UP celebrates 10 years of Africa Science Leadership Programme (ASLP)

The University of Pretoria's (UP) flagship Africa Science Leadership Programme (ASLP) is set to host a two-day celebration, on 25 and 26 October, of its first decade of empowering researchers as thought leaders

The ASLP is hosted at Future Africa, UP's pan-African platform for collaborative research and brings together 20 outstanding researchers from across Africa, supported by a global facilitation team, to initiate what has since become a widely recognised, life-changing programme.

Launched in 2015 and funded by the Robert Bosch Stiftung, the ASLP helps researchers hone their leadership skills to drive scientific progress across Africa and beyond.

The celebration will coincide with a follow-up workshop for the 2023 cohort of ASLP fellows, who will reflect on their year-long fellowship and the skills gained. It will also bring together a diverse group of guests, alumni and friends of the programme to commemorate this significant milestone.

Over the past decade, 12 researchers from UP have been selected through a rigorous process that evaluates talent from across Africa. These researchers, transformed by their experience, have shared the leadership and research skills gained through the ASLP with their peers and institutions.

Professor Eshchar Mizrachi from UP's Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences was one of the inaugural fellows and now serves as a facilitator for the programme. Another inaugural fellow, Professor Surette van Staden from the Faculty of Education, also represented UP in the first cohort.

The following UP researchers have been selected for the ASLP since its inception:

• 2016: Professor Andre Ganswindt, Director of the Mammal Research Institute, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences
• 2017: Dr Thierry Hoareau, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences
• 2018: Dr Nwabisa Mehlomakulu and Dr Johan Ferreira, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences
• 2019: Professor Roula Inglesi-Lotz, Department of Economics
• 2021: Dr Christopher Marufu, Faculty of Veterinary Science
• 2022: Dr Yvette Hlophe, Faculty of Health Sciences; Dr Daniel William Hart, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences; Dr Jessika Bohlmann, Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences
• 2023: Dr Werner Cordier, Faculty of Health Sciences

The Tuks Young Research Leader Programme (TYRLP), a two-day leadership programme inspired by the ASLP, was launched in 2015. Since then it has trained 20 fellows and expanded leadership skills development at UP. A total of 121 UP researchers have benefited from this initiative.

The success of the ASLP has also inspired spin-off programmes globally, reaching over 600 researchers to date.

The ASLP's next chapter aims to build on this momentum, further positioning Africa as a global leader in scientific research and innovation.

Visit the ASLP website: https://www.aslp.science