Spearheading education, research and innovation excellence between Africa and Oxford

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AfOx scholars from the 2023 cohort engaged in a plenary session during a Leadership and Impact retreat.
Supporting the next generation of leaders through education

Patricia Mativo an example of AfOx's impact, graduated with First-Class Honors in Analytical Chemistry from the Multimedia University of Kenya. Her journey, marked by leadership roles and a passion for climate justice, exemplifies the transformative power of education. Mativo's pursuit of a master's degree at Oriel College, Oxford, through the Mastercard Foundation Scholarship at the University of Oxford underscores the initiative's commitment to empowering African scholars. Through successful external fundraising and partnerships with Colleges and Departments, AfOx aims to support over 400 African Graduate in Oxford by 2030.

Mativo is passionate about linking climate change to persons with disabilities and women, and her master's dissertation focuses on the disability lens in climate change mitigation. Persons with disabilities-estimated 1 billion, or one in six people-as the world's largest minority, are often ignored in climate change discussions and solutions, and she aims to contribute to inclusive solutions with her research and advocacy. Mativo holds ambitions to work with the United Nations (UN) and make an impact on people's lives in Africa. Under the Ubuntu transitions program, AfOx is linking African graduates in Oxford with corporate, non-profit and government partners for employment opportunities. To date, over 65% of AfOx scholars have taken part in the Ubuntu program through existing partnerships with over 20 employers across the continent. AfOx aims to expand the program to cover all African graduates at Oxford in the coming years.

But why the strategic focus on Africa? The African continent, home to over 1 billion people, is experiencing rapid growth. With 11 of the world's 20 fastest-growing economies, Africa is poised to play a pivotal role in shaping global futures. By the end of the century, the continent will be home to a majority of the world's student-age population and 70% of the global workforce. Investing in Africa's human capital is essential to meeting its core needs and improving livelihoods both in the continent and globally.

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Patricia Mativo, one of the AfOx Mastercard Foundation Scholarship recipients at Oriel College, University of Oxford.
Using research to fast-track progress towards Sustainable Development Goals

AfOx research programs are at the forefront of addressing pressing global challenges, such as climate change, food insecurity, and infectious diseases. By fostering collaboration between researchers in African institutions and colleagues in Oxford, AfOx is driving equitable progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals.

Dr. Tolulope Osayomi, a Senior Lecturer at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, and AfOx-TORCH Visiting Fellow at New College, Oxford highlights the initiative's impact: "It was amazing to see how different disciplines came together to highlight Africa's resilience in the face of the COVID-19 health crisis.”

Dr. Osayomi is one of the over 93 Visiting Fellows from 120 African institutions across fields such as astrophysics, conservation, economics, humanities, law, marine science, and mathematics that are making a global impact.

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Translating ideas to real-world solutions through innovation

AfOx's commitment to innovation extends beyond research. The AfOx Health Innovation Platform (AfOx-HIP) now has 80 African innovators across 16 African countries.

The AfOx entrepreneurs access entrepreneurship skills to start or scale existing ventures. In a recent Health Innovation Platform boot camp, the AfOx entrepreneurs appreciated the rich knowledge shared by academics, science entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and angel investors. Key skills around critical thinking and analysis, innovating in resource-constrained regions, and negotiating and pitching to investors were covered.

Prof Rose Hayeshi, Director, DSI/NWU Preclinical Drug Development Platform, North-West University, South Africa and Innovation Fellow in 2022, shared her experience: “I have just come out of my first-ever pitch to investors. One and a half years ago I had never heard of a pitch deck and I had no idea what it meant to pitch to investors or venture capitalists. [After this boot camp] I see the growth that I have had by being part of the Health Innovation Platform.”

Curated specifically for the African context, this innovation platform has been developed in partnership with various departments and colleges at the University of Oxford. The ultimate ambition is to build it into a model and expand it across life science projects that, sustainably address several African development challenges beyond health.

In just 8 years, the AfOx Initiative has become an outstanding platform for facilitating equitable and sustainable partnerships between Oxford and African institutions. AfOx has built a network of over 3,000 active members in 120 institutions across 32 countries in Africa. Recognising this feat, AfOx was awarded the 2024 Vice-Chancellor's Awards for facilitating effective and equitable research collaborations and significantly increasing opportunities for African graduate students at Oxford.

AfOx envisions and is working towards expanding its network in its mission to develop equitable and extensive collaborations between Oxford and universities and research institutions across Africa. To know more about how you can support the AfOx initiative, please email afox@ndm.ox.ac.uk

 

About Africa Oxford Initiative (AfOx)

The Africa Oxford Initiative (AfOx) is a cross-university platform for academic and research collaborations between the University of Oxford and African researchers and institutions. The Initiative supports the work of universities and research institutions across Africa and facilitates the development. AfOx gratefully acknowledges the financial support of our donors and partners whose generosity continues to facilitate our work.