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    16Jul, 2020
    NSTC (Zambia) – FNI (Mozambique) Bilateral Joint Call for Collaborative Research Project Proposals

    The National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) of the Republic of Zambia and the Fundo Nacional de Investigação (FNI) of the Republic of Mozambique are Science Granting Councils (SGCs) participating in the Science Granting Councils Initiative (SGCI) for Sub Saharan Africa. The SGCI seeks to strengthen the capacities of the participating SGCs in supporting research and evidence-based policies that will contribute to socio-economic development of the countries. The Initiative is jointly funded by the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID), Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC), South Africa’s National Research Foundation (NRF), and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA).

    The SGCs (in the two countries) in contributing to their national research systems, secured Grant funding from the International Development Research Centre under the auspices of the SGCI. The said Grant aimed at supporting research projects in Health is based on a co-funding arrangement between the IDRC on one hand and the NSTC and FNI on the other.

    For more information, download the call below:

    NSTC-FNI-Bilateral-Joint-CallDownload
    Application-Form-NSTC-FNI-Bilateral-Joint-CallDownload
    16Jul, 2020
    Trilateral Call for Collaborative Research Proposals in Renewable Energy in Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique

    1.0       BACKGROUND

    The National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) of the Republic of Zambia, the National Commission for Science and Technology (NCST) of the Republic of Malawi and the Fundo Nacional de Investigação (FNI) of the Republic of Mozambique are Science Granting Councils (SGCs) participating in the Science Granting Councils Initiative (SGCI) for Sub Saharan Africa.

    The SGCI seeks to strengthen the capacities of the participating SGCs in supporting research and evidence-based policies that will contribute to socio-economic development of the countries. The Initiative is jointly funded by the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID), Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC), South Africa’s National Research Foundation (NRF), and the Swedish International Development Co-operation Agency (SIDA).

    In contributing to their national research systems, the SGCs (in the three countries) secured a Grant from the International Development Research Centre under the auspices of the SGCI. The said Grant which aims at supporting research projects in Renewable Energy is based on a co-funding arrangement between the IDRC on one hand and the NSTC, NCST and FNI on the other.

    2.0 RATIONALE AND SCOPE OF THE JOINT CALL

    The demand for energy in the region has been rising due to economic activities in the countries, particularly in the mining, manufacturing and agriculture sectors. Energy generation in the region relies almost entirely on hydropower, however, the recent droughts experienced in the region have caused serious electricity supply deficits. Governments are now actively seeking to enhance the renewable energy sector which has abundant renewable energy resources yet to be fully exploited. The Southern African Development Community (SADC) through itsRenewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Strategy and Action Plan recommends that member states must achieve energy security by closing the current supply/demand deficit in the power sector and enable future economic growth and industrialization through transitioning to and/or increasing the use of renewable energy sources and developing innovative ways of using energy to drive sustainable development. Renewable Energy is one of the identified National Research Priority Areas in Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia. To contribute towards efforts to enhance the renewable energy sector in the three countries, NSTC, NCST and FNI will fund collaborative research projects in renewable energy. The objective of this Trilateral Joint Call is to generate critical knowledge that will help in strategic development and utilization of energy sources to diversify the energy mix and accelerate achievement of the countries’ energy generation targets, increase industry competitiveness, improve service delivery and reduce poverty.

    For more information, download the call below:

    Trilateral-Call-for-Research-Proposals-in-Renewable-EnergyDownload
    Application-Template-Trilateral-Project-ProposalDownload

    16Jul, 2020
    Promoting STEM in Schools

    By Nsama Mataka and Lenganji Sikapizye

    Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), is a term often used to address curriculum choices in schools which are critical to improving the competitiveness in science, technology and innovation.

    STEM subjects are also critical in transforming economies of countries from resource based to knowledge-based ones. However, It has been recognised that STEM is one area that requires immediate attention because of several compounding reasons. Many scholars have stated that if education authorities in the country do not invest in building capacity in STEM, progress towards attaining sustainable development will remain a challenge.

    According to the 2016 report by a parliamentary committee on Education, Science and Technology the committee was informed that the teaching and learning of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) was a challenge in Zambia because of a shortage of teachers, especially at the secondary school level.

