African science is to benefit from a 3.4 million pounds sterling grant by the Leverhulme Trust for the Royal Society, based in UK, to continue its capacity building scheme for Ghana and Tanzania.
The Leverhulme - Royal Society Africa Awards have over the past three years invested 3.3 million pounds sterling in African science, and due to the scheme's success so far, the Trust has agreed to extend funding for another five years.
This was contained in a statement issued in Accra and copied to GNA on Tuesday.
The award scheme launched in October 2008, funds research collaborations between scientists in Ghana, Tanzania and the UK to help develop and maintain excellence in science in both countries and to strengthen the research and training capacity of the African Institutions.
It said “So far 18 grants of up to 150,000 pounds sterling over three years have been awarded to support research and training in both African Countries.”
The statement said the next phase would provide awards of up to 180,000 pounds sterling over three years for bi-lateral collaborations between researchers in the UK and Ghana or Tanzania.
Funding would cover research costs, travel and subsistence as well as procurement and maintenance of equipment.
In said the next phase for funding would also provide one PhD scholarship for each of the award holders in Ghana and Tanzania while the PhD student would be based at the host institution in either country.
Award holders would also be able to involve an additional partner based at another research institution within sub-Saharan Africa.
Applicants for awards are encouraged to apply in five priority areas identified as being relevant for Ghana and Tanzania and indeed for other African nations, these are, agriculture, water and sanitation, basic human health research, biodiversity and energy.
Professor Lorna Casselton, Foreign Secretary of the Royal Society expressed appreciation that the scheme would be able to continue, having made a real difference to how the award holders were able to conduct their research.
“Africa is a place where even small advances in science could have a huge impact on the quality of life for people living there. This scheme provides an opportunity for African Scientists to engage with UK experts to solve local problems”.
Professor Sir Richard Brook, Director of the Leverhulme Trust said "As is evident from the direct and purposeful collaboration between African and British colleagues in the selection of the awardees, this programme has found a splendid basis for shared research endeavor.
"There is every ground for believing that its extension will allow the research teams to advance and disseminate work of the highest quality and relevance."
The first round of applications for the next phase of the scheme would open in October 2012 for 15 awards under the grant and applicants were asked to visit http://royalsociety.org/africaaward/.
The Royal Society is the UK's national academy of science founded in 1660. The Society has three roles as a provider of independent scientific advice, as a learned Society and as a funding agency.**
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