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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.

In March 2019 water pollution was discovered in the river Sungai Kim Kim in the city Johor Bahru, Southern Malaysia. The source was identified as 20-40 tonnes of oil waste illegally dumped into different parts of the river. Most likely, a nearby marine engineering or petrochemical factory wanted to save money and dumped waste that was supposed to be handed and disposed safely. The incident provokes chemical engineer Dr. Mohd. Kamaruddin Abd. Hamid, researcher and lecturer at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM).

“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.

Meet a Colombian scientist, passionately researching about the pink river dolphin, a crucial species to protect aquatic ecosystems in the Amazon. The enormous habitat of those border-crossing dolphins makes them a key-species to protect big areas. If they are well, so is the Amazon. And when the Amazon is on fire, it affects species like the dolphin, as well.

Do you want to sharpen your skills as a science journalist working with the Sustainable Development Goals? Danish Development Research Network (DDRN) is currently mapping research on sustainable development by researchers from the Global South studying and working in Denmark, and by their Danish host institutions. DDRN research communication performs critical reviews, encourage open access, and supports knowledge networking.

Communicate a piece of your own research relevant to one or more of the global challenges, not more than 2 years old. It could be from any field of study, and it could be from your bachelor, or master thesis, a larger project, or from an assignment from one of your courses. We encourage both Danish and international students to participate in the competition. Deadline 1 Nov. 2019. 1st prize: DKK 5,000.

Helene Risør, an academic from the School of Anthropology at the Catholic University of Chile, has spent more than ten years away from Denmark. At the University of Copenhagen, Helene Risør, finished her PhD in Social Anthropology, in 2010. Currently, the majority of her research revolves around the social and political life of one of the southernmost countries in the world, Chile.

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.”

A dusty road leads me to Pece Primary School on the outskirts of Gulu town, a city in the northern Uganda. Just opposite the school, is a signpost that reads: “Gulu University Institute of Peace and Strategic Studies [IPSS].” It points towards a sizeable block sitting on an enclosed acre of land. The building’s cream walls and green roof have greyed due to age, Dr. Stephen Langole is a social scientist, who has studied different aspects of post war life in  northern Uganda. This time we are going to talk about his PhD thesis, UrbanYouth in Post-conflict Northern Uganda: Networking Livelihood Resources.

Xueqing He is a Chinese student, with a master’s degree from China Agriculture University in Beijing, currently on her last year of her PhD at the Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences at the University of Copenhagen. I met with Xueqing, to learn more about her experiences and findings, on how to utilize insects to regulate plant pests, as a sustainable alternative to the predominant use of pesticides.