Sarpong (AUST) and Prof. Brajendra Mishra (WPI), Jeanne completed all coursework required by the African University of Science and Technology in Abuja (AUST) her African host University during her first year. She has also successfully defended her research proposal. Her research will provide a green viable method for gold recovery to help countries reduce pollution and wastage during processing of Gold and thus reap greater benefits from this valuable resource, while sustaining the environment.

Jeanne believes that her ‘technology’ will contribute to modernizing the Gold industry in Africa, leading to improvements in the livelihoods of miners, their families, and affected communities and support sustainable development in sub-Saharan Africa. Her dream is to have an Africa that uses advanced technology, where Africans make smart use of their natural resources and transform the lives of people on the continent. This, she hoped will answer her daily question “Why Africa has such a large source of raw materials and yet continues to import finished products at very high costs”.

In addition to attending different conferences and trainings. She has submitted one paper that has been accepted. Her second manuscript is under review, while a third is under preparation. She continues to develop her PhD thesis.

How COVID affected Pauline

Jeanne’s research works are laboratory-based. The closing of laboratories, libraries, and offices as a result of Covid-19 interrupted her research work and slowed down the writing of academic papers due to the lack of data. Additionally, she had challenges with the movement of her samples including losing one batch of samples in transit.

WPI partially re-opened after six months, with changed laboratory working hours and arrangement to work in shifts, weekly testing for COVID, limited face-to-face the lab that affected the speed of experiments. As a student and mother, mixing school with family responsibilities was not easy. Juggling the her family and research responsibilities has been a challenge.

She requests that for future scholars, the programme should provide students with advanced learning devices for easy access to software while analyzing data remotely. Also to mobilize funds to support Ph.D. students whose studies have been affected by COVID-19 and most important, to provide support for an immediate family member for RSIF scholars, to enable mental stability while away and focus on studies without worrying about Family.

Contact Jeanne Pauline Munganyinka via jmunganyinka@wpi.edu

The RSIF Scholarship salvaged my career dreams

Posted on June 24, 2021 by Maureen Agena

Emmanuel Effah is Ghanaian by birth, male and a Ph.D. student in the Department of Computer Science at University Gaston Berger, Senegal. He has received a scholarship from PASET’s RSIF program, managed by icipe. Emmanuel’s Ph.D. research aims to build a robust and affordable Smart Agri-IoT (Agricultural-Internet-of-Things) technology from theoretical modelling to real-world implementation to address the challenges climate change and the skyrocketing global population have meted on food security in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Currently, he is advancing this research at the Wireless Innovation Laboratory (WiLab) at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), USA. Mr. Effah obtained his MSc. Information Technology in 2013 from the Open University of Malaysia and BSc. In Electrical and Electronic Engineering in 2009 from the University of Mines and Technology (UMaT), Ghana. He is faculty at UMaT, Ghana with over 20 publications in reputable peer-reviewed journals and conferences, of which five emerged from his current ongoing Ph.D. research.

Mr. Emmanuel Effah presenting at the FICC2020 Conference in San Francisco, USA

What PASET-RSIF Scholarship meant to me

In line with Ghana’s declared national digitization agenda in 2016 which hinges on strengthening technical expertise in IoT-based or smart systems technology, UMaT opted to become a center of leadership in this area in the region. This called for a thorough IoT-based Ph.D. program that bridges the current technical gaps between the theoretical philosophies and practice of IoT-based smart technology in the context of SSA with relevant trained human power to support the running of the program. I was also looking to do a PhD in this area. Secondly, the PASET-RSIF scholarship came when all faculty members without Ph.Ds. had been given an ultimatum to obtain one or else lose their jobs. Consequently, this noble scholarship did not only salvage my career dreams but also contributes to Ghana’s vision of building world class IoT-based capacities to drive her smart/digitization agenda.

As a faculty member of UMaT, Ghana on study leave, my vision post-PhD is to return home and contribute my honest part in terms of teaching, research and services to my country, Africa and the global community in the area of building Smart Systems Technology for Africa’s digital transformation.

