The first Cambridge-Africa Day took place on 30th October 2014 at Emmanuel College in Cambridge, and was introduced by the . The day, organised by the CAMBRIDGE-AFRICA Programme, featured a wide range of short and very interesting presentations about Cambridge’s involvement in research capacity building in African institutions, and the many mutually-beneficial collaborative research and development projects that Cambridge and African researchers and students are involved in.

The programme for the day was packed with high profile speakers organised around three themes, and the ‘Training Health Researchers into Vocational Excellence in East Africa (THRiVE) partnership’ took a central part.

Professor Sheila Bird, programme leader at the MRC Biostatistics Unit, chaired the Introductory Session for the Inaugural Cambridge-Africa Day, and gave a brief overview of her role as a THRiVE Mentor before introducing the Vice Chancellor of the University of Cambridge – Professor Sir Leszek Borysiewicz to give his keynote address.

Videos from the Cambridge-Africa Day 2014 are available at https://sms.cam.ac.uk/collection/1844273

Photographs from the event can also be viewed/ downloaded at https://www.flickr.com/photos/cambridge-africa/sets/72157648928070138

About Cambridge-Africa

The Cambridge-Africa Programme has emerged from a number of individual, long-term, collaborations between Cambridge and African researchers.

The Programme is a working partnership between the University of Cambridge and several African universities and institutes, which supports the training of African doctoral and post-doctoral researchers. It aims to strengthen Africa’s own capacity for a sustainable research and mentoring culture, by cultivating the talented individuals who will make this long-term goal a reality. The Cambridge-Africa Programme is also linking up researchers in several Departments/Faculties/Schools, as well as key staff in Offices across the University of Cambridge (e.g. Research Operations, Development and Alumni Relations, External Affairs and Communications) to Africa, for mutually-beneficial collaborations, networking, fundraising activities and communication.

The Cambridge-Africa Programme is directed by Professor David Dunne (Department of Pathology), with support from Professors James Wood (Department of Veterinary Medicine), and Megan Vaughan (Centre of African Studies and Department of History). Their current coordinated initiatives are interdisciplinary and extend across subject areas such as the social sciences and humanities, engineering, biological and health sciences, as well as research management and administration.

To learn more about CAMBRIDGE-AFRICA Programme see http://www.cambridge-africa.cam.ac.uk/