My Beauty Best Teacher

The BBC reports on Calestous Juma's new book New Harvest,where he contends:

that there is great scope to expand crops traditionally grown in Africa, such as millet, sorghum, cassava or yams.He sees areas where farmers will need to adapt to tackle a changing climate - cereal farmers may switch into livestock, he says, while others may chose more radical options."Tree crops like breadfruit, which is from the Pacific, could be introduced in Africa because trees are more resistant to climate change."...[continue reading]

Calestous Juma writes in Nature's "Where is Science in the Developing World" publication:

The key to economic prosperity is turning innovation into profits. A growing number of countries in the developing world are showing how this can be done. Their societies are benefiting as a result...

The aim of this new species of university should be to produce entrepreneurial graduates who are likely to generate jobs in their communities while adding to the growth of the economy. This would be a departure from the present system, which focuses on providing technical skills to people who fill jobs rather than create them. All this will require those who regulate higher education to be proactive and flexible...[continue reading]

At the African Executive Josephat Juma writes:

Kenya’s Grand regency hotel privatization saga... saw the hotel change hands at a paltry K Shs 2.9 billion instead of K Shs 7 billion in circumstances shrouded with secrecy, contradiction and high handedness.
These set of events that violated prescribed legal procedures and laws governing the disposal of public assets perhaps explains why Namibia’s labour movement has opposed the privatization of parastatals....privatization has meant the political elites selling off public assets for their own benefit. It is a vehicle-not to serve but rather to fleece the people...[continue reading]

Knowledge Transfer Partnerships quotes Calestous Juma who stated that:

What Africa needs is to invest in scientific and entrepreneurial capacity to harness the knowledge and put it to commercial use,"

-Demand led - Knowledge pulled, not pushed
-Engaging and developing top quality human
capital
-Teamwork – using collaborative modalities
-Programmes that provide business solutions

Michelle Martin reports:

One of the main challenges facing the continent is the lack of research inside African universities, which have traditionally concentrated on education. Many governments also remain unconvinced of the importance of scientific innovation in creating economic growth.

Forty years ago, many Asian countries were in a similar situation...We have to look to places like Taiwan and India and forge a new model where African universities give birth to businesses, and businesses create their own universities.

Calestous Juma makes a case for strenghthening engineering education he
"...argues for more engineering academies to engage young engineers and practitioners and generate innovative solutions to sustainable development. Africa has 12 national science academies, as well as a continental one, but only one engineering academy,Nationmedia.
via Scidev and TheGuardian


photo courtesy of the Guardian