Creating new researcher links

"The UK has some world-leading research efforts including in materials for hydrogen storage. More generally, sustainability with respect to energy provision is high on the research agenda for both the UK and South Africa. The work done in the two countries is complementary so we decided to build on Nottingham’s links with the CSIR – in the form of ongoing collaboration between myself and Dr Henrietta Langmi – by bringing together researchers in the two countries to showcase their best research and foster collaborations and capacity building." 

Hydrogen bond

The Newton Fund researcher links workshops are targeted at early career researchers, while more experienced research colleagues attend as senior mentors. The workshop was hosted by CSIR in Pretoria, and organisers there were also keen to highlight the connections with the UK.

"South Africa has a National Hydrogen and Fuel Cells Technologies initiative known as Hydrogen South Africa or HySA", explains co-organiser Dr Henrietta Langmi of CSIR.

"Within HySA one of the key research aspects is the development of hydrogen storage technologies. To the best of my knowledge, there has never been a workshop held in South Africa focusing specifically on hydrogen storage materials. I was motivated to organise this workshop so that early career researchers will get to know their peers both in South Africa and the UK, and also deepen their knowledge of the research within the hydrogen storage space. The need to further develop the link with Professor Mokaya was another motivating factor for me."

Participants from a range of universities in the UK and South Africa presented during the four-day event. There was also the opportunity to tour the CSIR laboratories, and to experience the culture and natural environment around Pretoria.

"We had an excellent group of participants, both from the UK and South Africa", says Prof. Mokaya. "The range of participants – mainly early-career researchers was just right, having been selected from a strong pool of applicants in both countries. The presence of some leading researchers as mentors worked very well. The range of topics covered by the talks meant that all participants learnt something new."

There was positive feedback from the participants too – researchers like Dr Valeska Ting from the University of Bath even tweeted through the presentations explaining how interesting they were, and talking about the beautiful surroundings. 

Participants for Newton Fund workshops receive funding for travel and accommodation – allowing early-career researchers to forge new connections without extra financial burden.

"The funding we put in is matched by the British Council via the Department of Business, Innovation, and Skills. These workshops are designed to promote a positive exchange of ideas, and the strengthening of UK and international science, with the benefit of a broad base of collaboration overseas", says Dr Dave Clark, Royal Society of Chemistry head of international development.

"It was exciting to see the range of people who attended in Pretoria, and their energy for the subject. We hope that this event will prove to be the start of long-term connections between them, and that they will also encourage others to get involved in researcher links workshops", he says.

More opportunities ahead

The successful workshop in South Africa is just the beginning of our involvement in the Newton Fund. The next Royal Society of Chemistry co-funded workshop is scheduled for January 2016, in Indonesia, and the results of the two 2015 British Council calls will be known before the end of the year. More workshops will be funded from these calls.

"We are hoping to see applications from chemistry researchers during every call – the countries nominated for each call are stated on the British Council website. You can expect to see calls two or three times a year, and I look forward to seeing what partnerships emerge", says Dave.

The organisers of the first workshop are keen for others to follow in their footsteps: "I would certainly recommend the experience to others,” says Professor Mokaya. "I would advise those seeking to run a workshop to choose the topic carefully to enable a good pool of participants, and to have an overseas partner who is able to address most of the local arrangements."

"I would absolutely recommend the experience to others", adds Dr Langmi. "For me, organising this workshop has been very rewarding as it was my first time to take on a task of this nature and in my opinion the workshop was a resounding success.

"My advice to future applicants is that no event is too small. Organising an event like this workshop requires a bird’s eye for details. So start the planning well in advance and just go for it!"