My Ph.D. experiences at UGB-Senegal and WPI-USA amidst COVID-19 Impacts

On 15^th May 2018, I left Ghana (i.e., purely Anglophone country) to Senegal (i.e., purely Francophone country) to commence my doctoral studies without any knowledge of the French language. Upon arrival and the great reception at UGB, I was informed that my Ph.D. would be in English and purely by research under the supervision of Professor Ousmane Thiare, the newly appointed Vice Chancellor, who also did not speak English. By then, all the university students in Senegal had declared an indefinite nationwide strike for the entire semester, and so, considering my time limitations, I decided to teach myself both spoken and written French within the first six months since most of my colleagues could only understand written English.

Despite these initial challenges, my experienced Advisor, Prof. Thiare, helped me to develop a very concise plan with clear specific research objectives and timelines. Each of these objectives was expected to yield a publishable paper at the end, which helped me to work more independently. By implication, I am expected to publish seven papers in total from my doctoral studies which is very possible to achieve before the end of this year, since the remaining two papers are under review now. Also, I was assigned another experienced IPI advisor, Professor Alexander Wyglinski, at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in the USA. Thus, per my scholarship’s structure, I was scheduled to conduct my experiments at the Wireless Innovation Laboratory (WiLab), WPI in the USA from 17^th November 2019 to 17^th October 2021.

COVID-19 Impact on my Studies

Although I had a smooth take-off at WPI, my research plans and activities beyond 15th March 2020 were negatively impacted by the novel COVID-19 in the following ways: Firstly, WPI imposed a very strict lockdown and suspended my core research activities for over seven months! Besides, it was a time of fear, loneliness and anxiety because I had to stay indoors for several months without seeing my apartment mates.

However, since every misfortune can be a golden opportunity in disguise, I decided to use this time to conduct my simulation experiments remotely and write papers. Amazingly, two conference papers were produced, presented at IEEE-VTC2020 Fall, IEEE’s highest impact factor conference, in Canada and published in IEEE Access. Additionally, an in-depth tutorial paper on Agri-IoT was written and submitted to IEEE Communications Surveys & Tutorials which is still pending reviewers’ decisions.

Secondly, the Lab access protocols allowed me to use the Lab once in every month. From the turn of events afterwards, I decided to convert my bedroom and my dining into a Lab and cultivate an artificial/indoor cowpea farm to test my custom-built Agri-IoT testbed at home. I used my dining table as my Lab working bench. Since my apartment mates have two active children who often tamper with the numerous micro-IoT components of my experimental setup illustrated in Figure 1 below, I have gone through myriad of challenging experiences to come this far.

Thrirdly, the imposed travel ban at WPI till now has affected vital research-related and personal travels. For instance, I attend the VTC2020 Fall conference virtually; my trip to Senegal for the field implementation and performance assessment of my custom-built robust and affordable Agri-IoT technology remains in limbo even though I am running out of internship time and funding. Consequently, I have decided to implement this testbed here during this summer and repeat same in Senegal when I am able to return in order to give an international significance to my Ph.D. research.

The disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic has revealed that indeed “necessity is the mother of inventions” and there are embedded opportunities to every chaotic problem which can be exploited using wisdom and determination.

I will contribute to the fight against infectious diseases in Africa

Posted on June 24, 2021June 25, 2021 by Maureen Agena

Jean Nepomuscene Hakizimana is a Rwandan pursuing his Ph.D. studies in Food security and Agribusiness at the Southern African Centre for Infectious Diseases Surveillance (SACIDS Foundation for One Health) hosted at the Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania under a scholarship awarded to him by the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology, icipe, through the Regional Scholarship and Innovation Fund (RSIF). The Regional Scholarship and Innovation Fund (RSIF), one of PASET’s flagship programs is the first Pan-African science fund that provides doctoral scholarships for African scientists aimed at catalyzing the training of 10,000 PhDs in Applied Sciences Engineering and Technology (ASET) fields.

To Hakizimana, getting the PASET-RSIF scholarship for his Ph.D. meant so much for his career and personal development. The Ph.D. whose scholarship confirmation letter he received on 21^st March 2018 and accepted, is to-date, he believes, the best career decision he ever made. The excitement was palpable and the enthusiasm about the offered opportunity was commitment towards achieving his career goals and professional growth.

