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11 December 2015 – Plenary Session
Doctoral Scheme – Reaching out beyond EuropeTestimonial of an untypical curriculum – Research in West-Africa
Luc Siebenaller – NGO “Le Soleil dans la Main”
Synergies to fuel Researchers’ CareersLuxembourg, 10 – 11 December 2015
organised by
Research activities (Geology)
*) 2002-2004: Master (Nancy, France)
*) 2005-2008: PhD – Geology of Naxos Island, Greece (Nancy, France)
*) 2008-2010: Post-doc – North-American Cordillera, USA/Canada (FNS grant, University of Lausanne, Switzerland)
*) 2011-2013: Post-Doc – West-African Exploration Initiative (WAXI), (FNR-AFR grant, Institute for Research and Development (IRD), Toulouse, France).
*) 2013-2014: Continuity post-doc IRD @ 50%
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1. Curriculum2 parallel projects merged after 12 years
Personal project (NGO)
*) 2002: Co-founder of non profit organisation “Le Soleil dans la Main” – Sustainable development projects in rural regions in Burkina Faso
*) 2005-2012: President of organisation
2009: Milestones: “Prix mérite Jeunesse” award and approval as an NGO.
*) 2013-2014: 50% Project coordinator
Since 09/2014: Executive director NGO & Capacity building theme manager (WAXI – research project)
www.waxi2.org www.asdm.lu
Research activities (Geology)
General skills:
- Different projects multi-disciplinary
- Project Planning & Management- Student Coaching – 10 PhD students- Large network through WAXI-project
(industry, governments from West-Africa, universities, research institutions, etc)
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1. CurriculumSkills development
Personal project (NGO)
General skills:
- Knowledge of West-Africa- Complex and difficult context management- Project Planning & Management- Administration and Finance- Team management (>30 employees)- Networking with other NGO’s
Fieldwork in West Africa
Coaching of 10 PhD Students (mostly Africans)
Research project designing
Administration, project and team management of NGO
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1. CurriculumTime-consuming activities
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1. CurriculumIssues for co-funding
Needed extra-time to develop my careerConsequence: only 8 peer reviewed publications between 2007-2014
however 16 peer reviewed publications in 2015 Achieved excellence in a particular context: combining research and
training activities with sustainable developmentPublication in another field : “New models in Geoscience higher education in West-Africa” (submitted)
Statement 1: Co-funding difficult to obtain if eligibility criterions are mostly based on the number of peer reviewed publications
*) A network of 60 African & International Organizations.
*) Bilingual English-French public-private consortium
*) Coordinated by AMIRA International
*) Focus on the Tectonics & Mineral Resources of West Africa and capacity building via courses and scholarships
*) First Stage ran 2006-2007.
*) Second Stage ran March 2010 until May 2013
*) Third stage September 2014 until August 2018
Provides a powerful networking forum that includes major stakeholders in West Africa:
• Industry
• Geological Surveys and Ministries of Mines
• Universities and other institutions
• Aid agencies6
2. WAXI project Introduction
10 years of experience7M US$
7
Liberia Mali
Senegal TogoGhana
Niger Burkina FasoGuinea
Sierra Leone
11 Sponsors in kind (Geological Surveys)
36 Sponsors
22 Research and Capacity Building
Partners
Project Broker & Coordinator
Mauritania
Côte d’Ivoire
*) A network of 60 African & International Organizations.
*) Bilingual English-French public-private consortium
*) Coordinated by AMIRA International
*) Focus on the Tectonics & Mineral Resources of West Africa and capacity building via courses and scholarships
*) First Stage ran 2006-2007.
*) Second Stage ran March 2010 until May 2013
*) Third stage September 2014 until August 2018
Provides a powerful networking forum that includes major stakeholders in West Africa:
• Industry
• Geological Surveys and Ministries of Mines
• Universities and other institutions
• Aid agencies8
2. WAXI project Introduction
10 years of experience7M US$
9
2. WAXI project Capacity Building – Issues
Australian Listed Companies Universities teaching Geology
Crucial need of qualified exploration and mining geologists + technical staff
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2. WAXI project Capacity Building - Issues
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2. WAXI projectCapacity Building – Issues
1960
Today
1960 1967 1974 1981 1988 1995 2002 2009 2016
Independence African Mining Vision
Post-independance International Scholarships
Focus on Primary and Secondary Education
Focus on Ministry Organisations
Return to Higher Education by WB, AfDB
17% 7%
Cold War Ends
WB Expenditure
Important gap in higher educationsupport programs (including PhD bursaries)
WAXI training
Gap in geoscience higher education and research over time
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1. WAXI projectCapacity Building - Issues
Observation:
Senior lecturers and researchers (50 – 65 years old) Going to be retired in the next 10-15 years
Age
dist
ributi
on in
WA
Uni
vers
ities 65
6055504540353025
Important lack of senior lecturers and researchers (aged 35 – 50) Consequence = not enough senior lecturers/researchers to cover all fields in geoscience for teaching and research managment
Junior lecturers/assistants and researchers (aged 25 – 35)including PhD students Who will assume transfer of knowledge ? Senior lecturers are opressed by managing tousands of students
20-25: thousands of students
Obtain geoscience Bachelor and MSc diplomas to find a job in exploration & mining sector
How to ensure quality of training and Curriculum development facing a continous lack of human resources?
Challenge
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2. WAXI projectCapacity Building: What has been done so far
Student Scholarships and Research Support: 2010-2013: 31 graduate research projects, 52% African 2015: 16 new PhD/MSc projects for African students started
MScPhDPDF
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2. WAXI projectCapacity Building: What has been done so far
17 laboratory and field training courses for 281 participants with 90% African participants over a total period of 80 days were organized
Research & Technical Training Courses – Research & Resource Management courses
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2. WAXI projectSynergies between research funding (COFUND) & Development aid ?
Poverty / unemployment / climate change: African migration map
Statement 2: In times of political instabilities, threat of radicalisation/terrorism, war, climate change and inferred population migration, Europe needs to act now. A global holistic approach including social aspects where research funds such as COFUND could create synergies with sustainable development funds (national cooperation agencies, international aid agencies and NGO’s) could create new opportunities for African and other third countries to develop their academic institutions to a level of international excellency.
This would be especially helpful for domains like geology, agriculture, resource management, ICT, medicine and sustainable energies where there is a real demand and corresponding labour market to be developed.
We need to find ways to stop the brain outflow from development countries and create a suitable environment for a critical mass of researchers. The more we fuel only our research, the bigger the gap will become.
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Thank you for your attention !
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2. WAXI projectMore Capacity building – coherence with needs
Setup of pilot project for student bursaries: field laboratories
1
2
2
3
33
3
44
- Steering committee & advocacy work- Contract: 5 years of teaching @ Uni- Internat. & Intra-african collaborations
1. Pilot project Burkina Faso: 2016 (Need funding: WAXI, ASDM & ?)2. Extension of pilot project (Ghana & Ivory Coast): late 2016 need funding)3. New CB project based on project 1 & 2 (Senegal, Mali, Guinea, IC): 2017 need funding)4. New CB project based on project 1 & 2 (Niger, Togo?, BF): 2017 need funding)