‘Reach and Teach Science in Africa’: Strengthening Agricultural Research Capacity to Tackle Food Insecurity in Africa
In April 2019, early-career researchers from the Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge organised a large-scale scientific training workshop in collaboration with the Laboratory of Genetics, Horticulture and Seed Science (GBioS) at the University of Abomey-Calavi in Benin Republic.
The Idea
Sometimes it's hard to know what you don't have until you've experienced it. What does a building you've never been in look like? How do you know what you're missing in a lecture? When Carol Ibe moved from Nigeria to the United States for her biology masters, she encountered a completely different academic environment from her undergraduate degree that facilitated a changed in her career trajectory. She found greater access to lab infrastructure that is required for modern bioscience. Relevant and up-to-date reading materials and textbooks were readily available, and there was a focus on driving young scientists to ask key questions to shape their own research. This experience stayed with Carol and added to the changes she sought to develop in emerging African bioscience. One such example is the Molecular Biology Training & Open Labware Building Workshop, which took place at the University of Abomey-Calavi, Benin Republic from 1st-5th April 2019.
The Molecular Biology & Open Labware Training Workshop is part of the ‘Reach & Teach Science in Africa’ capacity building project developed to reach, teach and provide relevant academic resources to 1,000 Africa-based agricultural researchers by 2029. The workshop held in Benin Republic was the first of many. It was designed to provide core bio-scientific knowledge and laboratory skills to Africa-based agricultural researchers who would lead their own future research agenda.
The Team
Carol N. Ibe,
PhD student, Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge, UK
Jen McGaley,
PhD student, Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge, UK
Emily Servante,
PhD student, Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge, UK
Conor Simpsons,
PhD student, Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge, UK
Dr Trisna Tungadi,
Postdoctoral Research Associate, Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge, UK
Dr Leonie Luginbuehl,
Postdoctoral Research Associate, Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge, UK
Dr Noor Agip,
Postdoctoral Research Associate, MRC, University of Cambridge, UK
