Welcome to the Irish-African Partnership
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Welcome to the Irish-African Partnership for Research Capacity Building (IAP for short). This is a three year pilot project (2008-2010) to bring together all nine universities on the island of Ireland and universities in Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania and Uganda in a unique, high-level partnership to develop a coordinated approach to research capacity building in order to make an effective contribution to the reduction of poverty. The IAP was developed under the auspices of Universities Ireland, which also provides some match funding. |
The Malawian Minister for Education, Science and Technology, Dr George Chaponda, the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Malawi, Dr Emmanuel Fabiano and the Irish Ambassador to Malawi, Mr Liam MacGabhann, with participants at the fourth IAP Workshop and Summer School in Zomba, Malawi, March 2010. |
The IAP is largely funded by the Irish Government’s development cooperation programme, Irish Aid.
The IAP’s work is based around five workshops in Dublin, Entebbe, Maputo, Zomba and Belfast. The most recent workshop took place in Zomba, Malawi on 22-25 March 2010.
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IAP Key Elements Other key elements are a ‘foresight’ exercise to identify the main health and education priorities in Africa over the next 10 years; and an unprecedented stakeholder consultation to assess existing research capacity and constraints to future research capacity in the 13 participating universities. A set of quantitative and qualitative metrics will also be developed. Perhaps the most ambitious feature of the IAP is the proposed digital repository and research register. This aims to provide a prototype online platform for African and Irish researchers working together in future, and thus a highly distinctive showcase for African researchers to ‘show their wares’ to Ireland and the world. |
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Chancellor College Summer School The fourth IAP workshop and summer school took place in Chancellor College (a college of the University of Malawi) in Zomba on 22-25 March 2010. According to the evaluation feedback at the end of the attached Proceedings Report, this was the most successful workshop to date. The summer school focused on research training, with sessions (jointly facilitated by senior Irish and African academics, university finance directors, librarians and research office directors) on research bid writing, research funding, research training, research management, research infrastructure and ICT support, and human resources. The summer school was opened by the Malawian Minister for Education, Science and Technology, Dr George Chaponda, the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Malawi, Dr Emmanuel Fabiano, and the Irish Ambassador to Malawi, Mr Liam MacGabhann. |
Margaret Ngwira lecturing during the Zomba Summer School |