Hakizimana’s research in his Ph.D. project was built on his previous research experience with Transboundary Animal Diseases (TADs) but this time with special focus on genomics and molecular epidemiology of viral diseases of food security and livelihood importance. TADs hinder poverty and hunger alleviation, an important component of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations (SDGs) and the African Union Agenda 2063. Jean’s Ph.D. project exploits the advances in genomics and molecular epidemiology technologies and innovations to mitigate the effect of these diseases for an improved livelihood and well-being of livestock farmers.

Under the supervision and mentorship of senior scientists at Sokoine University of Agriculture one of the RSIF African Host University (AHU), Ghent University an RSIF International Partner Institution (IPI) and the Rwanda National Industrial Research and Development Agency, he has no doubt that the outcome of this study will positively impact on Livestock farmers and contribute to food security and livelihoods.

To-date, Hakizimana has published in high impact factor peer-reviewed journals, for instance Viruses (impact factor of 3.816; Hakizimana et al 2021; see link), Frontiers in Veterinary Science (impact factor of 2.245; Hakizimana et al 2020; see link) and BMC Veterinary Research (5-year impact factor of 2.179; Hakizimana et al 2020;see link) as outputs emanating from his Ph.D. research.

In addition, the experience and expertise gained earned him a research grant (grant NO. I-1-B-6269-1) from the International foundation for Science (IFS) to advance his research on African swine fever in countries neighboring Tanzania and his abstract has been selected for a travel grant by the United States of America Biological Threat Reduction Program (BTRP) to share his research findings with the international scientific community during the Global African Swine Fever Research Alliance (GARA) scientific meeting.

With the high-quality skills and specialized knowledge gained during his Ph.D., Jean hopes to contribute to the training of the next generation of students, researchers and innovators in his area of expertise. He intends to contribute and get involved as a researcher and teacher in the fight against infectious diseases so that he can contribute to the alleviation of the burden of these diseases in Africa where their impacts are greatest.

Despite the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic, Jean kept moving forward but at a slower speed compared to the momentum he had garnered prior to the pandemic. Specifically, the COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted his research activities involving collaboration with other institutions where physical presence was required. By working from home and going to the laboratory only when necessary as well as adhering to the travel restrictions, he managed to reduce the negative impact of COVID-19. All the Conferences he was supposed to attend were moved to online, thus during the lockdown, the online alternative was used for specific trainings and conferences in his research area. Positively, the University administration was very supportive with the adoption of the Regulations and Guidelines for Higher Degrees to support online training and management of postgraduate studies in April 2020.

According to Hakizimana, Africa needs home-grown expertise that can tackle new risks such as climate change and global pandemics. RSIF, as an Africa-led initiative with the objective of strengthening the science, technology, and engineering capability in sub-Saharan Africa for its socioeconomic transformation, is useful to advance knowledge, promote research and help the African society discover innovative solutions to overcome its most pressing problems. Clearly, the RSIF program is increasing the quality of scientific research in the region, and Jean is happy to be associated with this initiative and what it stands for.

Conact Mr. Jean Nepomuscene Hakizimana hakizimana.jean@sacids.org

RSIF Scholar Mabwi Humphrey desires to use his PhD to find solutions linked to food, nutrition and health

Posted on June 24, 2021June 25, 2021 by Maureen Agena

Mabwi Humphrey’s journey to his PhD studies began with his desire to join academia as a teaching and research -scientist. Upon completing his MSc degree in Molecular Biology & Biochemistry from the Northeast Normal University in China in 2015, Mabwi took up a teaching/research assistant role at his alma mater, Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology in Kenya. This is the same university where he had completed a bachelor of science degree in Biology/Chemistry. However, one of the key requirements for being a teaching/research assistant was to pursue a PhD. Fortunately, this was in line with his long-term goal of becoming a full time academic and researcher. However, despite this zeal, he lacked the funding to purse a PhD. His dream became closer to reality, when he came across the PASET RSIF PhD Scholarship in 2018! Since 2018, a total of 184 PhD Scholarships distributed across 20 countries in Africa, have been awarded. The first cohort in 2018 had 15 students and one of them is Mabwi Humphrey a Kenyan.

