From farming to the stars – reducing inequality through education

Research capacity strengthening is an abstract concept. To understand its transformative power, you need to hear the human stories behind it – such as Saul Phiri’s.

Born in Zambia in a village with no electricity, Saul is now a physics lecturer at the country’s Copperbelt University, carrying out research into the formation of stars. He is one of nine young researchers who gained their PhDs thanks to the Development in Africa with Radio Astronomy (DARA) project, led by the University of Leeds.

Impact

• International collaboration: building research capacity in radio astronomy in eight African countries.

Key information

• Major funders: African Institute for Mathematical Sciences, Development in Africa with Radio Astronomy (DARA), University of Leeds
• Partners and collaborators: International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), Square Kilometre Array (SKA)
  
• Disciplines: engineering, astronomy, technology
• Investigators: Professor Melvin Hoare.

Keywords: research culture, international collaboration, Global Leeds, Kenya, Zambia, Namibia, Botswana, Ghana, Madagascar, Mozambique, Mauritius, Africa, equity, radio astronomy, postgraduate research