Nipissing University professor awarded fellowship to support projects in Africa

North Bay, ON – Dr. Odwa Atari, associate professor in the Department of Geography and Geology at Nipissing University, has been awarded a Carnegie African Diaspora Fellowship, a scholar fellowship program that supports educational projects at African higher education institutions.

Through the fellowship, Atari will travel to Uganda, when travel restrictions allow, to work with Makerere University on teaching, mentoring and collaborative research. In partnership with host faculty member, Dr. Frank Mugagga, chair of the Department of Geography, GeoInformatics and Climatic Sciences at Makerere University, Atari will teach and mentor graduate students, and develop collaborative research with both graduate students and faculty on the use of geospatial techniques to explore the determinants of health. The project will also include the development of online and onsite training modules on the same topic.

“I’m thrilled to have been selected for this fellowship and to have the opportunity to work with students and faculty at Makerere University to exchange knowledge and establish a collaborative research culture between our two institutions,” said Dr. Atari, associate professor, Nipissing University.

The Carnegie African Diaspora Fellowship Program is designed to reverse Africa’s brain drain, strengthen capacity at host institutions, and develop long-term, mutually beneficial collaborations between universities in Africa and the United States and Canada. Fellowships match host universities with African-born scholars to work on projects in research collaboration, graduate student teaching/mentoring and curriculum co-development.

The Makerere University project is one of 56 projects that will pair African Diaspora scholars with higher education institutions and collaborators in Africa. A total of 527 African Diaspora Fellowships have been awarded for scholars to travel to Africa since the program’s inception in 2013. More information on the African Diaspora Fellowship Program, including a full list of projects, hosts and scholars can be found here.

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Contact:

Meghan Venasse
Manager, Communications
Nipissing University
705-474-3450 ext. 4615
meghanv@nipissingu.ca