Mabwi, who was part of the first cohort of 15 PASET RSIF students, is currently at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), Gangneung Institute of Natural products undertaking his research as part of his PhD in Biotechnology at Sokoine University of Agriculture in Tanzania.

Managed by icipe, The Regional Scholarship and Innovation Fund (RSIF), one of PASET’s flagship programs is the first Pan-African science fund that provides doctoral scholarships for African scientists aimed at catalyzing the training of 10,000 PhDs in Applied Sciences Engineering and Technology (ASET) fields. Priority is given to contributing member countries, the faculty of universities who lack Ph.D. Because funding for PhD training in Africa is very rare, RSIF has provided an excellent opportunity for them to pursue their PhD training and advance research careers.

Joining the PhD Program

Mabwi started his PhD journey in 2018 when he received the RSIF Scholarship and he expects to graduate in 2022 and became RSIF’s first cohort of Alumni. Sokoine University (SUA), his host University in Africa, academically enjoys a good reputation in Tanzania, especially because its curriculum features comprehensive professional training in agriculture courses in diverse fields, ranging from veterinary medicine, food processing, food bioengineering, to food quality analysis courses. However, the PhD curriculum lays special emphasis on research and there is less emphasis on coursework, as part of the PhD training. The Southern African Centre of – Infectious Disease Surveillance (SACIDS-ACE) at SUA, which hosts the RSIF program at Sokoine university has exposed Mabwi to various practical laboratory and transferrable skills training opportunities.

Mabwi’s PhD thesis is on Functional Foods against Gut Microbiome Dysbiosis. Dysbiosis is associated with a number of diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease, obesity, colon cancer and diabetes mellitus – modern-day Lifestyle diseases. The purpose of his research is to discover novel functional foods against dysbiosis. Because of the exposure at SACIDS-ACE, Mabwi initially developed his study on Bovine microbiomes with a purpose of tracking pathogens in beef industry. However, upon joining the sandwich program at Korea Institute of Science and Technology, he felt the need to amend his proposal from bovine microbiomes to study human microbiomes in order to align it with requirements of both his supervisor at Sokoine University and at Korea Institute of Science and Technology. To-date, he has published a paper in computational and structural Biotechnology journal and submitted his second paper for publication.

Catching the Dream

Upon completion of his PhD study, Mabwi would like to pursue a postdoctoral research to build his nascent career in academia and research and prepare him for leadership and management roles. He is glad for the funding from RSIF as well as the opportunity to study at both Sokoine University of Agriculture and the Korea Institute of Science and Technology. He also appreciates the RSIF seminars, webinars, courses and soft skills coordinated by icipe which equipped him with various important skills not only academia but also for careers in biomedical research, food biotechnological, pharmaceutical/nutraceuticals industries and management positions with the aim of improving food and health systems in Africa.

He admits that Covid 19 has greatly impacted on his academic and social life. It has changed how he works and spend his extra time, which inevitably has impacted his studies. Delivery of some of his laboratory reagents have been delayed. He has also been required to work from home or in the laboratory in shifts. More recently he was forced to quarantine for almost two weeks after a lab mate tested positive for Covid 19. Further, opportunities for conferences and seminars to present his research findings are now limited. The limited time with his supervisor, having fitness rooms closed and sports activities cancelled has had a toll on him and many other students. These have delayed his experiments and changed his day-to-day routine hence impacting on my PhD progress.

Based on his experience, he would advise the more recent RSIF scholars to ensure that they commence their matching discussions with IPIs as soon as possible, i.e. when the student joins the RSIF funded PhD program to eliminate major proposal amendments upon transitioning to the IPI.

