By Zarah Bennett, Interim Partnership Manager (Africa and Middle East)

On 12 June 2018, UCL Global Engagement Office’s Africa and Middle East Regional Network will host the third annual Knowledge Africa symposium: ‘Africa Stories: Changing Perceptions’, bringing together diverse speakers to share untold stories and hidden perspectives on the continent. The event’s overarching themes will be Africa’s position in the quest for a global governance of the commons, and contributions to global prosperity.

More than 60 years after a euphoric wave of decolonisation began sweeping through Africa, the dominant ‘bloc image’ of the continent continues to be shaped by narratives of gloom that portray it as endemically poor, helpless, and rife with bad governments and internecine conflicts. This image is simplistic and wrong.

Most people in Africa exist in varying states of privation and governance challenges, but the continent is one of the richest in terms of natural resources, culture, innovation and resilience. Far from being helpless and perennially beholden to powerful networks of patronage from the geopolitical West, Africa contributes more to the global order than is widely acknowledged.

In response to the student voice and feedback from Knowledge Africa 2017, this year’s event has been developed, produced and managed by the UCL student community, with assistance from the GEO (Africa and Middle East) team.

Speakers include: 

Nick Dearden from Global Justice Now, whose keynote presentation in the morning session will challenge some prevalent perceptions and myths about Africa and explore ‘How the world profits from Africa’s wealth’

Simon Anholt who is widely recognised as the instigator and seminal thinker in the Nation Brands and Place Brands concepts and field of study and practice. Simon’s keynote presentation in the afternoon session introduces the ‘Good Country’ concept and ‘Global Vote’ project, which aim to encourage people to think about what countries contribute to humanity as much as what they achieve for their own citizens. Simon will be joined by Madeline Hung from the Institute for Multi-Stakeholder Initiative Integrity  for the afternoon’s panel discussion.

Michael Amoah is a Visiting Fellow at the LSE and has published widely on African politics, the international politics of Africa, foreign policy, conflict and security. He also has interests in international political economy, development studies and international development. Michael’s presentation will be based on his forthcoming book The New Pan Africanism: Globalism and the Nation State in Africa.

Dorothy Baziwe is the Executive Director of Shelter and Settlements Alternatives: Uganda Human Settlements Network (SSA: UHSNET). In the context of the global migration crisis, and Uganda’s unique approach to the issue in Africa, Dorothy will present a fascinating case study about how SSA: UHSNET supports livelihood projects for refugees and displaced persons in Uganda.

Michael Walls is a Senior Lecturer at UCL’s Development Planning Unit (DPU) and Course Director for the MSc in Development Administration and Planning. Based on his long-standing engagement with the challenges of livelihoods and informality in various African cities, Michael is highly regarded as a respected thinker and advocate on issues of development and political transitions in the Horn of Africa. Michael’s presentation will focus on ‘Representative democracy in Somaliland: finding accommodation between elections and clan-based discourse’.

Oscar Mwaanga is a social justice activist, social-entrepreneur, innovator and educationist at EduMove and an Associate Professor in Physical Activity, Education and Development at Solent University. For the past 22 years, he has led the development of internationally renowned Sport for Development and Peace (SDP) programmes that have impacted communities in over 30 countries. Oscar will be speaking about ‘Changing the African story to redeem international Sport for Development and Peace (SDP) as an alternative development approach’: Critical reflections from a 22 years multiple engagement in SDP.

Lilian Schofield is an associate Teaching Fellow and Graduate Teaching Assistant for the MSc Development Administration and Planning programme at UCL’s Development Planning Unit (DPU). Lilian’s presentation, from a feminist perspective, explores the untold stories of fortitude and resilience of women trapped in ethnic and religious violence in Kaduna State, Nigeria.

Nick Anim is a research student at UCL’s Development Planning Unit (DPU), and an activist in the Transition Towns Movement. Speaking from a localism/globalism perspective, Nick’s presentation will focus on ‘Degrowth: How overconsumption in the Global North impacts development in Africa’.

