AfricaArray: Establishing an academic programme

• AfricaArray: Establishing an academic programme

• Paul Dirks, Head, School of Geosciences, Wits University, Johannesburg, South Africa

• IRIS Worskhop, Boston, Feb. 18, 2008

• Staff & students:

• 24 full time staff; 20 associate staff; 25 support staff

• 360 undergraduate students

• 49 honours students

• 95 PhD and MSc students (many part-time mine related projects) & 40 MSc coursework students

• Achievements at Wits (2005-2007)

• New Research Projects (Angola Craton, Superplume, Deep mines etc.; $700K)
• Sandwich program for MSc and Ph.D. students registered in GEOP at Wits
• Funding for students and post-docs ($150K)
• Funding for computers and geophysical field equipment ($200K; 48 channel seismograph; broadband sensors)
• Established an international field school for geophysics
• Established a Research Chair in seismology ($1.1 Million)
• Re-establish technical and administrative support positions in Geophysics
• Re-designed and revitalised teaching curriculum
• International recognition to the School of Geosciences
• AfricaArray is now a high-profile programme at Wits
• Tremendous potential for growth into other areas: database development; Geology; Geochemistry; climate change etc.

• Lessons learned (1)

• Kaapvaal experiment:

• - Great scientific effort with fantastic results, but…….

• - Not embedded in African institutions

• - No long-term strategy towards sustainability

• - No administrative coupling between research and teaching

• Result: 10 years after the experiment: few tangible results remain

• Lessons learned (2)

• 2003 Academic reviews at Wits:

• Outcome: Closure of the BPIgeophysics

• - Lack of vision

• - Poor leadership

• - EXPENSIVE

• Result: Geophysics almost disappeared as a training programme in SA

• (NOTE: University of Pretoria closed GEOP in 2005)

• Lessons learned (3)

• EXPENSE:

• Expected student/staff ratio: >13.5

• Actual student/staff: ~5

• - Gov’nt subsidy to Univ: ~60%

• - student fees: ~30%

• Geosciences is expensive but………

• GEOS(Wits)….

• - International rankings: highest ranked School at Wits; 2nd highest in Africa across all disciplines

• - Long tradition (Wits started as a School of Mines)

• - Excellent contacts with Industry (GEOS has one of the best fundraising records at WITS)

• - Established reputation !!!!!!!

• Geophysics in Africa: the Challenge

• Create an exciting vision to reinvigorate the existing programmes

• Quality research
• Grow student numbers
• Attract new staff
• Raise the local and international profile
• Link geology, palaeontology and geophysics
• Obtain support from the University administration

• Context

• Huge manpower shortages

• 2002 Mining Charter, S. Africa
• Competition for well-trained scientist - affecting academic and gov’t institutions
• Aging scientific population

• South African government’s willingness to engage and invest

• Brain drain

• Financial pressures – closure of specialist training programs

• Booming Natural resource sector in Africa

• Petroleum, mining, water

• Context

• Huge manpower shortages

• 2002 Mining Charter Act, S. Africa
• Competition for well-trained scientist - affecting academic and gov’t institutions
• Aging scientific population

• South African government’s willingness to engage and invest

• Brain drain

• Financial pressures – closure of specialist training programs

• Booming Natural resource sector in Africa

• Petroleum, mining, water

• The Challenge:

• What is needed to run a good geoscience project ?

• Some ingredients:

• 1. The right people (deep commitment)

• 2. Good science

• 3. Up-to-date instrumentation

• 4. technical skills

• 5. Managerial skills

• 6. Free data sharing and ready access to data

• 7. a clear and common vision

• 8. a sound and secure financial base

• STEP 1: the Vision

• 1. to support in-situ training and research programs to help build a scientific workforce -initially in geophysics

• 2. As part of the training and research programs, create a network of shared scientific observatories (initially broadband seismic stations) to promote education, research, and community building

• 3. Call it AfricaArray

• We placed the existing Geophysics training programme at the disposal of AfricaArray

• STEP 2: find the right partners

• Honorary staff to supplement teaching & research

• Engage partners that can contribute through established programmes: Wits, Council, CSIR

• Engage Industry for support

• STEP 3a: adjust existing programmes

• Redesign the existing teaching programme to accommodate:

• - Innovations: i.e. the field school

• - flexible staffing

• - flexible student supervision

• - flexible time-tabling to accommodate i.a. the field-school

• - Invest in infrastructure

• Field School

• STEP 3b: START

• Attract students:

• broaden intake levels (PHYS; APPLIED MATH; MATH; COMP; GEOS)

• Broaden recruitment base in SA and Africa

• Very actively engage HDSA’s

• STEP 4: lobby and engage

• Embed AfricaArray witin the School structure and promote linkages to other disciplines

• Align AfricaArray with University policy and vision

• Align AfricaArray with Gov’nt policy and vision

• Engage broadly and advertise the new programme

• Student geophysics society (SEG); newsletter; web-page

• STEP 5: find funding

• Leverage funding (e.g.):

• 1. In kind support from Wits, Council and Penn State: 2 million

• 2. Use (1) to obtain NSF support (e.g. PIRE) and support from METF (SA mining industry); institutional reputation is important as is an excellent proposal

• 3. Use (2) to obtain NRF support in SA (e.g. equipment grants, bursaries and SARCHI)

• 4. Use (3) to bring in partners from Africa to provide direct support

• 5. Use the success of (2), (3) and (4) to establish public- private partnerships through projects addressing local needs

• 6. Next challenge will be to convince African Governments to recognize the success and provide sustainable funding……

• STEP 5: find funding

• Write many proposals

• Know your principle stake holders and make them part of your vision (in SA this is CSIR, the Council and the Mining Industry)

• Create a diverse scholarship base to essentially bring students into the programme

• Challenge: find embedded long-term funding

• Requirement: proof the concept works (perseverance)

• STEP 6: build staff complement

• SA Research Chair in Seismology: Ray Durrheim

• Get post-docs

• Engage support staff to the AfricaArray programme

• Engage technical staff

• STEP 7: work towards sustainibility

• Get endorsements by politicians

• Get endorsements by political organisations (e.g. African Union; DST; DME etc.)

• Place programme within strategic initiatives in the University: e.g. mining thrust

• Lobby and find funds from organizations embedded in country structures

• Development community vs local government !?

• Some thought on Angola: a different scenario

• Weak management

• Generally poorly trained staff

• Appalling infrastructure

• Book knowledge, but no practical experience

• Some comments

• Why is AfricaArray successful:

• Embedded in existing structures

• Very effective in leveraging funding

• Exiting science coupled to innovative training structures

• Etc.

• - South Africa is in a position where it can take the lead in Africa.

• - The African academic seismology community is small and can be easily united

• A final word of advice