The Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology aspires to become a hub for emerging technologies in Sub-Saharan countries in terms of research and training. 

That was said by Vice Chancellor Prof. Maulilio Kipanyula during a meeting with delegates from the Africa Regional Scholarship and Innovation Fund for Applied Sciences, Engineering, and Technology (Rsif Project, P165581) who paid an official visit on November 8, 2023, to discuss the World Bank Rsif implementation support mission.

“We are very committed to the quality of research we undertake, with the goal of generating tangible products. These products will be incubated through our incubation centre in collaboration with various partners ” stated Prof. Maulilio.

He also mentioned that the institution plans to increase the number of scholarships to train staff, resulting in a higher number of PhD holders. This investment in the future will enable them to write fundable proposals and generate more institutional income. 

“Currently, we have successfully written several fundable proposals with the support of the Higher Education for Economic Transformation (HEET) project, and five of them have already been submitted,” Prof. Maulilio added.

On their side, the delegates commended the institution for their impressive presentation and their efforts to bring positive changes to society and industry.

Currently, there are 17 students at NM-AIST who are recipients of the Africa Regional Scholarship and Innovation Fund for Applied Sciences, Engineering, and Technology (Rsif Project, P165581). They are pursuing studies in the field of Minerals, Mining, and Materials Engineering (MaSE), as well as the PhD program in Materials Science and Engineering (PhD MaSE) through WISE-Futures. It’s worth noting that the MaSE programs (M.Sc. & PhD) have received international accreditation.