• Register for your free ticket to the event

This blog post is an extract taken from a speech that UCL’s Vice-Provost International Dr Dame Nicola Brewer gave at a joint UCL alumni/British High Commission reception in Singapore in March 2018.

At UCL, global engagement and global citizenship are things that we take seriously. The first strategic driver of our Global Engagement Strategy is to offer our students the best possible preparation for global lives and careers.

And we have a flourishing Global Citizenship Programme for our students that takes place in the summer term and which enables them to work in interdisciplinary teams on global challenges. That programme is (of course!) open equally to female and male students.

In my family, we were lucky to be able to give our own children (one girl, one boy) a good education, a global outlook, the appetite and confidence to travel and learn about other countries other cultures and to be comfortable with diversity.

Those are things that an in ideal world every child would be able to experience. I want every student at UCL – actually, I want every child in the world, but you have to start somewhere – to have the opportunities I was able to give our children. So how can that equal, global access be achieved?

One of the critical starting points in achieving real equality is finding male allies. In the home (where I was lucky, again, to have such a supportive partner), and at work (the new Director of the LSE, Dame Minouche Shafik, talks about the ‘holy trinity’ for working women: a supportive partner, a supportive boss and good childcare). Men and women need to work together for equality. It’s a cause that’s most effectively advanced by creating solutions together.

We need to reach out across countries, too. I think you need to start with the local, at home. Archbishop Desmond Tutu, a hero of mine, advocates that you should, “Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.”

So, start local but then go global. Or, as UCL’s Global Engagement Strategy says, ‘Think global, act together’. And the way we act, and what we choose to act on, is equally important.

Sometimes people ask me how they can do that. Professor Dame Athene Donald, Master of Churchill College Cambridge, gave some great tips on International Women’s day this year.

Her blog started with a quote from one of my favourite novelists, George Eliot. In her 1876 novel Daniel Deronda, she wrote, “And when a woman’s will is as strong as the man’s who wants to govern her, half her strength must be concealment.”

Professor Donald continued, “Many women need to live their lives like that, even today… a strong woman may be seen as a threat.” And her blog then listed three things that everyone can do:

• Amplify the voices of a timid person, not necessarily a woman, though it might be, who makes a sensible comment that is talked over or ignored.
• Support someone you see being victimised or fretting over something.
• Be an active bystander; don’t ignore other people’s uncomfortable actions. If it’s clear things are getting out of hand, step in if it’s safe for you to do so.

Professor Donald finished her blog by referring to how far we’ve come. But I don’t think it’s far enough, and each of us has a role to play in making sure we keep moving forward.

At UCL, we call ourselves London’s Global University, and we can be a beacon for equality, as well as for world-class education and world-leading research.

Nicola is the Gender Equality Champion on UCL’s Senior Management Team and Co-Chair of UCL’s 50:50 Gender Equality Group 

In an increasingly authoritarian era, it is more important than ever to defend academic freedom as a right with huge benefits for wider society, rather than merely a “privilege for professors,” the Central European University (CEU)’s Professor Michael Ignatieff has argued in a speech at the annual Centre for Global Higher Education conference at UCL.

Appearing as the conference’s 2018 Burton R. Clark lecturer on 11 April, the Rector and President of the CEU in Budapest used the platform to urge people to see universities as “counter-majoritarian institutions,” just as a free press and an independent judiciary are seen as essential to counteracting majority governments.

Following an introduction from Dame Nicola Brewer, UCL’s Vice-Provost International, the CEU head’s speech touched on authoritarian turns to higher education in countries including Russia, China and Turkey, with Ignatieff warning of an emerging picture in which “single party regimes are everywhere privileging control over academic quality and openness to international academic life because they see academic freedom as a regime threat.”

Fighting back

Professor Ignatieff and the CEU have experienced the threat he referenced first hand. The institution is embroiled in an ongoing battle with the Hungarian government over its location in Hungary after it passed a law in April 2017 imposing varying restrictions on overseas universities in the country, including the mandate to maintain a campus in their home country.

