“Public engagement”: New role for researchers in Kenya?

Some of Kenya’s most celebrated scientists and researchers congregated in a hotel in Nairobi, to celebrate the world anti-microbial week. Apart from the jaw breaking scientific recommendations that came at the end of the two-day event to research more on taming the abuse of drugs, was scientists needed to interact more with the public.

“You are not criminal. It is the state criminalising you”

It is an October morning at Gulu University in northern Uganda. Outside Agatha Alidri’s office clouds start to gather. We expect it to rain any time from now.  A Problem Based Learning (PBL) workshop is going on in the block opposite, facilitated by two professors from Aalborg University in Denmark. Alidri paces up and down. She is fast in her steps and when she stops to listen to someone she gives them maximum attention. The will to help is written all over her face.

Good Gig or Bad Gig? A critical look into the phenomenon of the ‘Gig Economy’

The gig economy has emerged as a core theme to describe modern employment practices which have grown in prominence since the global financial crises in 2007-08. It is a broad term but, in its essence, it focuses upon work which generates income from the completion of short-term work. The term ‘gig’ is a slang word in which describes a job which is carried over a short period of time. The word gig can be ascribed to the sense of gig traditionally used to describe performances carried out by musicians and also entertainers.

The Unbearable Lightness of Spacetime

The third prize in the DDRN Essay Competition for University Students 2019 was awarded to Andrea Palessandro, Physics, University of Southern Denmark. The Assessment Committee wrote: “Very well written, and structured to make an exciting essay, which potentially will address a wide audience…The topic is not for everyday consumption, rather it calls for extended contemplation during a Sunday afternoon.”

Does climate change put our morning cup of coffee at risk?

The second prize in the DDRN Essay Competition for University Students 2019 was awarded to Athina Koutouleas, Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen. The Assessment Committee wrote: “A very well written essay focusing on the reader throughout the story…Relating to an everyday situation really works well…The relevance of the research project is presented without drowning the reader in facts and figures…The final sentence effectively encourages the reader to reflect.”

“People expected political transformations and democratisation in a second”

In September 2018, Mostafa Shehata defended his PhD Dissertation: “Newspaper and Social Network Sites in Egypt After the 2011 Revolution: Connective Action, Communication Power and Mediatization of Politics”, at Roskilde University (RUC) in Denmark. He concluded that “media can provide a good space for mobilisation for a specific amount of time. But in the long run, you will need strong presence ‘on the ground’, and organisations to support your mobility and your movement”.

How much damage did your trip to Roskilde Festival do to the environment, this year?

Most young people are becoming increasingly aware of their environmental impact, making sensible decisions on a daily basis, to reduce their carbon footprint, and to improve upon their self-sustainability. This involves continuously implementing sacrifices into daily life, for the benefit of the planet. Unfortunately, choosing to spend part of your summer at a festival can be a huge strain on your overall footprint.