Contact Mr. Humphrey Andalo Mabwi mabwi.humphrey@kist.re.kr

Technology and education are the foundation to bettering life in society

Posted on June 16, 2021June 16, 2021 by Maureen Agena

According to the Gender strategy of the Regional Scholarship and Innovation Fund (RSIF), the program has set an ambitious target for women’s representation among its PhD scholars (50%) based on a commitment to gender and social inclusion and excellence in Aplied Sciences Engineering and Technology (ASET) fields to support Africa’s socio-economic transformation. Enhancing gender inclusiveness in the sciences will require significant investment and deliberate efforts at various levels by various actors, including by universities, governments, and other institutions. However, the important payoffs from this investment justify the costs: removing existing barriers to women’s entry and advancement in ASET fields will increase substantially the number of intelligent, talented people making important scientific innovations. To date, since the award of the first scholarships in 2018, RSIF has awarded a total of 184 PhD scholarships, 71 of these going to female scholars, representing 39 percent of the total scholarships. In an interview with RSIF Manager Dr Moses Osiru, he shares about Fund’s tremendous growth over the past two years.

During the 12th RSIF Monthly Webinar Series held on 9th June 2021, RSIF hosted Ms. Aicha Evans, CEO of ZOOX an American autonomous vehicle technology Company which is head quartered in California, to a chat on “Women Leading in Science and Emerging Technologies”. icipe’s scientist and postdoctoral Fellow Dr Fathiya M. Khamis moderated the conversation, which was attended by RSIF PhD scholars, RSIF host Universities, International partners, World Bank group representatives including Diariétou Gaye the Vice President and World Bank Group Corporate Secretary and ZOOX innovators. The vote of thanks to Ms. Aicha was given by Cohort one, RSIF PhD Scholar, Fatoumata Thiam from Senegal who is undertaking valuable research in designing self-optimized irrigation in the Sahel area based on the Internet of Things at the University of Gaston Berger (UGB).

In the chat below, Ms. Aicha answers some of the fundamental questions on why Science and emerging technologies should matter to everyone but especially to women.

Q. Why should Science and emerging ttechnologies matter to Women?

A. Oh, you know, Women are kind of the core of society, we make a lot of things possible, we also have the population. I think that some of the experiences that happen though growing up as women and expectations that are set on us, actually are very very conducive to technology. I do not believe in technology for the sake of geeking out, I believe in technology for the sake of really helping the world. That is what technology has done for thousands of years and will continue to do, and I think that women can bring the aspect of solving problems for society and advancing society as opposed to just geeking out when it comes to technology. The other thing is, I truly believe that we experience a lot of things at a young age from a societal standpoint, that if we apply technology to that, everybody meaning, men, women, however you identify yourself, will all benefit and this is something I am passionate about and committed to.

Q. What inspired you to get into science, engineering career path?

A. Well, very early on in my career, I could see the difference of when you have a lot of technology verses when you don’t have a lot of technology. Whether it is through telecommunication, when I was bouncing between Paris and Dakar, and just the ability to remain in touch with my friends. I know everybody has smart phones right now, that’s not the way it was back then. Back then there was a little box with a handset and rotary phone. It was super expensive. And so, in terms of hacking my basic phones to be able to stay in contact with people, it wasn’t hacking so I could be known as a hacker, it was really in service of staying in touch with my friends.

Second of all, when I looked at education, when I looked at just life in Darker, education is really part of the core of the society in Senegal. But still I could see like living in France and seeing what technology was making possible. I was very lucky and fortunate at a young age to be in a situation where I could travel and see a lot of the world, and you could see that basically Technology and education are the foundation to bettering life in society no matter where you are. And it doesn’t have to be the same kind of education. For example, e-commerce being born or spearheaded in Kenya was not surprising. I love the creativity of saying no, we are not going to replicate the backing infrastructure as it is known in the rest of the world, we are going to leapfrog and figure out another way to distribute money inside of the country and so e-commerce and the technology around that was born.

When it comes to technology there are usually two phases; there is an inflection phases where a wave is being born. Think about computers, telecommunication, cellular technology, the smart phone, robotics, artificial intelligence (AI) or exploit phases where the inflection point has already happened, and you are just basically milking the situation and are creating derivatives at iterating. You are all getting educated at a time of an inflection point. What is happening through computers, AI, robotics? These are technological inflection points that are going to affect every aspect of life, from transportation, agriculture, medicine, banking like what is happening to crypto for example and you all get to participate in that. Pick your field and make the world better. I do not know what could be more exciting. And as women, you have an advantage, you see societal things that others don’t, and you have the opportunity to ride this, make the way, do things that are unimaginable today, take advantage of it.