Ignatieff explained however that the subsequent outpouring of support for the CEU, which has included 75,000 marching through the streets of Hungary in opposition to the government decision, taught him that “universities should not underestimate their public support [nor] the power of their networks.”

Importantly, he realised, despite the institutional disposition of universities to be quiet, thoughtful and avoid conflict, “You sometimes have to fight a political battle to defend academic freedom.”

Academic freedom matters

Professor Ignatieff went on to admit that before this threat to the CEU, so close to home, he had “never really thought that hard about academic freedom. It seemed to be one of those little perks that middle-class educated people get to have.”

Now, however, he has realised, “We are not just fighting for a corporate privilege for ourselves; we are defending a counter majoritarian institution whose function is to serve and protect and defend the whole society’s capacity to know anything at all. That’s why academic freedom matters. If we defend it as a corporate privilege, we are done for. And that’s a central message that I have learned.”

Uncertain future for CEU

Professor Ignatieff said that the “thumping two-thirds majority” for Viktor Orbán’s government in Hungary’s recent parliamentary election means that the prime minister “now holds all the cards” when it comes to the CEU’s future.

The CEU boss added however that the outcome will depend on whether closing the university “turns out to be sufficiently unpopular inside his own party”.

Search for truth 

Professor Ignatieff closed his speech by urging universities across the world to continue with its “unpopular job”. Institutions, he said, “have to train students that knowledge is extremely hard, that it’s a discipline you have to follow and once you’ve got it you have access to the most important thing a democratic system needs, which is the capacity to find out what is true.”

“It is an unpopular job and it’s a job that people may not want to hear. But it is our job and we have to defend it with courage and without any embarrassment. This is the moment when we really, really have to believe in what we do.”

• Watch the full lecture
• Find out more about the CGHE

To celebrate International Women’s Day, this month the GEO spoke to women from across UCL’s student population to find out what they make of studying at London’s Global University.

See the original series on Instagram: @UCL_Global.

Carly, MA Archaeology

Originally from Atlanta, Georgia in the US, Carly says: “Before I came to UCL I went to Princeton which is quite cut off from things in New Jersey, and I much prefer studying here – there’s just so much happening.

“I’m from Atlanta which is also a big city, but one of my favourite things about London is the markets: Borough, Spitalfields, Maltby Street… I also live right by Regents Park, so I can walk to class in 20 minutes.”

Vandita, MA Computer Graphics, Vision and Imaging

Originally from Delhi, India, Vandita says: “I came to London back in September. I chose UCL because of the faculty of Computer Science: I’d heard a lot about the facilities here; the labs and the teachers.

“I love London! In the past few years Delhi hasn’t been the safest place for women, but here I have a lot of freedom of movement. I can come here at 11 at night and stay in the grad hub listening to music and doing my work and I love that freedom so much. I love being able to move around without having to worry too much about my safety.

“I feel like London is a global city. You meet people from all over the place: in my class I have friends from China, from Ghana, from Europe. It really is global! If I get a chance I’d love to stay.”

Risa, third year Anthropology

Risa is now in her third year of Anthropology. “This is my third year in London. Before moving to London I lived in Jakarta, because my parents are diplomats.

“I knew I wanted to study either in the UK or the States and I chose UCL because it has a big name, and for Anthropology it’s one of the leading departments.

“I really like London – other than the weather! I love that there are so many things to do here; you’re never bored.”

Saskia, third year Biomedical Science

Saskia is originally from Germany, near Frankfurt. “I chose London first, and then UCL! I just love to be in an international setting; it’s a great way to meet different people. I live with two French people and most of the people on my course are international.

“When I graduate I’m going to take a year off to do some internships and hopefully combine it with some travelling. My first internship is in Cyprus and I’d like to go to Barcelona. In Cyprus, I’m going to be working for a stem cell bank; they collect the umbilical cords from all over the world and extract culture the stem cells.”

