Africa Science Leadership Programme

Progress

Circulating the call to its network of young scientists and science academies in Africa, and providing evaluators for applications, the GYA assists in recruiting the cohorts of young scientists to benefit from the training. Selected fellows meet for a week-long workshop, followed by a year of project work and mentorship, with a follow-up workshop one year later. Altogether 18 GYA members (listed in this project above as "past members") have also taken part in the ASLP. Listed as "members" are GYA members and alumni who are part of the ASLP Steering Committee. The inaugural workshop commenced with the first group of 20 fellows in June 2015, in Pretoria, South Africa. The second cohort of Africa Science Leadership Fellows consisted of 22 outstanding scientists from all major regions of Africa. The scientists, spanning a wide variety of disciplines including the social sciences and humanities, met in April 2016 in Pretoria. The week-long workshop on ‘Leading a new paradigm for African Science’ delved deeply into topics such as collective leadership and science communication. Leaders in academia and research, science communication, and leadership theory and practice joined the fellows for interactive sessions. An Africa Science Leadership Clinic was held in October 2016, to discuss leadership style, effective group and workshop structure, methodology, funding and organisation and to facilitate the further development of effective transdisciplinary networks across Africa. In 2017 and 2018 the third and fourth cohorts of ASLP fellows - approximately twenty-two outstanding scientists from different disciplines all across Africa - took part in the ASLP. The 2019 Africa Science Leadership Programme, the programmes' fifth round, was held for the first time in the newly opened Future Africa Campus. More details here.