Sokoine University of Agriculture is one of the 16 awardees to receive equipment that will advance scientific research and teaching.
MOROGORO, TANZANIA–March 22, 2018– Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA) is honored to be one of 16 awardees from around the world chosen to receive scientific equipment from Seeding Labs’ 2018 Instrumental Access program.
Instrumental Access makes high-quality laboratory equipment and supplies available to university departments and research institutes in developing countries. It is the flagship program of Seeding Labs, a US-based nonprofit working to help scientists make discoveries that improve life and the planet.
The Department of Biosciences at Solomon Mahlangu College of Science and Education (SM-CoSE) of SUA was one of 16 awardees chosen for Instrumental Access 2018 from a pool of 51 applications received from 22 countries through a rigorous selection process. Each applicant outlined the ways that an infusion of scientific equipment would remove barriers to STEM education and research at their institution paving the way for new avenues of scientific inquiry and expanding hands-on opportunities for students.
Equipment provides a foundation for other critical resources that allow scientists to generate new knowledge, leverage sustainable funding, and better prepare university students for the scientific workforce and innovation economy.
The 2018 grantees have research interests across the biological sciences, biomedical engineering, chemistry, chemical engineering, forensic science, pharmaceutical sciences, agriculture, oral health, veterinary medicine, and science education and pedagogy. Eleven countries are represented, two of are new to Seeding Labs: Benin and Liberia.
Sokoine University of Agriculture was established in 1984 by the government of Tanzania to offer training in agriculture and allied sciences. It is consistently ranked as one of the top universities in Tanzania. Part of the Solomon Mahlangu College of Science and Education, the Department of Biosciences is geared towards creating a critical mass of well-educated secondary school science teachers and competent research scientists. Since 2015, the Tanzanian government has been working to increase enrollment in secondary education. The success of these efforts is exacerbating a shortage of trained science teachers. Equipment is needed to provide hands on training and research experience to the teachers who will inspire a new generation of Tanzanian scientists.
The department graduates 500 new science teachers per year and will soon be launching an MSc in Education. The support of laboratory equipment from Seeding Labs will smooth the department and the college’s obligation to provide education to the community, to produce large number of good quality science teachers, and to conduct scientific research of internationally accepted standards. Research priorities at the Department of Biosciences include water quality, biochemistry, molecular biology and infectious diseases of poverty, with particular focus on the pork tapeworm (Taeniosis/Cysticercosis).
The announcement of the 2018 Instrumental Access awardees was made during Seeding Labs’ 10th Anniversary “Positively Instrumental” event held on March 21, 2018, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, which celebrated the power of global science as a unifying force.
The Principal of the Solomon Mahlangu College of Science and Education, Prof. Allen L. Malisa, represented Sokoine University of Agriculture at Positively Instrumental Event-2018.
Prof. Allen Lewis Malisa “the Principal of the SM-CoSE” sitting second from right- in a group photo of the Instrumental Access program Awardees of 2018
At the event, Seeding Labs also recognized valued donors from the life sciences, pharmaceutical, and manufacturing industries and academia that supply equipment and funding to support Seeding Labs’ network of scientists around the world. Global Visionary Awards were given to Thermo Fisher Scientific, Millipore Sigma (known as Merck KGaA outside of Europe and Canada), and Takeda Pharmaceuticals.
“We are pleased to welcome the 2018 Instrumental Access awardees to our global community of scientists,” said Seeding Labs’ founder and CEO Nina Dudnik, PhD. “We believe that the world needs the contributions of talented scientists everywhere, and we look forward to catalyzing research and teaching at these outstanding institutions.”
Prof. Allen Lewis Malisa standing with Nina Dudnik, “the CEO and founder of the Seeding Labs Organisation “
Group photo of the Instrumental Access program Awardees and Seeding Labs Instrumental Access organizers
About Seeding Labs
Seeding Labs is a Boston-based nonprofit ensuring everyone has equal opportunity to make the scientific discoveries that improve life and our planet. Seeding Labs has built a coalition of more than 140 public and private sector partners to provide scientists in developing nations with lab equipment, training, and opportunities to collaborate with experts in their field and to use these vital resources to improve education, research, and economic development.
To date, Seeding Labs has shipped 174 tons of lab equipment to 59 institutions in 31 countries around the world. Additional information on Seeding Labs and Instrumental Access is available at http://seedinglabs.org/; on Facebook at Facebook.com/SeedingLabs; and on Twitter at @SeedingLabs.