Explaining her subject choice, Saskia said: “I was always into biology. I work in a lab where there are almost only women. My supervisor is a woman too.”

She also joked, “The last lab that I worked in had an internship at the Cancer Institute and there were only one or two men working there – I’ve been lucky!”

Afikah, second year Medicine

Asked what she makes of UCL so far, second year Medicine student Afikah says: “Well, it’s in London and I don’t think there’s a better city! It’s also one of the best places to study Medicine. The research here is innovative and beyond anywhere else – especially in neuroscience, which is an area I’m really interested in.

“I keep changing what I want to specialise in. In sixth form it was paediatrics. In my next year I’ll be intercalating and I’ve chosen oncology, so I don’t know what I’ll end up doing.

“I live in North West London. I love the multiculturalism in London. Being a person of colour, it’s so nice seeing other people from different ethnic backgrounds and being able to connect with them. The diversity is absolutely amazing.

“You can do anything you want here; everything is around. I’d love to travel – that’s something I’m really interested in – but London’s where it’s at!”

Pauline, MA Financial Mathematics

“I did my undergrad in France, close to Paris, at an engineering school called Centrale Supelec,” says Pauline. “There’s a joint diploma between my school and UCL and so instead of going back to my school for the last year, I decided to come to UCL.

“I’ve lived in London since September. What I like about UCL is how huge it is! It’s like a campus within the city. You always have loads of students all around and there’s such diversity. I love the fact that you can do whatever you want, whenever you want; it’s completely different to France, which is a lot stricter. Here I like that I have more time to study by myself.

“I’d like to start my career in London and then eventually move back to Paris. In the industry I work in, finance, it’s moving a lot, and there are lots of opportunities here.”

This International Women’s Day, the UCL Centre for Gender and Global Health will launch the inaugural report of Global Health 50/50 at UCL.

The launch event, in collaboration with UNAIDS, will take place on 8 March at UCL’s Kennedy Lecture Theatre in London, from 18.30-19.45.

Hosted by UCL’s Vice-Provost (International) Dame Nicola Brewer, the event will showcase key findings from the Global Health 50/50 initiative, which aims to promote gender equality in global health. The first report of its kind, it will take an in-depth look at the gender policies and practices of the world’s most influential global health organisations.

140 organisations

The extensive report takes a unique, 360 degree approach to the topic, analysing both the gender-responsiveness of external programmes and operations, as well as the internal workplace policies and practices of over 140 organisations.

Global Health 50/50 will also look at the extent to which organisations commit and take action to promote gender equality, help identify where change is needed and share examples of best practice for effecting this.

Driving action and accountability

The event next month will feature an interactive panel with speakers including Jocalyn Clark, Executive Editor of medical journal The Lancet, and Jeremy Farrar, Director of the Wellcome Trust, with discussions set to cover the steps needed to advance gender equality in global health.

Speaking ahead of the event, Dr Sarah Hawkes, Professor of Global Public Health, said, “Global Health 50/50 is much more than just a report.

“Global Health 50/50 is a policy initiative that will help drive action and accountability for gender across global health through advocacy based on evidence, transparency for accountability, and a core belief that progress is both possible and necessary.”

Later this month, Professor Hawkes is also set to join Difficult Dialogues 2018, a three-day event in Goa which will see academics from UCL’s Institute of Global Health join global media, policymakers and practitioners to address challenges to gender equality in India and beyond.

• Sign up for the launch event here

This month saw UCL President & Provost Professor Michael Arthur host a University of Toronto (UofT) delegation at UCL’s Bloomsbury campus.

UofT President Professor Meric Gertler joined a roundtable where representatives from both universities discussed the joint funding projects launched in November 2017, along with the potential for future health science collaborations.

But how else is UCL collaborating with the University of Toronto – and Canada more widely?

Here, we take a look at the existing connections.

UofT emerges as top research partner

Looking at data for the papers published in the past five years with less than five authors (according to InCites), along with how many times they’ve been cited, the University of Toronto is UCL’s closest collaborator, by a clear margin.