    The report went on to state that the decline in the recruitment of science teachers in Zambia was particularly evident and stemmed from the low number of students with scientific backgrounds who were able to pursue teaching after completing secondary schools. This had created a cycle of stagnation in the field, and this cycle continues to hinder the advancement of Science and Technology in the country.

    However not all hope is lost because the Government and other stakeholders have identified this gap. To address the concerns that have been raised, Government in the Seventh National Development Plan(SNDP) has placed emphasis on developing a high quality research base with a critical mass of highly qualified human resource, modern adequately equipped infrastructure that will popularise science and technology for promoting and creating a national culture of research and innovation.

    To achieve this, the Government has not been left alone to drive the STEM agenda. Government bodies such as the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) are actively spearheading initiatives to promote STEM subjects amongst the learners in the country. One of the critical initiatives that the Council is undertaking is the establishment of centres of excellence for the teaching and learning of science and mathematics. These centres are aimed at improving the teaching and learning of science and mathematics and creating a strong background in science and mathematics among learners, to enable them to pursue and stay in S&T careers.

    In 2012, the Council established a pilot Centre of Excellence for the teaching and learning of Science, Technology and Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) at Nkadabbwe School in Sinazongwe district, Southern Province.

    This was established to respond to the gap in the teaching and learning of STEM subjects in the country following a survey which carried out by the Council in peri-urban and rural schools to assess the status of the teaching and learning of science and mathematics and which brought out a number of challenges to the learning of STEMS subjects among them lack of proper modern laboratory apparatus for hands-on experiments and lack of up to date science literature.

    A school Library was successfully set up; library books for all subjects were purchased, and these include Pupil’s textbooks and Teacher’s handbooks for upper and middle basic levels. A science laboratory was also successfully set up, with laboratory equipment required for Chemistry, Physics, Biology and Mathematics topics. The school was further provided with five modern Computers.

    After completion, the centre served as a model and demonstrated the significance of investing in Science and Mathematics education. Baseline information on pupil performance was collected, and future performance monitored and evaluated. This was used to assess the impact of the centre of excellence intervention and help to generate evidence-based policy advice to government on matters of science and mathematics education.

    This intervention saw learner improvement in the learning of STEM subjects. For the first time, the school managed to send 13 pupils to grade eight out of which 5 were girls. Also, the Government intervened by building 1x three classroom block to accommodate a substantial number of pupils.

    It is against this background that Government through the Ministry of Higher Education also tasked the Council to set up another centre of excellence at Kasempa Secondary School, North Western Province in order to improve learner performance in STEM subjects. This initiative of setting up of the centre of excellence at Kasempa Secondary School will see the construction of a modern laboratory for all the STEM subjects, a library and a modern computer laboratory. The construction of this centre is currently underway and is expected to be completed in August 2019.

    From the preceding, it is evident that with the initiatives that are being undertaken by the Council, learner performance in STEM subjects will greatly improve drawing lessons from the Nkadabbwe experience.

    The centres of excellence are not the only initiatives that the Council is undertaking to improve the teaching and learning of STEM subjects in the Country. The Council on behalf of the Government administers the Science, Technology and Innovation Youth Fund. This fund is aimed at promoting the development and application of scientific and technological innovations by the youth for employment and wealth creation. Moreover, the specific objectives are:

    • To support the development and piloting of scientific and technological innovations by the youth;
    • To promote a culture of innovativeness among the youth and;
    • To promote the acquisition and use of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) by youth innovators.

    Through the STIYF the Council also adopts some of the projects that emanate from the Junior Engineers, Technicians and Scientists (JETS) Club for possible funding. The Council is also actively involved in JETS; it is at JETS Fairs that the Council identifies projects for possible development as well as recognise outstanding pupils with projects and awards them with a merit award in Science and Technology during the World Science Day for Peace and Development Commemorations in November.

    Furthermore, in Collaboration with the Zambia National Commission for UNESCO, the Council supports the Girls Science Camps which are aimed at encouraging girls to actively pursue STEM subjects in schools as well as encourage them to take up science-based careers in future. The Council provides books to this initiative as well as mentors the girls who take part in this camp.