Can the Obama Administration Help Push Scientific Research in Africa Forward?
As the US is currently in going through inauguration fever, it seems an appropriate time to talk about the potential effect the Obama administration may have on science in Africa. This topic may not be at the forefront of the policy agenda, but that doesn’t mean some people aren’t thinking about it.
Calestous Juma, who I last wrote about back in May, recently spoke at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C. about the positive impact Obama could have on science in the developing world. [HT ScienceInsider]
With [Obama] promising to devote more resources to developing “green” energy projects and rebuilding infrastructure, Juma says the nation’s focus will be more in line with that of most African countries…
Also, Juma says, Obama’s new science team…are all internationally minded and will “think globally.”
Asserting that S&T assistance to the developing world should be measured more in terms of skills imparted rather than dollars spent, Juma says African countries need to do their part by making key structural changes to put more emphasis on research: for example, by bolstering research at universities (most African schools focus entirely on teaching); by encouraging technologically advanced higher education that would keep more talented Africans in their home countries instead of losing them to developed countries; and by creating new colleges with specific focus on technologies of direct importance to their regions, such as telecommunications, agriculture, and mining.
“We need to look for areas of policy convergence,” Juma says, “in which the goals of developed countries are more parallel to those of developing countries.”
