Washington, DC — Supporters of an initiative to improve the quality of science and engineering in Africa say the creation of the Nelson Mandela Institute for Knowledge Building and the Advancement of Science and Technology in Sub-Saharan Africa (AIST) is a key step in training and supporting the doctors, nurses, engineers and software designers who will further Africa's development.
Dr. Ernest Simo is the first African-born finalist in NASA's astronaut selection process and also pioneered the creation of Very Small Aperture Terminals (VSATs), Low Earth Orbiting satellite systems (LEOs) and Personal Communications Services (PCS). He left Cameroon in 1974 to attend university in the UK, but maintains an interest in science and technology on the continent. In an interview with AllAfrica, Simo said that technological innovation is an essential part of improving quality of life in Africa. Excerpts:
What are the technological needs that are unique to Africa?
I think that some of the technology needs in Africa can be simply defined in three different categories. The first class of technology is technologies that are going to bring applied solutions to immediate problems and concerns of Africa on a daily basis. Those technologies are more skills that are needed in various sectors: communications, telecommunications, civil engineering, agriculture sector, construction, oil research, and health and education technologies. The second layer is long-term research and exploitation of materials such as the oil, gold, diamonds, and the transformation of the biodiversity wealth that we have in the forest and actually transforming some of our raw materials into semi-finished goods. The final layer of expertise is fundamental research, which is basically transcendental to Africa, which is universal knowledge: the pure knowledge or understanding of certain processes.
What are the needs of the students that will attend the Nelson Mandela Institute, in comparison to their European and U.S. counterparts?
In many ways the requirements would be similar. In other layers you can see some differences, but in terms of similarities we want people who are driven - driven by the desire to achieve and driven by the desire to accomplish. That doesn't change. What may be different is that they will be operating from an environment which is still defining itself, still settling itself. This is a pioneering generation of new students who need to redefine a new educational climate in Africa. So in that respect their burden is a little heavier than the burden of as student entering MIT, Berkeley, or Stanford, but I think that I've never met African students who are stupid or idiots. I think that they will step to the challenge with no problem.
What efforts are being made to include those from rural areas or those whose families are poor?
Very good. I really like the question and I'll get to the answer in just a second. It has always been my proposition that for any idea to be pure, to be good, to be transcendental, it needs to be above the consideration of race or tribes. It needs to be above the consideration of gender, it needs to be above the consideration of religion, [and] it certainly needs to be above the consideration of economic classes. It even needs to be above the consideration of generational gaps. I think that we have to make sure that we have a team of scouts, of education, of encouragement, from those communities, in the rural areas. After all, when you look at the distribution of populations in Africa, most people live in rural areas. So these are areas that need to be developed, which are basically for the greatest potential for the development of Africa. We need to basically encourage and recruit people who understand these environments.
I think that this is where the catalyst will come from, from rural areas and not just a university reserved for rich people or the governing class. I came from a very poor background myself. I had to walk two, three miles every morning to go to high school and I don't have any friend that I know of, even today, from a rich class and they've done very well. I think it is incumbent upon us to understand the talent of Africa is distributed throughout the rural areas.
So there will be consideration of where the applicant is coming from, their tribal background, economic, religious background, etc.?
I do not have a clear answer to that question other than suggest that we can probably learn from admission processes here in the United States, where children from disadvantaged backgrounds are given extra credits. There are various points, token points, that are added to make the final decision. Those same layers of components must be added in order to create a composite of the student being admitted in those institutions, but I would still really make sure that the leaders of the country understand that the greatest potential will come from the rural and poor areas because after all these are largest percentage, in terms of numbers, of our children in Africa.
Women make up the economic backbone of Africa. Are there any efforts underway to actively recruit women?
I would never sit on any panel or any activity with any sense of discrimination, as I mentioned before, in terms of race, tribe, country, in the case of Africans, religion, gender, economic class, and even age at some point. I would say, obviously, that we need to launch a consistent campaign to break the mindset of people, to let people understand that we all have tremendous contributions and potentials to offer to the development of the country. I am reminded of an African proverb, which says "If you want to go fast, then walk alone. But if you want to go far, walk with others." And others means, literally, everyone willing to learn.
AIST officials say the institute will be based on the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) model, which has sparked India's technology explosion with a constant stream of world-class technology graduates. What are the challenges in using the IIT model in Africa, especially because India is one country - which is very populous and diverse - but does not need to deal with border issues?
Very good question. There are some similarities [and] some very strong differences as you just outlined. In terms of the similarities, you can say that the basic economic background of a student is very comparable. In other words, if you look at the revenue per capita, it very comparable to understand that a lot of the student pool will come from the poor areas and rural areas. So in that sense there are some similarities. The difference is exactly what you outlined: India is literally a continent, when you think about it, it is over a billion people population. The land mass is almost a physical continent in itself. Whereas, the African continent is partitioned into dozens of little countries, with borders, protocol, different languages, and colonial packages that need to be shed.
I feel that in order to really create an efficient environment, we need to move towards a Pan-African economic and cultural concept. We cannot do this as a mosaic of countries and cultures. We've got to have a common vision. It's only with that common vision can we form a critical mass that we need at the continent level and move forward with that critical mass. It is important that we start thinking in terms of Africa as a continent, economically and culturally, and set visions in that regard.
