17/06/08

African molecular biologists receive European boost

Copyright: USAID / R. Zurba

By: Carol Campbell

We encourage you to republish this article online and in print, it’s free under our creative commons attribution license, but please follow some simple guidelines:

You have to credit our authors.
You have to credit SciDev.Net — where possible include our logo with a link back to the original article.
You can simply run the first few lines of the article and then add: “Read the full article on SciDev.Net” containing a link back to the original article.
If you want to also take images published in this story you will need to confirm with the original source if you're licensed to use them.
The easiest way to get the article on your site is to embed the code below.

For more information view our media page and republishing guidelines.

The full article is available here as HTML.

Press Ctrl-C to copy

<div class="article-wrap">
<div id="article-introduction">
<h1>African molecular biologists receive European boost</h1>
<h4>By: Carol Campbell</h4>
</div>
<br />
<br />

<div id="article-body">
<p><em>Updated [18 June 2008]</em></p>
<p><span>Molecular biologists in Africa will be able to tap into greater resources after South Africa signed a cooperation agreement with the European Molecular Biology Organisation (EMBO).</span></p>
<p><span>The agreement, announced on 5 June, is the first for an African country and follows five years of discussions. </span></p>
<p><span>South Africa will now have access to <span>core EMBO activities and programmes, such as fellowships, courses and workshops.</span></span></p>
<p><span>Iqbal Parker, director of the Cape Town branch of the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, told SciDev.Net that South Africa-based scientists can also apply for grants previously only available to scientists working in EMBO’s 27 European member countries. The closing date for this year’s applications is August.</span></p>
<p><span>Flexible long-term fellowships, most beginning in January 2009, "will allow South Africa-based scientists to apply to work at institutions in other EMBO countries", said Parker, who was a major driver of the agreement.</span></p>
<p><span>"Short-term fellowships will enable masters, doctoral and post-doctoral students to learn new techniques at Europe’s top institutions," he adds.</span></p>
<p><span>Some practical training courses organised locally, but funded by EMBO, have already been run in South Africa in anticipation of this month’s membership approval. Although no other African nation is in the pipeline for membership, the practical training courses in South Africa are open to scientists from across the African continent.</span></p>
<p><span>"For most African scientists, attending training courses in Europe is out of the question because of cost, time and visa administration hassles. Hosting these courses in South Africa encourages more scientists from throughout the continent to participate,” says Tsungai Jongwe, a molecular biology masters student at the University of Cape Town Medical School.</span></p>
<p><span>”And there are many scientists from other African nations studying and working in South Africa, so they will benefit as well," Jongwe, a Zimbabwean, told SciDev.Net. </span></p>
<p><span>Hermann Bujard, executive director of EMBO, says that the agreement includes provision for European scientists to visit South Africa, to give them "insight into the magnitude of problems on the African continent".</span></p>
<p><span>"South African scientists will be empowered to employ the latest scientific advances to benefit their own communities."</span></p>

</div>
<div class="quick-links-wrapper">
<h3>You might also like</h3>
[related-articles]
</div>
<p>This article was originally published on <a href="https://www.scidev.net" target="_blank">SciDev.Net</a>. Read the <a href="https://www.scidev.net/global/news/african-molecular-biologists-receive-european-boos/" target="_blank">original article</a>.</p>
<script type="text/javascript">
(function(e,t,n,r,i,s,o){e["GoogleAnalyticsObject"]=i;e[i]=e[i]||function(){(e[i].q=e[i].q||[]).push(arguments)},e[i].l=1*new Date;s=t.createElement(n),o=t.getElementsByTagName(n)[0];s.async=1;s.src=r;o.parentNode.insertBefore(s,o)})(window,document,"script","//www.google-analytics.com/ga.js","ga");var _gaq=_gaq||[];var _gaq=_gaq||[];_gaq.push(["_setAccount","UA-3223906-8"],["_trackEvent","article interaction","republished","https://www.scidev.net/global/news/african-molecular-biologists-receive-european-boos/",null,true])
</script>
</div>

Updated [18 June 2008]

Molecular biologists in Africa will be able to tap into greater resources after South Africa signed a cooperation agreement with the European Molecular Biology Organisation (EMBO).

The agreement, announced on 5 June, is the first for an African country and follows five years of discussions.

South Africa will now have access to core EMBO activities and programmes, such as fellowships, courses and workshops.

Iqbal Parker, director of the Cape Town branch of the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, told SciDev.Net that South Africa-based scientists can also apply for grants previously only available to scientists working in EMBO’s 27 European member countries. The closing date for this year’s applications is August.

Flexible long-term fellowships, most beginning in January 2009, "will allow South Africa-based scientists to apply to work at institutions in other EMBO countries", said Parker, who was a major driver of the agreement.

"Short-term fellowships will enable masters, doctoral and post-doctoral students to learn new techniques at Europe’s top institutions," he adds.

Some practical training courses organised locally, but funded by EMBO, have already been run in South Africa in anticipation of this month’s membership approval. Although no other African nation is in the pipeline for membership, the practical training courses in South Africa are open to scientists from across the African continent.

"For most African scientists, attending training courses in Europe is out of the question because of cost, time and visa administration hassles. Hosting these courses in South Africa encourages more scientists from throughout the continent to participate,” says Tsungai Jongwe, a molecular biology masters student at the University of Cape Town Medical School.

”And there are many scientists from other African nations studying and working in South Africa, so they will benefit as well," Jongwe, a Zimbabwean, told SciDev.Net.

Hermann Bujard, executive director of EMBO, says that the agreement includes provision for European scientists to visit South Africa, to give them "insight into the magnitude of problems on the African continent".

"South African scientists will be empowered to employ the latest scientific advances to benefit their own communities."