The Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation and Riksbankens Jubileumsfond have decided to support the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study (STIAS) in South Africa with grants of SEK 25 million and SEK 11 million, respectively, over a five-year period.
“We hope that the grants will contribute to scientific development in Africa and stimulate further collaboration between Swedish and African researchers. It also supports the development of the next generation of academic leaders in Africa,” says Peter Wallenberg Jr, Vice Chairman of the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation.
STIAS is an international research institute and an arena for exchanging ideas about science and society for researchers in every discipline, including the experimental disciplines. The Institute seeks to contribute sustainable solutions to the challenges facing the African continent.
The effort now chosen consists of long-term research programs focused on African issues in which African and Swedish researchers cooperate, and of grants for doctoral studies and for the development of future academic leaders in Africa.
“STIAS strengthens the conditions for conducting prominent research on the African continent. Its role models are other institutes for advanced study, such as Princeton and Stanford. The researchers are, during the critical period after the doctoral exam and before professorship, as their more advanced colleagues, given excellent opportunities to develop their ideas. If one wants to contribute to long-term academic development in Africa, South Africa is where to invest,” says Göran Blomqvist, Managing Director of Riksbankens Jubileumsfond.
The Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study has been built up over more than a decade with support from the Marianne and Marcus Wallenberg Foundation and Riksbankens Jubileumsfond. STIAS is the first research institute of its kind in Africa and is already a prominent international organization on the African continent.
“The new contribution totaling SEK 36 million will help establish STIAS as a leading meeting place, not only in Africa, but for researchers from around the world,” confirms Göran Sandberg, the Foundation's Executive Director.
Contact persons:
Peter Wallenberg Jr, Vice Chairman Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation
Tel: +46-8-545 017 80
Göran Sandberg, Executive Director Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation
Tel: +46-8-545 017 80
E-mail: [email protected]
Göran Blomqvist, Managing Director of Riksbankens Jubileumsfond
Phone: +46-70 35 27 130
E-mail: [email protected]