“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.

Crisis of Ethnicity: Understanding Uganda through a Tribe Lens

Many Ugandans are quick to identify themselves by tribe – 56 tribes there are in total. They like to describe themselves, and are also often described by others, as humble, welcoming and peaceful but Uganda’s political history hardly reflects the peaceful part. When I visit Associate Professor Charles Amone on a July afternoon, Kyambogo University is in recess so it is generally quiet. His reflections paint a picture of a country less united than the world may be led to think – a crisis that fuels inequality and conflicts from within.

A Glass Ceiling for Global South Researchers

“My life has almost become pinned to the University of Copenhagen, so even if I don’t continue from here, I would have to collaborate with them. Because of their advanced expertise. Especially the Global Health [department] has a lot of expertise”, says 25-year-old Ghanaian, Richard Sena Otio, who has just finished his master’s degree study in Global Health from University of Copenhagen.

Kenya: The troubles of a science PhD from the West

Graduate students of the London School of Economics and Political Science gathered at Kenya’s coast in September 2018, where the Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Dr Mukhisa Kituyi told them: “With your international credibility, it is easier and tempting to leave and take out of the continent the little intellectual resource that could solve problems their countries face.”

Blockchain backing transparency?

Corruption represents a major obstacle in reaching the Sustainable Development Goals. The activity hampers economic growth and increases poverty, depriving the most marginalised groups of equitable access to vital services such as healthcare, education and water and sanitation. Development practitioners should now start to modernise their approach to preventing petty corruption from hindering their agendas and look towards new technologies.

Hall of Shame?

Hijacked journals and predatory publishers are phenomena facing the aspiring researcher in the South and North alike. Which are the pitfalls? Is Open Access a cause or a remedy? You are invited to take a stand in the controversy about these ‘by-products’ of universities’ pressure on faculty staff for increasing scientific publication.

Driving Tanzanian ‘Sayansi’

The tall building, which accommodates the Tanzanian Commission for Science and Technology (COSTECH), is popularly called ‘Sayansi’ – a simplified swahilification of the English word for science. COSTECH is a parastatal organisation with the responsibility of co-ordinating and promoting research and technology in Tanzania, including international cooperation. It is thus also the Tanzanian counterpart for the South-Driven Development Research Projects administered by the Danish Fellowship Centre (DFC) and funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark.