ACTIVITIES

1. Training
2. Staff Exchange
3. Conference Grants
4. African Journal Science and Technology
5. Inter - University Cooperation
6. Information Desimination
7. Preparation of learning material

Training:

In any particular year about ten(10) network supported students graduate with MSc. or PhD in various fields of basic and engineering science. Over the years, the young graduates trained by ANSTI have joined staff of their own or other universities. Nearly fifty per cent of ANSTI institutions now have at least a member of staff trained by the network. In addition ANSTI institutions can boast of technicians who have attended one of the training workshops where 30-50 of them are trained each year.
more on training

Staff Exchange:

ANSTI strengthens individual staff in member institutions. ANSTI has facilitated travel of over 80 senior African academics to visit other institutions where they have carried out research which had enriched their experience. The beneficiaries of the visiting staff programme have returned to their home institutions with increased knowledge and new perspectives in their area of study.
staff exchange request form

Conference Grants:

Furthermore, through the network’s conference grants, some staff of ANSTI institutions have attended meetings where they have exchanged ideas and experiences that may have strengthened their capacity to do research.

African Journal of Science and Technology:

Members have also used the network’s African Journal of Science and Technology (AJST) to disseminate their research results and promote discussions of the work.
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Inter-university Cooperation:

ANSTI enhances Inter-university Cooperation. Through ANSTI, some faculties/schools of science and engineering in African universities have established contacts where there was none before. These contacts have yielded savings in the cost of student training, staff recruitment and assessment by external examiners. For instance, more institutions are now using external examiners from neighboring African institutions rather than from traditional sources in Europe and North America. More African professors are spending their sabbatical leave in the region.

Information Dissemination:

The network disseminates information on S&T activities to Ninety one (91) faculties of science/engineering in thirty three (33) countries. ANSTI contributes to the identification of S&T issues One of the important activities of any capacity building is the identification of strategic issues involved in science and technology education. ANSTI, through the meetings of deans and other expert group meetings has in the past identified several issues that affect science and technology education in Africa. Some of these findings are published in occasional reports which are circulated to the deans of member institutions. The most recent ones include Strategic Issues in Engineering Education in Africa (1996) and Quality Assurance and Relevance of Engineering Education in Africa (1998). ANSTI Builds Human Resource Capacity for Production of Learning/Teaching Materials Human resource capacity building in science and technology in Africa is constrained by many factors: one of them is the non-availability of teaching materials.

Preparation of Learning Materials:

ANSTI has contributed to the alleviation of the latter by developing the capacity for preparation of learning materials. The network has provided training and experience to staff of member of ANSTI institutions in the preparation of learning materials in basic and engineering sciences. Through this experience several textbooks have now been produced and have been distributed to member institutions at very low prices. The books cover Mathematics, Physics, Biology and all first year courses in the three older and more common disciplines of engineering (i.e. Civil, Electrical and Mechanical Engineering).

see publications