The Season 7 finale features a compelling roundtable with young academics, Chebet Koske and Dorcas Mwigereri, discussing the realities of navigating the African academy. They tackle challenges like limited resources, mentorship gaps, and sidelined youth voices, while emphasising the need for intergenerational collaboration and peer support.

Our guests share strategies for young people to confidently step into leadership roles and also highlight the critical need for platforms that amplify young voices and center (rather than tokenise) Africa’s youth in shaping the future. Chebet and Caroline close the discussion by sharing their ambitions, advice for older generations, and words to their younger selves.

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How are youth shaping and influencing the African research ecosystem and its future? As the youngest generation in the field, they bring with them a unique perspective, and technological implications as digital natives along with their desires and motivations. 

Dr. Moses Ngware, Head of Education and Youth Empowerment research at the African Population and Health Research Center, discusses how to harness the power of youth in informal knowledge generation and the pressing need to make research less elitist to support young talent development. This episode also explores succession planning and the role of universities as pathways for upward mobility in African contexts where other economic opportunities face significant barriers. Dr. Moses highlights the importance of creating a welcoming and accessible research ecosystem for the next generation of Africa’s researchers and innovators. Dr. Moses highlights the importance of creating a welcoming and accessible research ecosystem for the next generation of Africa’s researchers and innovators.

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If the African academy is broken, how can it be reimagined?

In this bonus episode with Prof. Wandia Njoya, we pick up our conversation on how to build alternative systems that encourage intellectual freedom and critical thinking. We examine the unique history of the university system in Kenya, alongside broader challenges across Africa, exploring the tension between government control and the public's need for universities as engines of social mobility.

The conversation also touches on popular GenZ-led protests and the politicisation of universities amidst the depoliticisation of students.

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Can we reimagine education and create alternatives, or is the African university under siege? With Prof. Wandia Njoya, an Associate Professor of Literature who loves to stretch academic boundaries, we explore the stifling of African talent within the current education system that drives many to seek opportunities abroad. We also discuss the plight of young African women researchers, the lack of career paths for academics and creatives, and the effects of the industrialisation of Africa's universities on learning. Prof. Wandia challenges the current system and shares strategies to nurture young talent and innovation, while resisting global pressures.

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We sit down with Dr. Obiageli “Oby” Ezekwesili, senior economic policy expert, former Nigerian Minister and Vice President for the World Bank's Africa Region, and founder of the School of Politics, Policy, and Governance to examine how policy impacts the implementation and utility of research across Africa. We discuss what policymakers need to consider to effectively bridge the gap between policy and research, in order for research to drive meaningful change. Dr. Oby also highlights the critical role of intergenerational learning for women in leadership and discusses the launch of the School of Policy and Governance in Kenya, a new step forward in advancing informed, impactful policymaking across the continent.

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What does it means to be a “young” researcher in Africa? In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Elizabeth Mutua, a computer science lecturer and Mawazo Fellowship alumnus, to discuss the unique challenges and growth opportunities for young academics. Dr. Elizabeth offers insights from her PhD journey, including the age limitations imposed by funders and the added challenges of balancing her research and starting a family. Dr. Elizabeth also shares her own experience with mentoring, and what inspired her to create a mentorship program for young girls in science, now reaching over 400 high school and university students. This episode sheds light on what it takes to build a career in academia and to uplift the next generation of female scientists in Africa.

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