The Tuks Young Research Leader Programme completes a successful fifth round

The fifth round of the Tuks Young Research Leader Programme successfully completed a fifth round on 14 and 15 October. The workshop took place, for the first time, at the new Future Africa Institute. 

Prof Tawana Kupe opened the workshop by inspiring the group on the potential of Africa as a global science game-changer. Ms Thembiso Magajana spurred energetic discussions within the group as a provocateur on day one of the workshop. Ms Magajana shared 5 leadership hacks with the group, which she compiled during her journey training children with computer skills in under-developed areas of South Africa. Later on day one, provocateur Prof Tinyiko Maluleke shared his 10 commandments of being a successful scholar with the group. 

An exciting element of this round was that the 2019 TYRLP Fellows shared the experience of the workshop with the Early Career Research Leader Fellows (ECRLF). The ECRLF is also an initiative of Future Africa, funded by Carnegie Corporation of New York and consists of 15 excellent researchers from 7 African countries. The intention was to create the opportunity for a rich exchange of ideas that transcend institutions, research fields and countries on the African continent. Two additional researchers from the University of the Free State and North West University participated in the TYRLP workshop with the intention of expanding the leadership network at their institutions. 

The training covered elements of collective leadership, creative and systems thinking, networking and effective problem solving amongst others. Participants developed their initiatives around the Future Africa research themes:

• Future Education – empowering people through access to transformative education opportunities for the 21st century and beyond
• Equity in a Global Africa – creating and navigating pathways to a just world through research-led policy, governance and social innovation
• From African Soil – realising diversity, justice and technology to transform African production systems for equitable and sustainable opportunities
• Health People and Place – unlocking novel capacities to ensure the right to health and wellbeing by addressing the priority challenges for all people in Africa
• Connected Africa – connecting the people of Africa through shared diverse histories, knowledge systems and cultures to shape opportunities offered by technology for new ways of living and communicating

In total, over 110 researchers have been trained through the Tuks Young Research Leader Programme since it's inception in 2015.