UCL’s next highest collaborator in the country is University of British Colombia, followed by McGill University.

High volume of medical research collaboration

Taking a more in-depth look at the collaborations between UCL and UofT reveals that life and medical science is by far the most common area of shared research.

For example, UCL and UofT collaborated on 17 papers on clinical neurology, 15 on neurosciences, 13 on paediatrics and nine on surgery.

UofT students at UCL

The figures for 2016/17 suggest that Canadians are most commonly heading to UCL for post graduate study, and the University of Toronto is no exception. In the graph below, you can see the distribution of UofT students across UCL faculties.

The table below shows the number of applications from UofT undergraduates for postgraduate study at UCL. It demonstrates a high interest in social and historical sciences (22% of applications), followed by built environment (20%) and engineering (19%).

Canadian students in the UK

Taking a wider view and looking at the enrolment figures from 2011/12 through to 2015/16 across all UK universities, it’s clear that the most popular subject for Canadian students choosing to study in the UK is law, followed by social studies and medicine – a contrast to the popular subjects at UCL previously highlighted.

Contrary to the UK as a whole, for instance, law makes up just 6% of Canadian students’ subject choices at UCL.

 Steady growth in students from Canada

Finally, looking at the Full Time Equivalent (FTE) Canadian students who were enrolled from 2011/12 through to 2015/16 in the UK’s Russell Group Universities, it’s clear that while other universities within the group have seen a decline in Canadian applications, there has been a steady increase in students coming from Canada to UCL in recent years – a trend that we hope will continue for many years to come.

Explore the Global Engagement Office (GEO)’s interactive dashboard to see more of UCL’s collaborations across the world.

For more information on UCL’s activity in North America, visit the GEO web pages.

Earlier this month, UCL Qatar joined forces with various partner organisations in a series of public events exploring the city of Doha’s architectural history.

Most notably, the British Council Qatar’s fourth annual British Festival included a panel discussion and exhibition brought to the festival thanks to the ongoing partnership between UCL Qatar and Qatar University’s College of Engineering.

‘The Streets of Doha’ panel featured the winners of the Unlimited Doha Design Prize (Deena Terawi, Gizem Kahraman, Ming Teong, Can Askoy and Alex Scott-Whitby) along with special guest speakers including Ibrahim Mohamed, CEO & Chief Architect of Jaidah Group and Dr Fodil Fadli, Head of the Department of Architecture and Urban Planning at Qatar University.

An educational partnership with the British Council

The panel’s wide-ranging discussion covered the distinctive character of Doha’s architecture, the transformation of the city’s built environment and its impact on architectural identity, everyday life and public space.

Professor Rob Carter, Professorial Research Fellow and Research Lead at UCL Qatar, was in the 120-strong audience to hear the discussions take place. Speaking about the event he said, “UCL Qatar is honoured to participate in this year’s British Festival as the British Council educational partners.

“We are proud to be the first British institution in Qatar to offer high quality UK Education, and of the outstanding outcomes we’ve achieved in developing research and capacity-building in cultural heritage in this country. I’m particularly delighted to be involved in this event and exploration of Qatar’s rich urban heritage, which is often underestimated in academic circles and public debate.”

Exchange of knowledge and ideas

Along with the panel, an exhibition showcased the Doha Unlimited Design Award 2016 prize-winning team’s vision for the city. Awarded by the British Council Qatar, the competition saw UK- and Gulf-based designers take part in a week-long design residency under the theme of ‘The Open City’, with a particular focus on mobility and making Doha more open and accessible to all.

Commenting on the collaboration between the British Council and UCL Qatar, Dr. Frank Fitzpatrick, Director of the British Council Qatar, said, “Both the United Kingdom and Qatar are well-known for their remarkable architecture, and we hope to strengthen our relationship with Qatar by creating opportunities for further collaboration and the exchange of knowledge and ideas.”

Ongoing collaboration with Qatar Museum

Following the festival, Professor Carter continued the exploration of Doha’s rich architectural heritage with a lively public lecture, ‘The History Beneath Your Feet: What Urban Excavation Can Tell Us About Historic Doha and the World.’