Q. Do you think STEM fields are at a disadvantage because of the limited involvement of women?

A. We should turn it from a challenge to an opportunity. By the way, it starts very early on when you just watch kids in elementary school. We need to demystify STEM. We really do. It is almost like by making it so special, we are already telling young girls, oh it is not for you or it is going to be difficult and so on. We need to look at how we are teaching STEM, and early on sort of help young girls see that this is not about being the special one or the geeky one or ‘you are like the boys’. This is a tool or and an opportunity to basically solve the problem whichever one you want to solve. And to grow up and make a good living, because independence has never been a bad thing. I think that there are a lot of things we do very unconsciously in language, how we talk about it, how we even reward young girls who are doing well, and to me the demystification and democratisation of STEM is absolutely critical. The world bank and all these organisations should look at it from that standpoint and encourage the numbers. Once you go through that and see what is possible, you don’t have to convince people anymore because they see the value and human beings are driven by value. There is a shortage, we make it too difficult and too special today and we need to change our mindset including how we talk about, how make it available, how we present it. I would live the first experience of a young girl with math to be around solving problem as opposed to learn the methodology, learn this equation, the stress of your multiplication tables. Let us start with what becomes possible, and then from there, the kids will say well, STEM is making that possible and then I think we will increase the numbers dramatically.

Around the world, let us apply STEM to the local problems and the local opportunities. Let us use local event, problems, things that people can relate to and then STEM attaches to the emotion of the person, and I think great things will happen.

Q. If you were to sum up, based on your career and experiences, what two messages would you give that have been instrument to you as a successful science leader.

A. I would use three if I may.

First of all, Demystify, you are the boss of you, demystify! don’t let anybody define things for you. You define things, you define people, you happened to things.

Second of all, be resilient. Look, one days maybe I will write a book or something, I think we tend to focus on the destination once we have already arrived, and we don’t look at the Journey and the ups and downs. I wasn’t born with the God given right to achieve what I have achieved, and by the way, I have a lot more that I want to achieve. Be resilient and understand that it is a Journey. Successes are supposed be celebrated, failures are supposed to be acknowledged, understood and learning applied and then we move on to the next things. And by the way, if you are not failing, you are not doing anything meaningful, you are not finding root.

Last but not least, have some fun, enjoy the journey. We are so serious about things, I promise you, you all have long lives ahead of you, by and large, when you look at the normal distribution of the curve. You will have ups and downs and joys and failures. And by the way if you don’t have failures, you also cannot enjoy the successes.

Q. The leaky pipe for women starts right from lower levels of education and through to higher education, I think especially in Africa thereby reducing the numbers in science significantly, what do you think are the key differences, if any, for women perusing science careers in the global South Vis-a vis the global North

A. The global north is a little bit ahead but let us not exaggerate it, it’s not like they are doing super well. Every time I look at “diversity and inclusion” we seem to be stuck at 20-25% women in the North and so it is not like they are doing awesome. Now, we should take some learnings from that and we should accelerate. When it comes to Women or Girls and STEM, we should focus on the person, there is no question about it, but we should also focus on the value system and society. I think that having people, teachers, educated family members, explain in a positive non-arrogant way, to the units of family and the units of society how beneficial it will be for society at large, for girls and Women to be in STEM, is really important. Because you do need a support system. I have had very tough patches in my career or actually even as a student, as a teenage and then as a young adult, that if I didn’t have a support system that made it okay and that sponsored me that was there for me, I don’t think I wouldn’t have made it. So that expression that ‘it takes a village………’. I think we are focusing a lot on the individual and not on the village. We need to focus more on the village, such that the village has a vested interest in the individuals staying in STEM.

For more information and the engagement with Ms. Aicha, Please Listen to the webinar recording through this access Link and Passcode: Z00XRS1FRec*