During the two weeks UK Summer School hosted at the University of Leeds, from 20 June to 1 July 2022, Dr Melody Mentz-Coetzee (FSNet-Africa Senior Researcher and Networking Lead) interviewed representatives from three FSNet-Africa academic institutions. The interview focused on reflections on the benefits of partnering with FSNet-Africa. Dr Mentz-Coetzee interviewed:
- Dr Agnes Mwangela is FSNet-Africa’s Institutional Champion for Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR) and the Deputy Vice-Chancellor for LUANAR
- Dr Gloria Essilfie is FSNet-Africa’s Institutional Champion at the University of Ghana and a Lecturer at the University of Ghana
- Prof Andy Dougill is a member of the FSNet-Africa Academic Leadership Team (ALT) and the Dean of the Faculty of the Sciences, at the University of York in the United Kingdom.
The FSNet-Africa network has managed to bring 80 researchers from 12 different institutions, across Africa and the UK. Two of those institutions are in the UK and ten are in six African countries. At each academic partner, there is a strategic liaison and an institutional champion. The strategic liaison is a high-level individual in a senior leadership role at the institution with whom FSNet-Africa shares important information about the project. The institutional champion is the first contact point for FSNet-Africa team to engage with the academic partner for dealing with practical and administrative aspects.
