For the first time since 1965, the Nobel Foundation’s symposium activities will leave Scandinavia and come to Africa as part of an initiative that is co-lead by the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study (STIAS).
This is according to Noloyisa Mtembu, spokesperson for the Nobel in Africa initiative, at the pre-launch for the Nobel in Africa Symposium Series on 2 August.
The Nobel in Africa Symposium Series aims to provide leading scientists in Africa with the opportunity to interact with the international community on “their own turf”, according to Prof Edward Kirumira, director of the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study. “This opportunity will give them the confidence to succeed,” said Prof Wim de Villiers, vice-chancellor of Stellenbosch University, who spoke at the Nobel in Africa pre-launch event. PHOTO: Chelsea Burnell
The Nobel in Africa Symposium Series is a four-part initiative that will bring together experts in Africa and the world for discussions and the advancement of research in the areas of physics, chemistry, economic sciences and physiology and medicine, stated Mtembu.
The series is officially set to launch in October 2022 and is a joint initiative by the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study (STIAS), the Nobel Foundation, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, and the Knut & Alice Wallenburg foundation in partnership with Stellenbosch University (SU), she said.
It will provide an opportunity for Africa to be recognised globally as a “place for innovation, a place for science and a place of ideas”, according to Mtembu. “The significance of that recognition means we stop associating Africa with negativity but with the positive contribution the continent makes in the world in all spheres of life.”
A soft launch for the Nobel in Africa Symposium Series was held at the Wallenberg Centre of the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study at the start of August. PHOTO: Chelsea Burnell
This initiative will provide the opportunity for African scientists and their colleagues “to discuss some of the greatest challenges facing the world today” on a global scale, according to Vidar Helgesen, executive director of the Nobel Foundation, in written correspondence with MatieMedia.
Building the next generation
The Nobel in Africa Symposium Series is closed to the public, stated Prof Edward Kirumira, director of STIAS. However, the series will have a public outreach component by providing platforms for public lectures and critical engagements with universities around the Western Cape, he added.
The initiative is aimed at giving hope to university students and academics, while motivating them beyond just learning, stated Kiruira.
“Most of the African universities are currently dealing with the issues of nurturing the younger generation, of keeping scholars on campus and not losing them,” he said.
The series will provide an opportunity to encourage the younger generation of academics by showing that “they too can make a difference by being in their specific environments”, he stated.
The first of four symposia in the Nobel in Africa series will be in Physics and will take place in October 2022, according to Noloyiso Mtembu (pictured above), spokesperson for the Nobel in Africa initiative. The outreach linked to the Physics symposium will be hosted with the department of physics at Stellenbosch University. PHOTO: Chelsea Burnell
‘A unique partnership’
The partnership between SU and STIAS makes the university the first institution outside of Scandinavia to host a Nobel symposium on behalf of the Nobel Foundation.
This is according to Prof Wim de Villiers, vice-chancellor and rector of SU, in his speech at the initiative’s pre-launch event on 2 August.
The university and STIAS have a crucial role to play in the Nobel in Africa initiative, by “encouraging independent and innovative” thinking in Africa, stated De Villiers.
“We believe in the potential of Africa and we believe in what our continent can offer as a leading contributor to the global research unity and as a producer of new, ground-breaking knowledge,” said De Villiers. “[This initiative] speaks to what Stellenbosch University represents.”
Stellenbosch University, the University of Cape Town and the University of the Western Cape are amongst the universities that will be taking part in the Nobel in Africa Symposium Series public outreach program. This is according to Prof Edward Kirumira, director of the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study. Captured above is Kirumira, revealing the Nobel in Africa Symposium Series branding. VIDEO: Chelsea Burnell
Update: This article was updated for factual accuracy.