Page 105 - University of Pretoria RESEARCH REVIEW 2018

have truly transformative impact. While we must exercise patience in this pursuit, we need
at the same time to work with an urgency of people knowing that we are dealing with global challenges that threaten the very fabric of our society and world. And with the enthusiasm of people who know that collectively we have the power and opportunity to address these issues.
The Future Africa initiative set out to develop a centre of excellence to stimulate and support interdisciplinary dialogue and research through innovative ways of connecting excellent and developing researchers around challenging problems, together with broader communities of practice relevant to these issues. Secondly, it would develop advanced science leadership training programmes to equip the next generation of scientists to lead complex interdisciplinary and globally connected research projects. The aim remains to develop
a community of scholars with a vision and the skills to use their position as knowledge generators and their global networks to transform the societies in which they are embedded.
The first of these programmes, the Africa Science Leadership Programme, was launched in July 2015, at a conference venue on the outskirts of Pretoria. The impact on the pan-African cohort of young research leaders who were brought together was immediately evident,
and initiatives to expand the programme followed soon after. Today these include local university programmes (e.g. Tuks Young Research Leader Programme), regional (e.g. West African Science Leadership Programme, soon to be followed by programmes in East, North and Southern Africa), topic-focused (e.g. the Carnegie Early Career Research Leadership Fellowship), and international (e.g. ASEAN Science Leadership Programme and programmes run by the Global Young Academy).
While these programmes were developing in various spaces on and off the UP campus,
a dedicated and dynamic living and learning environment was being created to anchor the vision and activities for Future Africa. A space where the academic life and living space of
a community of scholars (including advanced undergraduate, postgraduate, postdoctoral fellows, academic leaders and visiting scholars) would be integrated, advancing excellence in scholarship, dialogue and social responsibility across disciplines, cultures, generations and sectors of society.
The philosophy behind Future Africa permeated all elements of the development, from its design to the sourcing of its materials and the people who were trained as part of the building process. The end-result is a contemporary African design that focuses the attention on the people and place in which the institute is embedded, and the commitment to sustainability from a social, environmental and economic perspective; a space that would be as challenging and transforming to every visitor and resident as the ideas we hope to stimulate, fostering connectedness, ambition and innovation down to the details of its design.
It was with great enthusiasm that Future Africa opened the doors to its unique campus in October 2018, in anticipation of its formal launch in March 2019. The campus features forage gardens that are integrated into its restaurant and research programmes, a Conference Centre that is custom-designed to foster group work and interaction, a Research Commons with offices and meeting rooms ready for its incubator role, and Accommodation for a research community stretching across disciplines and across the world. It speaks of enthusiasm and commitment to people and place in Africa.
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