Transforming Institutions Strategic Funding

2024-2025 Press Release

The Alliance for African Partnership (AAP) is excited to share the 2024-2025 Transforming Institutions Strategic Funding awardees. The selected awardees have been awarded seed funding to develop international strategic partnerships with universities, institutions of higher education and research, and/or organizations in the public or NGO sectors. Through this opportunity, grantees will directly address AAP's Transforming Institutions pillar (transforming institutions to be better able to participate in sustainable, equitable, and research-driven partnerships that make a broader impact on transforming lives).  

This year’s projects focus specifically on institutional and capacity strengthening. They have proposed to reinforce institutional strengths; contribute to individuals’ capacity strengthening, which will lead to institutional strengthening; create new units or institution-wide initiatives; and pilot new approaches to research support, teaching, or outreach that can be scaled up across the institutional partners. Each project team consists of a faculty PI from Michigan State University and at least one PI from an African AAP member institution. AAP is proud to support such important work, and we look forward to learning from each of these projects as they develop and deepen collaborations around transforming institutions.

2024-2025 AAP Transforming Institutions grants awardees: 

From Lab Coats to Public Forums: Crafting a Science Communication Curriculum for Medical Researchers

• PIs: Tonia Onyeka (UNN), James Dearing (MSU)
• Institutional Partners: University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), Michigan State University

A Capacity Building Workshop to Enhance Computational Skills and Foundational Knowledge in the Mathematical Sciences at the United States International University (USIU)

• PIs: Aklilu Zeleke (MSU), Gabriel Okello (USIU) 

• Institutional Partners: United States International University (USIU), Michigan State University 

Fostering Institutional Collaboration for Enhanced Research and Cultural Exchange in Urban Wastewater and Stormwater Management

• PIs: Asia Dowtin (MSU), Oscar Donde (EU), ZEBAZE TOGOUET Serge Hubert (UY), Christophe Piscart (CNRS)
• Institutional Partners: Egerton University (EU), Michigan State University, The University of Yaoundé (UY), and French Center for Scientific Research (CNRS)

Leveraging Partner University Collaboration to Strengthen Research Capacity in Food Science and Nutrition Graduate Training to Address Resource Constraints in Africa

• PIs: Ryan Walker (MSU), Vincent Mlotha (LUANAR), M Naushad Emmambux (UP)

• Institutional Partners: Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Pretoria, Michigan State University 

Capacity building on Relationship Violence and Sexual Misconduct (RSVM)

• PIs: Stephanie Anthony (MSU), Laura Rugless (MSU), Euzobia B. Mugisha (MAK), Dorcus Asiimwe (MFAI)
• Institutional Partners: Makerere University (MAK), Michigan State University, Michigan Fellows Africa Initiatives (MFAI)

Please contact AAP Co-Director Amy Jamison at jamisona(at)msu.edu or +1-517-884-2127 with any questions.