Conversation with African STEM experts on Capacity-building of STEM Professionals in Africa
Location: Online Webinar
Link:
Connection Information: Webinar Number: 2339 139 0403 | Webinar Password: OSAACon_26Oct#23
Date and Time: Thursday, 26 October 2023, from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. New York local time
Additional Materials:
Background and Objectives
If Africa is to compete in the global market and accelerate progress toward the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the African Union’s Agenda 2063, continued professional development must be provided to Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) professionals such as teachers, scientists and engineers.
Recognizing this problem, several capacity-building initiatives and programs have been set up to strengthen the capacities of STEM professionals in Africa, including:
- Centre for Mathematics, Science and Technology Education in Africa (CEMASTEA)
- African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS)
- Next Einstein Forum
- African Women in Science and Engineering
- Tech Hubs and Incubators
- Research Grants and Fellowships
These initiatives have contributed towards strengthening the capacity of STEM professionals in Africa, including through increased investment in STEM education. Despite this progress, the gaps in the capacity building of STEM professionals persist. This calls for African countries to prioritize the capacity building of STEM professionals. An enabling regulatory environment is required to improve the skills training of STEM professionals by linking them with industry. Initiatives that foster regional mobility of STEM professionals training within Africa should be encouraged.
Against this backdrop, OSAA will be organizing a conversation with African experts to:
- Highlight perspectives, approaches, and analyses on the capacity challenges of STEM professionals.
- Examine the efforts undertaken at national and sub-regional levels to build the capacity of STEM professionals.
- Propose measures to build and strengthen the capacity of STEM professionals at national and regional levels.
The outcome of the exchange will be shared across UN platforms, including social media, to mobilize actions and shift perspectives towards African policymaking. The substantive contents of the conversation will also inform the preparation of knowledge products such as policy briefs and op-eds to be prepared by OSAA in 2024.