The lecture provided further evidence for the breadth of UCL Qatar’s collaboration with external partners. The latest milestone in the successful architectural collaboration between UCL Qatar and Qatar Museums, Carter and Dr Ferhan Sakal, Head of Archaeology Operations of Qatar Museums, shared updates on recent achievements of the partners’ Qatar Old Doha Rescue Excavation.

The excavation helps to document lives of the people of Doha, from the town’s foundations being laid in the early 19^th century through to the impact of the discovery of oil in the 1950s.

Following his talk, Professor Carter said: “Together with our partners at Qatar Museums, we have made remarkable progress in uncovering news and important aspects of Qatar’s rich history, building up a detailed understanding of the country’s past.

“The rapid, exciting development of Doha now adds a real urgency to our work – and whilst a great deal has been achieved already, thanks to the level of collaboration to date, we’re enormously excited about the next phase of the project.”

A UCL programme working with diverse partners to tackle the rise in urban diabetes expanded its reach into Canada on World Diabetes Day.

Cities Changing Diabetes is a unique global partnership for cross-disciplinary, cross-sector collaboration, led by Professor of Medical Anthropology David Napier (UCL Department of Anthropology), healthcare company Novo Nordisk and the Steno Diabetes Center – a world-leading institution in diabetes care and prevention.

On 14 November the Vancouver initiative joined existing setups in Mexico City, Copenhagen, Houston, Tianjin, Shanghai and Johannesburg, all following the same programme of mapping the problem, sharing the learnings and then taking action.

Professor Napier is the global academic lead on the ground-breaking project, which was facilitated by UCL Consultants.

Vancouver is Canada’s third largest city and according to a recent analysis, almost 10% of the population are living with diabetes, with one in four yet to be diagnosed.

Prevalence has been shown to differ greatly between different neighbourhoods of the city, underlining the need for a coordinated, multi-agency response in tackling the issue.

Professor Napier collaborates with a team of 75 fieldworkers as well as senior research staff in each country to gather data on the ground about diabetes epidemiology in urban environments.

He said: “We are delighted to bring our expertise to bear through supporting research that underpins Cities Changing Diabetes. We are gathering data across the globe, setting a baseline to the challenge of diabetes, and acting as a platform for future action.

“What’s more, this programme is unique because it goes into the field to gain real – not laboratory or experimental – insight, via real people, living real lives. Yes, all those involved have different cultures, different research foci, and different needs and priorities in our research. Yet we have all come together to do something really new in the academic world.”

Rick Blickstead, President and CEO of programme partner The Canadian Diabetes Association, added: “The problem of urban diabetes cannot be solved alone – the issue is far too complex. We must break down silos and engage in innovative collaboration across sectors – government, healthcare, education and advocacy – to create meaningful change. Cities Changing Diabetes presents a unique opportunity for cross-sector collaboration that will help us defeat this disease.”

• Cities Changing Diabetes partnership featured in Confederation of British Industry report on UK-China collaborations
• Read more about Cities Changing Diabetes in this UCL Consultants Case Study
• Cities Changing Diabetes website

Written by Dr Paul Ayris

Open Science – the global context

“… [W]e are facing the biggest challenge for RTDI [Research, Technology Development and Innovation] policy makers since the advent of the modern organization of science,” claimed a recent report on Open Digital Science. Is this true? Is the world of research experiencing a paradigm shift? What does Open Science mean? Should we examine old positions on the dissemination of research outputs and have the courage to rise to the challenge which Open Science brings?

During its EU Presidency  (January  – June 2016) the Netherlands worked towards a common EU approach to Open Science, including open access to scientific publications and the best possible re-use of research data. The EU wants:

• Full open access for all publicly funded scientific publications by 2020
• Open data – the sharing and re-use of data – as the standard for all publicly funded research.

