It was a great pleasure and an honour to participate in a ground-breaking strategic planning workshop in South Africa, from August 10th-15th 2016, with a dozen of diversely skilled experts to work on the foundation of one-of-a-kind summer school / institute that will be offering courses in inclusive science, engineering, innovation and entrepreneurship from an Africa perspective.
The multidisciplinary task force is constituted of science, innovation and technology scholars and practitioners from prestigious universities such as the MIT, Brown university, Eduardo Mondlane university, university of the Western Cape, university of Cape Town, the Science Policy Research Unit (SPRU) from university of Sussex, Steve Biko Institute as well as Archaeologists, Anthropologists, Sociologists, Award-winning Filmmaker, Entrepreneurs and indigenous knowledge experts from Mozambique, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Nigeria, Togo, Kenya, Uganda, USA and Brazil.
The team work included fieldwork in designated sites such as Makuleke, Venda, Malamulele and Saselamane to observe a variety of trades, craftsmen and craft women and also get the perspective of the younger generation in order to design a Pan-African summer school curriculum fit for the 21st century.
The event was sponsored by the MIT Program in Science, Technology, and Society led by Dr Clapperton Chakanetsa Mavhunga and the Dr.Shadreck Chirikure’s unit at the University of Cape Town.
Our hard work was rewarded the last day in the heart of South Africa’s greatest reserve, Kruger national park, with a safari excursion, enjoying a fantastic game viewing of elephants, buffalo, rhino, antelopes, giraffes, hyenas, etc.
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If you’d like more information and would like to get involved in this ground breaking initiative, please get in touch.