Africalab
April 8th, 2008 by Steve BowbrickNext in this sequence of great factual programmes is the second half-hour from Hugh Levinson's really interesting and surprising two-parter about science in Africa. Not, as I might have expected, a hopeless story: in fact quite the reverse (MP3).
February 8th, 2010 at 10:11 pm
[...] Hugh Levinson’s Africalab for BBC4 Radio provides an in-depth look at science and technology in Africa. The report details “whether science and technology can provide the key to ending under-development in Africa.” In the first episode, meeting with scientists in Nigeria, he discovered that even those who desire to use their training to deal with issues specific to Africa have difficulty finding the necessary funding and supplies. The brain drain remains a serious problem for the scientific community; the more educated a scientist, the more likely to leave for work in the US, UK, and other parts of the West. New techniques – transfer fees and brain circulation – provide the possibility of creating a better environment for high-level science in Africa. It is yet unknown how helpful these will be in stemming the drain. Government investment in science and technology and the opening of more research centers in Africa will provide yet more opportunities for scientists to do their work while remaining in Africa.The second episode delves into what type of research Africa’s scientists should conduct. Given the enormity of problems facing Africa, must scientists use their knowledge solely for practical research or is all science, applied and pure, necessary on the continent? While the views expressed on the show differ on this topic, Levinson shows the wide variety of scientific research currently being conducted across the continent, from the space program in Nigeria to agricultural science to the competition to host the Square Kilometer Array (SKA), a telescope project, in South Africa. Although the piece is 30 minutes long, it is well worth a listen. [...]