In January 2020, two students from across the world met on the “Evolution of an Epidemic” course. Their friendship inspired the creation of a program they hope will benefit African science for years to come.

Martin Lubowa was a high school student at the prestigious African Leadership Academy (ALA) when he got an opportunity–the chance to be part of the first cohort of ALA students to join MIT undergraduates on the annual “Evolution of an Epidemic” course.

“It was a wonderful opportunity to go and learn about the HIV epidemic up close,” Lubowa said. “I was really happy to be nominated for the program.”

Daniel Zhang was a sophomore biology student at MIT when he signed up for the class.

“I was interested in the policy side, the research side, and the medicine side of the HIV epidemic,” Zhang said. “But ultimately also the chance to speak to the people there who are at the forefront of dealing with this incredible challenge.”

Despite being from opposite ends of the world–Lubowa from Uganda and Zhang from California–the two would become roommates. Then friends. Then partners on a global project to mentor the next generation of African scientists.

Identifying the Challenge

Over the course of the program, which took them to research sites across South Africa from Johannesburg to rural KwaZulu-Natal, Lubowa and Zhang were randomly assigned as roommates and quickly hit it off.

“Despite being from such different backgrounds and cultures, we built a lot of common ground,” Zhang recalled. “We both love mentorship and we both love sports as well. So we spent a lot of late nights talking until like 1 or 2 a.m.”

Inevitably the conversation would turn towards science and research, with both being inspired by what they were experiencing in the course.

“We had time to reflect as we talked,” Lubowa said. “We visited a number of research sites on this course. And then we had a very interesting conversation about how research is being done in Africa versus how it’s done in the US.”

As their late night conversations progressed, the one issue they kept coming back to was the lack of mentorship and support for young African researchers. 

“The question we kept asking is how will our young people be supported to do great work in their own careers,” Lubowa said. “We know that there are programs and work in Africa by international researchers, but what about African scientists who want to do their own research?”

Taking Action

At the end of January 2020, Zhang and Lubowa went their separate ways at the conclusion of the course with a promise to stay in touch and develop their idea further.

In March, COVID-19 threw a wrench in their plans. Locked inside with not much else to do, they began to call and talk from across the world to discuss their ideas for addressing  the problem of mentorship.

“We began doing research and realized the biggest problem was that most African scientists were doing research as students and in classes until graduation. But post-grads didn’t consider continuing research” Lubowa noted. “So based on that we thought of a pilot. A simple research bootcamp.”

They began recruiting students from all over Africa to participate in the pilot, getting help from their respective networks and setting up an initial program to provide research skills to participants. With just the two of them, it required great resourcefulness.

“We invited guest lecturers, friends, young scientists in Africa who were willing to come and provide master classes. So we reached out to all these people and managed to make a real program,” Lubowa said. “Apart from the time investment, we managed to run that first bootcamp for $0.”

It was important for them to run the program for free considering the economic difficulties facing many of their students.

“As the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated, those from lower socioeconomic statuses and backgrounds were often more jeopardized in terms of learning,” Zhang said. “So we really wanted to make this valuable and accessible. The pilot boot camp was a virtual program for 80 students where we taught them the fundamentals of science and research.”

From that first boot camp, Future African Scientist was born.

Expanding Across Africa

Today, Future African Scientist (FAS) has since held three full-scale bootcamps and is currently developing a framework for a yearlong academy.

Since 2021, over 200 students have participated in training from countries across Africa including Uganda, Kenya, Sudan, Nigeria, Ghana, and elsewhere. Over 50% of them had never participated in a research program before and 98% had not published a paper.

Some participants have gone on to place highly in competitions, while one pair of students used their training to develop a mosquito-repellent cream that they started selling.

“We don’t want Future African Scientist to be a one-off program where students participate and we never see them again,” Zhang said. “Once they join this program, they become part of a greater community and that’s something we continue to strive for today.”

Looking Forward 

As FAS continues to grow, Lubowa and Zhang are hopeful about its capacity to grow and make an even greater impact on African science. Current plans include expanding to reach students in more countries and provide even more long-term support.

“Our hope is to have lifetime career support for all scientists and create a network,” Lubowa said. “We want to continue to connect these researchers with additional opportunities so they can land jobs and internships.”

Currently, the bootcamps teach foundational research skills to young scientists. But the pair hope to expand into entrepreneurial training and job skills to create a full year-long academy program. 

The two are grateful that their chance friendship led to something so much greater than they had ever expected.

“I think it was really special that we were able to forge this connection and we’re still able to call and both be involved quite deeply,” Zhang said. “So we’re very excited for FAS to keep thriving and help make an impact on Africa and the world.”

To learn more about Future African Scientist, head to their website.