Africa accounts for 15 percent of the world's population and 25 percent of its disease burden, yet provides only about 2 percent of global research. The December 2017 Interdisciplinary Collaborations in Africa Workshop was funded by the UChicago Big Ideas Generator and hosted by the Neubauer Collegium for Culture and Society. Biologists, a paleontologist, physicians, computer scientists, philosophers, policy experts, industry representatives and business people from Chicago, Nigeria, and Ghana met for a day. Participants discussed existing research and education activities in Africa and made plans for connecting scholars at UChicago and African institutions. Workshop topics included sickle cell disease and aging, the health consequences of climate change and political instability, air quality, agriculture, and research ethics. Participants proposed initiatives to develop “big data” resources across Africa, bring scholars to teach courses at institutions there, and increase access to library resources for African students.
Big Ideas: Interdisciplinary Collaborations in Africa Workshop
