Call for Applications: Third U.S.-Africa Frontiers Symposium

The U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine is pleased to announce the 3rd U.S.-Africa Frontiers of Science, Engineering and Medicine Symposium in partnership with and hosted by the Republic of Rwanda. The upcoming meeting will be held on 18-20 February 2025 in Kigali, Rwanda. The application is now open for scientists, engineers and medical professionals from the United States and African Union member countries to submit their application online before the deadline of 7 July 2024, 11:59 PM ET (Washington D.C. time).

This programme brings together outstanding early/mid-career scientists, engineers and medical professionals (within 15 years of most recent degree), from the United States and the member countries of the African Union for a series of symposia to discuss exciting advances and opportunities in their fields. The goal of these meetings is to enhance scientific exchange and dialogue among early-to-middle career researchers in African countries and the United States, including the African science diaspora and through this interaction facilitate research collaboration within and beyond the region. Another unique aspect of the Frontiers events is the pluri-disciplinarity of the participants’ backgrounds and research interests.

One of the main objectives of this Frontiers symposium is to advance our understanding of cutting-edge S&T trends in the U.S. and Africa and to foster dialogue and collaborations across disciplines. The upcoming symposium will address the following topics:

• Session I: New Solutions for Decarbonization
• Session II: Biotechnology
• Session III: Precision Agriculture
• Session IV: Advances in Space Research
• Session V: Smart and Connected Cities

We encourage early-career scientists, engineers and medical professionals working on related research to apply to this multidisciplinary meeting, as long as they fulfill the eligibility criteria. Each general participant will also have the opportunity to present their research during poster sessions. Travel of selected participants will be covered. More details on the symposium, organization and programme can be found on the symposium webpage.

Please submit your application online here by 11:59 PM ET on 7 July 2024. For more information on the U.S.-Africa Frontiers Programme, please visit the programme website. Please email USAfricaSTEM@nas.edu with any questions.

About the Programme

Based on the success of NAS's Kavli Frontiers of Science Programme and NAE's Frontiers of Engineering, the U.S.-Africa Frontiers of Science, Engineering and Medicine programme will initiate a series of symposia to bring together early-career scientists from the United States and African Union member countries to discuss exciting advances and opportunities in their fields.

Drawing from the scientific, engineering and medical resources in Africa, each symposium will be designed to discuss cutting-edge research but also research in areas of critical importance to the region, that will help build capacities in participating African countries.

This symposium is supported by the Republic of Rwanda, the Rutter Foundation and Pennsylvania State University.

This article was originally published on the NASEM website here.