Are there any efforts to teach or conduct business in local languages at AIST or will it use English and French?
I think that in science and technology, simply because we need to be competitive with the rest of the world, it is important that we modulate our learning to the languages that are widely accepted around the world. It does not mean that we should not encourage the development of technological concepts in some native languages. Now that presents a challenge in itself because we have so many different languages in Africa that it will be very difficult, in this point and time, to select one particular language without having political opposition from other groups. I think that it should be our long-term goal to learn and see how we can express ourselves technologically, using African native methods, including languages. But I think, short term, we need to try to put ourselves at parity with world and compete with the rules of the game internationally.
In which countries will the institute be operating? What are the requirements for a country to host an institute branch and how much depends on the government's interest in the institute?
Initially there is a tremendous support definitely in Nigeria. President Obsanjo has been personally very involved in the process, in supporting politically but also financially and materially. He's also really facilitated the support by gathering industrialists, business people, and educators. He's really mobilized a good number of people to support the initiative. The government of Nigeria has already offered some land and facilities in Abuja.
In South Africa, it's another very strong country that has supported the initiative very unconditionally. Obviously the fact that it is a Nelson Mandela Institution is actually a good thing because South Africa has been a champion for the concept. Other countries, such as Tanzania have clearly offered tremendous support to the concept. We expect that more African countries will continue to support the concept and the initiative, not only in principle, but tangibly with facilities and resources that are needed to get this flowing.
Are there any plans underway to include North Africa in this Sub-Saharan initiative?
I think that it would be absolutely unrealistic not to create intricate connections, not only in Africa, but around the world. There is already some collaboration with India, Brazil, Europe, North American universities, [and] with North African universities. This should be an entity with collaboration with learning centers from around the world. It is only in that context that we can put ourselves in parity with the rest of the world in this global economy. I definitely expect to see collaboration with the universities in the northern part of Africa.
Brain drain is an issue that has captured the attention of government ministries and the larger development community as a significant challenge, as thousands of trained doctors, nurses, teachers and engineers leave Africa for higher-paying jobs in Europe and the United States. Does the institute hope to turn the brain drain problem into a "brain gain?"
Very sensitive and important question: and that is the question of the brain drain. I see the problems on both sides of the fence. On the African side, there are catalysts [that] are encouraging African overseas not to return to Africa in numbers that would have been wished. Some of these reasons are that these African students feel like strangers when they go to study in the West and they feel like strangers when they go back home. They are not treated with the proper acknowledgement that is reserved for everyone else in the world coming to the continent with similar skills or even lesser skills. Our governments, our countries need to deliberately encourage African students that have been trained overseas to come back and contribute to the economy of the country.
Second, I don't particularly buy the concept of brain drain, theoretically, because when most of people who are trained overseas left Africa they were just average students, like everybody else. They only matured because the environment overseas gave them the opportunity to really mature their skills. There are geniuses in Africa, thousands and millions of geniuses. We just need to give them the opportunity to expand and develop their genius. I think that is the tragedy we face. It is obviously a challenge that we must take up. I feel that we have tremendous potential in Africa that needs to be developed.
Now, those trained, living, and working overseas, as I said, their effort is not mutually exclusive to what can be done by those residing in the country. This is the world of the global village. In other words, contributions that can be made from Europe, North America, and the rest of the world will be very complimentary to the contributions by those who are making daily progress and daily effort to grow and expand our economy in the continent. I don't think that those who are in the continent and those who are on the outside play a mutually exclusive role. I think very much on the contrary; I think they are very much complimentary.
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How will students pay their tuition?
How the students are going to pay for tuition is very central question. We can sit here and talk all day long about the vision, about the dream, but if a student from a rural community can not afford to pay for the school and get to the dorm or get the tools that they need to study, obviously there is no positive outcome out of the whole experiment, so it is important to galvanize sources of financing. This is where I feel that of the Diaspora, the Africans outside the country and the friends of Africa, they don't have to be African but the friends of Africa that are outside the continent need to make a conscious effort to support financially these institutions.
I would challenge oil companies and traders, investors, and western companies that are doing business in Africa to step up to the plate and encourage these young kids to have an education. I think most of these companies will respond to the challenge very much the same way for students in North America and Europe. The Africans outside the continent, along with the friends of Africa, businesses that are practicing inside of Africa, should all have a responsibility to make sure that those who can not afford an education get at least a little helping hand.
A central theme of AIST's argument is that the African Diaspora can jumpstart this initiative and contribute to its success - and thereby the success of all its science and technology graduates - by contributing to AIST's endowment. What are you doing to get the average African, living abroad, connected and involved in this large-scale, World Bank-supported program?
[That is] another interesting operational challenge that we face: a systematic campaign to make the case that people of African descent, who are living overseas, should make a conscious effort to invest in this vast human potential of Africa. I feel that the success of Africa is not limited to the enjoyment of those who live in the continent. The success of Africa is projected to anyone of African descent and to companies that are operating in Africa and any friend of Africa. We all should see in this, an investment, but it is incumbent upon us to launch a campaign, not just in the United States, but a global campaign. With the Internet, we can do a much better job than what we could have done 10 years ago to sensitize the Diaspora of this opportunity to help rebuild the continent.
