Discussing the Future of Science in Africa in a Digital Era
Digitalization is a phenomenon that is transcending all aspects of human endeavour, owing to the fast pace of technological development and increasing internet access all over the world. When COVID-19 hit, due to the necessity of physical distancing to keep people safe, the speed at which work shifted online was unprecedented. The changing nature of work, including in the fields of science, naturally became a hot topic for exploration and discussion.
The Africa’s Digital Future Virtual Conference, organised by Digital Times Africa from 29 to 30 April 2021, brought together key stakeholders to examine “the future of ‘Digital Africa’, assessing Africa’s readiness for the global shift brought by digitalization in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.” Under the theme “Africa’s Digital Future; Beyond the Pandemic”, the conference covered many topics including innovation, cybersecurity, policy, youth participation, finance, and science.
I spoke on one of the panels, where I discussed the future of Science in a digital era alongside Dr Thomas Tagoe of GhScientific and Harry Akligoh of Hive BioLab. The conversation was very interesting, bringing to the fore many important questions regarding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the global research landscape and its implications on how science will be done going forward. Read on!
What change did the pandemic bring to the science space?
We witnessed the fast-tracking of research, especially in rolling out diagnostic tests and developing vaccines against the coronavirus. We also saw an increased focus on science communication in the context of helping people understand the pandemic and accept the solutions being developed by the scientific community and other experts. Finally, tools such as synthetic biology and bioinformatics were put to greater use in a bid to arrive at solutions in a timely manner. While science has always been a team activity, some new initiatives, like the OpenCovid19 program by Just One Giant Lab (JOGL), showcased what it will look like when scientists and other contributors work on a common global theme.
It was not all rosy however. Researchers, including graduate students, faced with limited lab time due to physical distancing restrictions, experienced delays in their work, sometimes with economic and mental health consequences. The changing priorities brought about by the pandemic resulted in less attention and resources given to many important areas of research. It is also worth noting that scientists, just like other workers, were at the risk of mental health challenges due to the uncertainties of the times, which resulted in them experiencing decreased productivity and lower research outputs.
What do the changes mean for the future of science?
In Africa, there has been limited reliance on research to find solutions to the pandemic. Apart from very few efforts in finding a cure and/or vaccines, the discussion highlighted critical challenges such as broken primary care and community infection tracking systems, inadequate infrastructure, and policy regimes that are not evidence-informed. While digital tools were essential for sharing COVID-19 monitoring data with the public, we didn’t see truly robust surveillance tools deployed, and so our data paucity issues remain. The future of science, especially on the continent, should be dedicated to addressing these systemic challenges.
As stated earlier, increasing digitalization, due to the pandemic and other factors, means new forms of collaboration are needed to drive science forward. Perhaps no area will be impacted by this as much as scientific meetings and conferences. We’ve not only seen more webinars over the past year, but also more ‘hybrid conferences’, where online sessions or live streams are provided to enable remote participation from around the world. Thomas mentioned being able to attend a global gathering of neuroscientists hosted in Edinburgh last year thanks to the opportunity to join online. I’m personally excited about the possibilities enabled by leveraging technology to redefine workflows and connect collaborators from around the world in order to better move projects forward .
What do we need to do in Africa to grow science?
The panel agreed that science needs money and ideas to move forward. Currently, most African governments spend less than 1% of their GDP on research and development, as expected. In the absence of active national research funding bodies, we must explore the option of public foundations raising money for research. This funding could also be extended to innovative start-ups, like those in the biotech sector.
As we need to step up solution-oriented research on the continent, interdisciplinary approaches will be key;we need to not only create new knowledge but go beyond to scale innovations. Here, collaborations across sectors are necessary. During the panel, Harry stressed the need for scientists and software developers, for example, to work together to develop advanced tools to take research and innovation to the next level. I emphasized the importance of paying attention to other threats, like climate change, pollution, etc., that may not be as ‘visible’ as the pandemic at the moment.
What can we do to train the next generation of scientists?
Tertiary education, especially at the postgraduate level, needs more funding in order to provide talented students with scholarships so that they can dedicate their full attention to their research. Institutions like the West African Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens (WACCBIP) at the University of Ghana are providing excellent opportunities, but programmes like these are highly selective. Again, the training must be as interdisciplinary as possible in order to give students a wide array of problem-solving skills. In addition,ample opportunities must be provided for practical engagement outside the classroom and academic labs. Here, community labs and makerspaces can provide environments where students get to work on their own projects in relative freedom. This can expand their possibilities.
All in all, the Future of Science in a Digital Era panel was a very interesting and thought-provoking one, raising critical issues on the barriers and enablers of the future of science in Africa. My fellow panellists brought so much value to the conversation, which I believe is only just starting. At JOGL, we are building a platform and community to support contributors from around the world as they implement their open science and open tech projects. We look forward to welcoming and supporting more African projects on our platform and engaging with the innovators behind them in our community events.