Experts have estimated a 4300% increase in annual data generation by 2020. However, research institutes and universities around the world often have no standard policy for researchers on how to store their data, which could limit its accessibility to others as well as impact on future funding opportunities.

The UCL-led project LEARN is working with partners in Europe and South America to raise awareness of research data management and policy issues, ensuring the work of academics from all fields can have the greatest impact in addressing global challenges.

LEARN – Leaders Activating Research Networks

LEARN is an EU-funded project under the Horizon 2020 funding programme.

Its aim is to identify the level of preparation in research organisations for research data management, and to make recommendations to all stakeholders – governments, researchers, research funders, support bodies such as IT and Library specialists, and universities/research organisations.

LEARN is building on the earlier LERU Roadmap for Research Data to raise awareness of the importance of research data management across the globe. Outputs will include a model research data management policy, advocacy materials and a toolkit of best practice case studies.

LEARN partnership

Fundamental to the successful delivery of LEARN is its web of partnerships with other research organisations.

LEARN is led by UCL, but is working with the Universities of Vienna and Barcelona, LIBER (Association of European Research Libraries) and the UN’s ECLAC (Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean).

LEARN is holding a series of international workshops (pictured here) to engage with all stakeholders, to LEARN from each other and to identify solutions. It is incredibly important that all stakeholders work together to identify issues and agree a way forward.

The invention of moveable type printing in the West in the fifteenth century revolutionised European society. During the Reformation, the printed word was key to spreading ideas. Open Science presents the same challenges and opportunities in a digital environment in the 21st century.

Dr Paul Ayris is Director of UCL Library Services, UCL Copyright Officer and the CEO of UCL Press. He is chair of the Chief Information Officer Community for LERU (League of European Research Universities), and advises the LIBER Board (Association of European Research Libraries) on EU matters and Horizon2020.

• Find out more about LEARN
• The next LEARN workshops will take place in Santiago, Chile (27 October 2016) and Barcelona (26 January 2017) – register your interest by emailing info@learn-rdm.eu
• Watch the videos from LEARN workshops in Helsinki, Vienna and London

The inaugural Knowledge Africa event was held at UCL on 16 June, marking the International Day of the African Child and the 40th anniversary of the Soweto Uprising.

The event, organised by Regional Pro-Vice-Provost (Africa & Middle East) Professor Ijeoma Uchegbu and the Global Engagement Office, brought together key academics from UCL working on Africa-relevant research with a view to fostering interdisciplinary work.

A series of lectures focused on healthcare, infrastructure and social questions relevant to a number of African countries. Highlights included:

• Deenan Pillay, Director of the Africa Centre for Population Health, presenting his vision to build the world’s leading global human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and tuberculosis research centre
• How healthcare budgets may be prioritised to achieve the best outcomes for their HIV patients, demonstrated by Jolene Skordis-Worrall of the Institute for Global Health
• Using data from the iSense programme, presented by Rachel McKendry of the London Centre for Nanotechnology, to improve disease diagnosis in rural South African communities
• Yacob Mulugetta of the Department of Science, Technology, Engineering and Public Policy (STEaPP) describing innovative methods of bringing energy to households
• Richard Taylor of the Geography department presenting work on improving rural access to water supplies
• Governance issues being highlighted by Michael Walls of the Development Planning Unit, who outlined the electoral challenges facing Somaliland
• Kamna Patel defining the notion of inclusive citizenship; a concept that focuses on the most disadvantaged individuals in any society
• Hélène Neveu Kringelbach giving an insightful presentation on the use of dance as a form of protest
• Details of funding streams available for work in the region from Carlos Huggins of UCL Consultancy.

A panel discussion raised interesting questions on the role of Western institutions in setting and delivering the African research agenda.

Attendees networked during a poster session and photographic exhibition that showcased research projects across the university.

Naomi Britton, Professional and Executive Education Coordinator at UCL STEaPP, said: “I found the event really helpful and enlightening, seeing all the different activities underway in the Africa region. It’s definitely highlighted research in different departments that we could look at partnering with in STEaPP.”