Nelson Mandela African Institute of Science and Technology

Yesterday we spent a great day the Nelson Mandela African Institute of Science and Technology (NM-AIST) just outside of Arusha, Tanzania. There are four AIST institutes throughout Africa; one in Burkina Faso, one in Nigeria, one in South Africa and one in Tanzania. Each has a different focus; water in Burkina Faso, oil in Nigeria, mathematics in South Africa and life sciences at NM-AIST.

AIST is named for Nelson Mandela because the institutions were originally his “brainchild”, as the literature on the history of NM-AIST says. It is a school for masters, PhD and post-doc studies and will be welcoming its first 100 or so students this September. It's a very young institution and its facilities were pretty well just completed!

Professor Burton Mwamila, Vice Chancellor of NM-AIST, welcomed us graciously and took us to the conference room where we spent most of the morning. First Prof Mwamila gave a presentation on NM-AIST including its focus, vision and mission, plan for infrastructure and philosophy. I was very impressed by the focus on two main goals: to become a world-class institution in life sciences and to bridge the gap between academia and society.

Next the Dean of the School of Life Sciences and Bioengineering gave a presentation on the academic structure of the school and the programs they plan to offer. In addition to programs in life sciences and bioengineering, the Institute will also offer courses in mathematics, business and humanities.

Another professor spoke about the research he is currently conducting on inoculation of legumes with rhizobium. Though technical, the project was understandable and fascinating! By improving the productivity of legume crops, the professor highlighted how child nutrition and livelihoods could be improved. This was a true demonstration of the focus on bridging science and society.

Finally another professor spoke about future plans in the area of health and biomedical sciences. I was impressed to see that his presentation was very aligned with the one my dad was about to give in terms of identifying grand challenges in health! I was especially interested in a project he is working on in the genetics of hypertension in Masai populations.

Prof Mwamila showing the view from the main building

We were toured around the campus and then continued with a discussion on the funding opportunities that had been spoken about. Another very receptive group of researchers made for an interesting discussion of how some of the projects the professors are currently working on could be supported.

This is exactly what Africa needs. I really hope that NM-AIST can achieve the success that its faculty and administration are striving for. This is where technical innovations are born; and this is where they can be best suited to address on-the-ground problems. As Nelson Mandela said, “Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world”.