A thriving academy relies on the exchange of knowledge with scholars around the world. That is the spirit behind the Carnegie Corporation of New York’s Diaspora Linkages initiative, launched in 2013. The program enables African-born academics now based in universities outside the continent to work in varied capacities with African institutions. It does so through fellowships administered by a number of universities and organizations.

The initiative began with the Carnegie African Diaspora Fellowship Program, administered by the Institute of International Education with strategic direction provided by an African Advisory Council. Fellows spend several months at an African university, working on a project determined by their host. These projects have included curriculum development, supervision of postgraduate students, and development of joint research. Additional Corporation support to the University of Ghana allows the university to recruit Diaspora academics to teach in postgraduate programs and a doctoral academy. At the University of the Witwatersrand, alumni living abroad are invited to give lectures, conduct joint research, and demonstrate new techniques in public health. The Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA) hosts activities involving the Diaspora that aim to strengthen research and training in the social science fields.

In all instances, fellows respond to the specific needs of African institutions and exchange the expertise and resources of their academic communities. The connections fostered through them ultimately support capacity building and innovation in home and host countries, and many of the fellows have brought the benefits of their collaboration back to their home campuses as well. “Allowing African institutions to determine the nature of their engagements with the academic Diaspora provides more equitable collaboration in the future of the academy worldwide,” says Claudia Frittelli, HERA program officer.

Higher Education and Research in Africa