Leveraging global partnerships to drive African sustainable futures research
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The Sustainability Symposium brought together the 24 Mastercard Foundation WESAF Fellows, their supervisors from both Wits and Edinburgh.
Inside the WESAF Doctoral Program
On the 25th April 2025, the University of Edinburgh and University of Wits co-hosted the 2nd annual WESAF Doctoral Programme Sustainability Symposium and kicked off the 2025 WESAF Sustainability School. The Sustainability Symposium brought together the 24 Mastercard Foundation WESAF Fellows, their supervisors from both Wits and Edinburgh as well as other engaged partners of the programme.
The WESAF Doctoral Programme is designed and delivered to provide research training that allows post graduate students to undertake interdisciplinary doctoral research focused on sustainability challenges across the African continent. This blended learning model started with a Masters research degree which laid the foundations for 24 Mastercard Foundation WESAF Fellows to apply for an online joint PhD offered by the Universities of Edinburgh and Wits.
Through its cohort model and strong focus on advanced research design and methods training, the WESAF programme is developing a dynamic network of African research leaders dedicated to advancing sustainability solutions shaped by Africa’s own priorities. Though largely delivered online, the master's and PhD programmes also incorporate some in-person elements, including Sustainability schools — intensive sessions to deepen expertise in sustainability research — held in both Scotland and South Africa, as well as contact sessions in Edinburgh and workplace internships.
At the Symposium, the Mastercard Foundation WESAF Fellows were addressed by Prof Christina Boswell, Vice Principal for Research and Enterprise at the University of Edinburgh, Ivy Mwai, Acting Director Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program, and Prof Ruksana Osman, Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor & WESAF Co-Chair, University of Wits, who encouraged the Symposium audience and the Mastercard Foundation WESAF Fellows to consider the transformative impact such a programme could make.
“Early indicators suggest promising success and impactful outcomes, with tangible progress already evident. The programme has a well-established architecture geared to scalability. The programme design, ethos and vision seamlessly align with so many of the aspirations that the continent has for itself and for the world. We are seeing more and more research reporting on the multiplier effect that PhD training has on the individuals themselves, on the research productivity of nations and countries and of course on country development and innovation. They [PhD programmes] have also changed employment patterns certainly in Africa and south Africa.” Prof Ruksana Osman, Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor & WESAF Co-Chair, University of Wits.
Already the impact on the Mastercard Foundation WESAF Fellows is being felt, both at an individual and an institutional level.
“I think I can speak for all Mastercard Foundation WESAF Fellows when I say that the program has really been transformative for all of us. Firstly, at an individual level, so personally, professionally, academically. But also, we're beginning to see some change at an institutional level as well.... it is stressed to us over and over again about the importance of interdisciplinarity. That focus has pushed a lot of us who typically work in siloed disciplines to consider new perspectives, new approaches. And that mindset shift has a positive ripple effect - it changes not only our own research, but also how we teach, how we mentor other students, and how we approach a whole range of institutional practices.” Amy Mutua, Mastercard Foundation WESAF Fellow, University of Wits.
On taking part in the Sustainability School, Fellow Evariste Nsabimana, an Assistant Lecturer at the College of Medicine and Health Sciences at the University of Rwanda, remarked: “Well, this is the most enjoyable programme ever! Sustainability schools like this have life-changing for me as an early career researcher and academic, because they are designed in such a way that allows both interdisciplinary collaboration and creates valuable networks for career growth.”
Fellow sustainability school participant, Brendah Jeptoo Kemboi, currently teaching in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Moi University in Kenya, commented on the wider benefits of the program: “The program has been a game changer to me. It has offered both mentorship and also social, networking and professional development opportunities, like the sustainability school, something that would otherwise not be possible in other programs, as well as the flexibility of studying online.”
Another core benefit of working collaboratively between the organisations taking part in WESAF is the development of practices in the faculties and universities at which the Mastercard Foundation WESAF Fellows are based, by broadening their access to different ways of working, research practices and modes of critical thinking, in an exchange and enhancement of working practice at local levels.
Evariste added: “My home institution has already started to harvest the fruits of this partnership and the research skills that I have learnt from taking part. So far, I have advocated for the creation of a research centre for undergraduate medical students, and I am looking forward to supporting this move forward at home in Kigali with the university”.
The WESAF Doctoral Programme will continue to build on the key themes of collaboration and transformative research impact raised in the Symposium through further engagement and partnerships between all those connected via the WESAF Network.
For more information on the WESAF Doctoral Programme please visit /wesaf/about-wesaf/ or https://www.linkedin.com/company/wits-edinburgh-sustainable-african-futures-wesaf-doctoral-programme/posts/?feedView=all