Focus on Africa Space Science and Technology 4 Future development (FAST4Future) aims at strengthening Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) in Africa Higher education by promoting Planetary and Space Science and Technology (PSST) for the sustainable growth and jobs creation in a continent that is rapidly embracing the 4th industrial revolution. PSST has been identified as key area of investment in Africa as it provides graduates and young scientists with both the necessary soft and practical skills to face 21st century challenges such as digital innovation and job creation. The aims of FAST4Future are: i) To increase the accessibility to STEM in African Higher Education (HE); ii) To modernize existing PSST programmes in collaboration with industry and policy makers; iii) To foster the internationalization of partner HEIs by promoting mobility of staff; iv) to promote standardization of PSST in Africa in support of students’ mobility. To achieve these ambitious goals FAST4future will promote the creation of a Centre of Excellence in PSST (CESST) linked to a virtual platform to increase the accessibility coordinate collaborative actions including: i) analysis of the conditions of women in STEM; ii) review existing PSST programs in order to fill the mismatches between academic offer and job market requirements; iii) draft a white paper for the credit recognition of PSST courses across African institutions; iv) train administrative staff and facilitate the mobility of academic staff; v) promote the transfer of skills in key strategic areas of PSST to boost the employability of graduate students. The creation of a virtual platform within CESST will open new pathways for dissemination of high quality academic contents that can potentially reach thousands of STEM students across the continent and facilitate the access to STEM disciplines for Africans living in remote areas, conflict zones and will, eventually, improve the number of women in STEM.

GAPs is a comprehensive study on the drivers of return policies and barriers/enablers in international cooperation on returns. The project examines the disconnects between expectations of return policies and their actual outcomes by de-centering the dominant, one-sided understanding of “return policymaking.” GAPs will: a) scrutinize the shortcomings of the EU’s governance of returns with both its internal and external dimensions; b) analyse enablers and barriers of international cooperation c) shed light on the perspectives of migrants themselves to understand their knowledge of return policies, aspirations and experiences. By taking a close look at governance, cooperation and actor’s agency, the project is able to suggest new avenues for international cooperation, develop recommendations for stakeholders and explore alternative pathways to returning migrants. The project combines its decentering approach with three innovative concepts: a focus on return migration infrastructures that enable GAPs to analyze governance fissures; an analysis of return migration diplomacy to understand how relations among EU MSs and with third countries hinder cooperation on returns; and a trajectory approach that uses a socio-spatial and temporal lens to understand migrant agency. The project achieves its aims via multi-disciplinary, qualitative and quantitative comparative research in 11 countries in Europe, Africa and the broader Middle East (including Afghanistan). The project involves wide-ranging and innovative impacts, including the creation of interactive data repository on returns, a return cooperation index, return governance indicators, policy briefs and workshops, the formation of stakeholder expert panels, a digital storytelling and video series, the launching of Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) as well as open access policy and scholarly publications.

Under the theme of Energy, Materials Development and Nanotechnology, ARUA CoE-MEN will use materials and nanotechnology to develop energy solutions for Africa, as well as materials development for efficiency and sustainability, and also develop personnel. The main aim is to develop materials and new technologies to benefit Africa, in both infrastructure and human development, to enable global competition. There will be a range of projects around the technological use of materials, from fundamental to devices up to prototype level and application. The projects should help to identify, and later develop, new opportunities in an African context. This is necessary because often solutions from more temperate climates cannot withstand the harsher conditions in Africa (higher temperatures and humidity), and so are not suitable. This will facilitate the development of new opportunities in an African context (e.g. sustainable manufacturing, off-grid energy technologies, improved materials, and materials recycling - obtaining more useful materials, as well as removing waste), developing the people to do it, and to help Africa become more competitive. ARUA CoE-MEN will investigate barriers to upscaling and uptake of sustainable technologies in Africa. As well as improving materials, strategies for creating and encouraging new technological pathways to facilitate transitions to sustainability in emerging water and energy technologies will be explored. Improved energy security will help the economies develop, leading to more stability with jobs, facilite people to become entrepreneurs, and help to improve the welfare and the wealth of citizens in the different countries. Some of projects target efficiency of materials and hence safety, e.g. by improving buildings and infrastructure (recent flood damage in southern Africa has shown that houses need to be more robust). Improved materials could have even larger long-term benefits on the environment, and help to improve other living conditions, e.g. improving water storage efficiency and cleanliness by combatting corrosion. The potential benefit to the African countries is improved development, improved environments and better education, for researchers and more widely, for the public, by outreach. ARUA CoE-MEN will also try to support more part-time higher degree students, who struggle to balance work, family and their research. This is an untapped source of students, and is an opportunity to increase the skills and work more closely with industry, and possibly entrepreneurs. The benefit to the UK is the strengthening of ties with the different African countries involved, and the potential to enter into business relationships for manufacturing in the future. The hub will be at the University of the Witwatersrand, which has a long-term history of running very successful networks and groups in materials science, and also provides world-class equipment and infrastructure to be shared.