The Climate Mobility Africa Research Network (CMARN), in partnership with Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), has successfully rolled out the Africa Climate Mobility Academy 2024. The Academy is aimed at guiding early career scholars, who are conducting research on climate, peace and mobility in Africa, towards publishing their manuscripts in reputable journals. The week-long Writeshop, hosted by MMUST from 14th to 19th October, 2024, brought together mentors and mentees from across the globe, including Sweden, Netherlands, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Ghana, Morocco, Egypt, Somalia and Kenya.
While officially opening the event, the Vice Chancellor-Prof. Solomon Shibairo, commended the three lead institutions for organizing such a significant activity. “This Academy serves as a vital platform for advancing research, collaboration and mentorship in the fields of climate change, human security, conflicts and migration. The Writeshop presents a unique opportunity for fellows to immerse themselves in an environment that encourages constructive criticism, peer learning, as well as expert guidance,” said Prof. Shibairo. In addition, the Vice Chancellor applauded the Academy mentors for helping the young researchers to refine their manuscripts, adding that this will move them closer to publication. He added, “This Academy is not only about individual progress, but also about fostering a community of scholars who are passionate about tackling global challenges, particularly in the context of migration and climate change.”
Africa Climate Mobility Academy 2024 mentors and mentees showcase their certificates of participation outside Golf Hotel-Kakamega.
“We are hopeful that with this Academy, we will be able to enhance the visibility of research outputs from the global south, hence addressing the imbalance that currently exists. A large amount of resources is still dominated by the global north, even though there is a lot of research in the south that is not as visible as it should be. There is an urgent need to put our research out there for the world to see, and publishing is certainly the way to go,” stated CIAT’s Dr. Bina Desai in an interview with DCCM. Dr. Desai congratulated the first cohort of mentees for winning the competitive fellowship program, saying that she was very impressed by the variety of topics that were presented during the Writeshop. “There is interesting research going on under the theme of climate change and human mobility, and we are very optimistic that we will get very good papers out of it to publish,” she stated. It is worth noting that Dr. Desai was part of the Academy organizing team and was also playing the role of supporting the mentors throughout the exercise.
CIAT’s Dr. Bina Desai gives a comment during one of the sessions.
The project lead at MMUST and former Chairperson of CMARN, Dr. Nicodemus Nyandiko, reiterated that the purpose of this Academy is to assist young scholars to spruce up their manuscripts in order to be published in high impact journals. “We are eager to see the papers featured in these widely read journals and for them to influence policy and practice with regard to climate change, peace and security in Africa,” remarked Dr. Nyandiko. Further, he thanked the University Management, and the School of Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance (SDMHA) for supporting CMARN activities, since the establishment of the Network in 2021.
On his part, the Dean-SDMHA, Dr. Ferdinand Nabiswa, pointed out that his School, in conjunction with various partners, is actively engaged in efforts to combat climate change and its impacts. “In our endeavor to drive the climate action agenda, we have incorporated a number of programs into our curriculum to contribute to climate change adaptation and sustainable development, as well as conflict resolution and humanitarian assistance,” stated Dr. Nabiswa. Notably, the Dean revealed that SDMHA is keenly interested in becoming a center of excellence in Africa in disaster risk reduction, stating that this move will bring on board more partners and experts to conduct research in the face of climate change.
Dr. Nicodemus Nyandiko gives his remarks at the Academy.
The Chairperson of the local organizing committee for the Academy, Prof. Stanley Omuterema, expressed his delight that the highly-anticipated Writeshop went according to plan. “Climate change and human mobility is a very rich and relevant area in research. As a University that has conducted many studies to understand the ravages of climate change, we are very pleased to host the first-ever Africa Climate Mobility Academy,” commented the Associate Dean-SDMHA. Prof. Omuterema called on academic institutions to share knowledge with the world by publishing, which he said has been a major challenge especially in Africa. The members of the organizing committee at MMUST comprised; the Director of Privately Sponsored Student Programs and Campuses, and the In-Charge University Advancement Office-Prof. Peter Bukhala, Registrar (Planning, Research and Innovation)-Dr. Collins Matemba, Chairperson Department of Disaster Management and Sustainable Development-Dr. Nicodemus Nyandiko, Coordinator Grants Office-Mr. Kaleb Mwendwa and the Grants Accountant, Ms. Winnie Chebii.
CMARN’s Co-Chair, Dr. Oluwatoyin Adejonwo, makes a presentation at the Academy.
Participants at the Africa Climate Mobility Academy 2024 went through manuscript presentations, mentoring, writing and input sessions, as well as mock peer reviews. The Writeshop was indeed a good platform for the selected early career scholars to showcase their projects and gain mentorship from well-established researchers. In the manuscripts, the researchers have developed innovative solutions for climate-induced migration in the global south. The Academy is definitely a great stepping stone for researchers from developing countries to publish their scholarly works in reputable journals, which will in turn increase the visibility of research outputs.
Photos by Shiundu Masafu and Joshua Chiro
