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Defence Education - Working in the maritime Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)
Ministry of Defence
This is an MOD course, delivered by the Defence Academy is designed specifically to relate to working and /or serving in the international maritime Exclusive Economic Zone, as defined by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the sea, with a particular focus on the range and use of applications of international law with respect to the scope of conduct of activity in the Exclusive Economic Zone. Working in the maritime Exclusive Economic Zone course also covers aspects of disaster relief preparedness.
Defence Education - Managing Defence in the Wider Security Context
Ministry of Defence
Unlike most other Defence Education courses, Managing Defence in the Wider Secuirity context is 100% ODA eligible.
Defence Education - Initial Officer Training
Ministry of Defence
The Initial Officer Training course has been specifically designed for individuals who have recently joined the military. This is the initial period of training undertaken by officers newly recruited into the Armed Forces, whether it be into the Army, Navy or Air Force. Limited elements of the course, for example relating to protection of civilians in conflict or international humanitarian law, are reported as ODA - approximately 5% of the course is therefore ODA eligible.
Defence Education - Strategic Leadership Programme
Ministry of Defence
Strategic Leadership Programme: This is a short course for serving military and civilian personnel, and it seeks to improve leadership skills, and to encourage participants to exercise leadership in a responsible manner that reflects (in particular) the topics of human rights, rule of law, democratic control and civilian oversight. Aspects of the Strategic Leadership Programme course also touch on delivery of humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, anti- corruption and transparency, and international humanitarian law. Relevant aspects of the course are reported as ODA.
Defence Education - Royal College of Defence Studies
Ministry of Defence
The Royal College of Defence Studies (RCDS) is a postgraduate education course for military and civilian personnel, focused on international security and strategic studies. The course contributes to the development of senior leaders and seeks to improve their ability to deal with security challenges in an effective and responsible manner, including by addressing issues such as human rights and rule of law, international humanitarian law, protection of civilians in conflict, anti-corruption and transparency, civilian oversight and democratic control of Armed Forces.
Defence Education - Advanced Command & Staff Course
Ministry of Defence
The Advanced command and Staff Course (ACSC) is a postgraduate education course for military and civilian personnel, and it aims to prepare all defence personnel for senior positions by developing their skills and abilities in order equip them to deal with all manner of security challenges in an effective and responsible manner. It addresses issues such as human rights and rule of law, international humanitarian law, protection of civilians in conflict, anti-corruption and transparency, civilian oversight and democratic control of Armed Forces.
Defence Education - Building Integrity for Senior Leaders
Ministry of Defence
The Building Integrity for Senior Leaders (BISL) Course is focused at the One- and Two-star level (military and civilian officials from the wider defence and security sector) to examine the key aspects of leadership and change management in addressing the risk of corruption within the defence and security sector in: finance, acquisition and procurement, human resource management and on operations.
Target making skills transfer
DEPARTMENT FOR SCIENCE, INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY
Thin film targets and foils are required for low-energy nuclear physics experiments in nuclear structure, nuclear reactions and nuclear astrophysics. In order to meet current demands of NP physicists engaged in experiments around the world, a large variety of targets are required from isotopes throughout the periodic table. Worldwide expertise in target preparation is becoming rare. In Europe, only a small number of target making laboratories remains. They produce targets for free to their own national users but usually charge the other users. In the USA, Argonne national laboratory has also a target making facility, but again mostly for local use. The target preparation laboratory (TPL) at Daresbury Laboratory provides this service to the UK NP community and it is the only facility of its kind available in the UK. The aim of the proposed work is to develop this expertise at the iThemba Laboratory (iTL) in South Africa and create a close UK-South Africa collaboration in this very niche expertise area. This will be achieved by a series of visits of the Daresbury TPL by staff from iTL, to learn the skills of target productions using various techniques: vacuum deposition, electron beam gun, sputtering, rolling and chemical fabrication techniques.
Sharing the sky – Using a global robotic telescope network for capacity and research community building in East Africa
DEPARTMENT FOR SCIENCE, INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY
We will provide a skills development programme for the astronomy communities in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and Rwanda through observational projects with the Las Cumbres Observatory (LCO) 1m global telescope network. Acknowledging the specific value of fundamental sciences for long-term sustainable economic development, we address the prevalent barrier of lack of access to world-leading research facilities. Moreover, experience has shown that facility access needs to be paired with active engagement with potential user communities and a gradual development of expertise and experience in order to eventually develop strong research programmes. Our programme involves four national coordinators in each respective country who will act as focal point for their local community. Rather than building a single research project that focuses on a small number of individuals, we aim at supporting and growing whole communities at large, not only covering researchers with a PhD, but also PhD students and undergraduate research projects. Dedicated in-person workshops, covering observational and statistical techniques as well as campaign design and management, will accompany the target community along their research journey with the LCO network and support building inter-African collaborations, as well as path towards independence and African leadership (not being reliant on the strength of a non-African partner) as part of an integrated process. The opportunity for less resourced countries is in innovation, building on the creativity of its people to eventually shape new global trends. This provides potential to leap ahead rather than just trying to catch up. We will therefore particularly support research projects that trial new ideas or approaches, while providing pathways to larger projects and internationally competitive facility proposals. LCO uniquely combines the features of fast response, uninterrupted long-term monitoring, and full-sky coverage, resulting from a purpose-built design for observing astronomical transient events with durations ranging from seconds to several years. We will be getting astronomy research communities in East Africa ready for the unprecedented flood of alerts on transients of up to 10,000,000 per night from the LSST survey, expected from early 2026.
