About this blog:
Sustainable Research Cooperation – A review (SuReCo) was started as a part of a research project about European-African Research Collaborations. It was initiated in 2016 by Stefan Skupien and financed by a research grant of the Volkswagen Foundation. In 2018, the blog evolved from a single-author blog into a multi-editor platform, when Agnes Lutomiah joined as co-editor for a short period and expanded the focus with her interests as well as when colleagues contributed with articles and reviews. The new format transcends the focus of the initial project and its focus on European donors and the field of neglected tropical diseases and renewable energy.
This blog offers a platform to cover various aspects of scientific collaborations between countries of the North and the South and between countries of the South. It will regularly present and discuss results, review new research and media articles, conduct interviews with focus on the constraints and opportunities, modalities and contexts of North-South and South-South scientific collaboration.
The scientific collaborations under review often take place in an environment that is shaped by asymmetric starting positions and unequal access to resources. New forms of collaborations and of sustaining them have evolved over the past decades. The blog reflects on the past developments, captures the presence, and aims at giving ideas for a future of more equitable scientific collaborations.
We invite guest authors to participate with:
- Research summaries of their own articles and books on the topic of scientific collaborations
- Interviews with participants, administrators, and researchers of scientific collaborations
- Comments on contemporary events, conferences, policies or similar subjects
- Information about conferences in the science and technology studies and related communities
- Teaching content of courses related to Science and Technology
- Short reviews of new academic and non-academic literature (around 500 words)
The blog appreciates all contributions. We remain the right to edit and/or reject proposals that are not related to the subject of the blog or are of low quality. Don’t hesitate to send us a short outline of your idea.
About the editor:
Stefan Skupien is a trained political scientist with a further interest in philosophy. He wrote a doctoral dissertation about West African constitutional reforms after 1988 with focus on Ghana’s transition to multiparty democracy. Before starting postdoctoral research, he worked in the administration of two Berlin universities. His interest in African-European relations was sparked off during a research internship with the Kenyan Security Research & Information Centre in 2005 and has since been deepened through civic and academic engagement. Currently, he is working as scientific coordinator for Open Science at the newly found Berlin University Alliance.
Previous Co-Editor:
Agnes Lutomiah, PhD is a trained economist with research interests in higher education and science policy. Her doctoral study focused on the performance of the Kenyan national science system, particularly in relation to research production, funding and research collaboration. Prior to her doctoral studies, she looked at higher education policies in Kenya, specifically, how academic incentives influence research production. She is currently a research fellow at the African Centre for Technology Studies (Kenya).