Building the foundation for geodetic excellence in Africa through the Africa-UK Physics Partnership
DEPARTMENT FOR SCIENCE, INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY
Geodesy measures the Earth’s time-variable size, shape, and gravity. Its role is fundamental to various scientific areas, such as navigation and mapping, climate change, engineering, meteorology, and natural hazards. The precise geographical information systems (GIS) produced by geodesy are essential for delivering services to people, households, and businesses, administering land rights and development permits, and developing and maintaining national and regional infrastructures to access water, waste management, electricity, transport, schooling, health facilities, markets, and security. As a result, geodesy has been noted to contribute directly and indirectly to all of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, the status of geodetic infrastructure on the African continent needs to be fully documented, and the existing infrastructure must be made more extensive to enable African nations to participate in and contribute to global geodesy effectively. This project seeks to address these challenges by laying the groundwork for a comprehensive understanding and enhancement of the geodetic infrastructure in Africa. It will assess the current state of geodetic equipment, computational infrastructure, and human capacity across critical African nations, including South Africa, Tanzania, Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda. By conducting a detailed inventory and analyses of existing resources, the project will identify critical gaps and opportunities for enhancement and strategically plan for new infrastructure development. The project will tackle these challenges by using advanced simulation techniques to assess where new infrastructure would be most beneficial, ensuring that future investments are strategically targeted and cost-effective for maximal impact. This foundational work is essential for enabling Africa to build a robust and sustainable geodetic infrastructure that aligns with global standards and meets the continent's unique needs. One of the most significant benefits of this project is its potential to substantially enhance Africa’s contribution to global geodesy. By laying the groundwork for improved infrastructure and capacity, the project will enable African nations to play a more active role in international geodetic initiatives, such as those outlined in the UN General Assembly Resolution A/RES/69/266, "A Global Geodetic Reference Frame for Sustainable Development." This will benefit the scientific community and support policymakers in making informed decisions related to many areas, such as climate change, disaster management, and urban planning. In addition to its scientific and policy implications, the project will have broader societal benefits. By promoting awareness of the importance of geodesy and encouraging greater participation from underrepresented groups, particularly women, the project will contribute to a more inclusive and diverse geodetic community in Africa. Furthermore, the knowledge and skills gained through this project will have applications beyond geodesy, supporting advancements in environmental monitoring, agriculture, and infrastructure development. In summary, this project aims to establish a solid foundation for the future development of geodetic infrastructure in Africa, ensuring that the continent is well-positioned to meet its own needs while contributing to global geodetic science. The project will create the conditions necessary to establish GGOS Africa, an affiliate of the Global Geodetic Observing System (GGOS), through detailed infrastructure assessment, capacity building, and strategic planning. This regional body will coordinate geodetic activities and further integrate Africa into the global geodetic community.
IKIRERE - Innovation And Knowledge Integration For Resilience In East Africa Through Climate Research And Education
DEPARTMENT FOR SCIENCE, INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY
Climate extremes such as droughts, floods and heatwaves affect many parts of the world, already having devastating impacts on human health, food security, livelihoods, infrastructure and water resources. East Africa is one of the regions most prone to these extreme events, and particularly vulnerable due to its strong reliance on rain-fed agriculture and limited resources to mitigate their effects. As climate change intensifies, these extreme events are predicted to be longer, more severe and more frequent, thus adding extra pressure on already overburdened developing nations, who have contributed the least to the greenhouse gas emissions causing global warming. One way to help East African nations adapt to climate change and be more resilient to extreme events is through improved understanding of the drivers and indicators of these phenomena, which can be used to develop effective early-warning systems. However, there are still a lot of uncertainties around how these extreme events develop in the region and what early indications may exist. Some of the barriers these countries face are a lack of measurements on the ground, limited access to data, and reduced capacity to undertake the necessary research due to lack of funding and low uptake of physics as a career (including climate physics), particularly by women. In this project (‘IKIRERE’, which means ‘climate’ in Kinyarwanda) we have partnered with colleagues in Rwanda and Tanzania to address two key climate change challenges affecting their societies and economies: uncertainties related to drought and heatwaves, and the reduced capacity in the field of climate physics. By combining scientific and capacity-building activities we will provide a comprehensive solution that not only sheds light on two pressing issues, namely droughts and heatwaves, but also contributes to building the next generation of local talent that will help their countries independently research, manage, mitigate and adapt to climate challenges in the long term. Our objectives are: Generate new knowledge of soil moisture droughts and heatwaves in East Africa through the use of physical process models, state-of-the-art methods and datasets. Exploit new technological methods, including explainable AI and physics-based machine-learning emulators. Build the capacity of early-career African researchers through dedicated workshops, with a focus on gender equality. Raise awareness of the importance of quality physics-based climate research through outreach in schools, including resources for primary schools and a dedicated Physics-Camp workshop for older pupils. We expect the outcomes of this project will have many benefits and applications. Some of the methods and tools developed for IKIRERE will be the building blocks for a future Digital Twin of droughts and heatwaves, which will help democratise access to climate data and provide decision support to stakeholders. The new knowledge of droughts and heatwaves will form the basis of new early-warning systems and help inform the affected countries to be better prepared for future events. The new educational tools and materials, supported by the UK STEM Learning Centre and GEO/CEOS, will reach large numbers of users through our collaboration with Digital Earth Africa. The school activities and dedicated physics workshops will train and inspire a wide range of local students and researchers, who may go on to take careers in climate physics. Finally, the dedicated gender equality workshop will raise awareness of the unique issues women face to the uptake of STEM careers and help break barriers.
Simulation-based inference for the Square Kilometre Array and Beyond
DEPARTMENT FOR SCIENCE, INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY
The Square Kilometre Array (SKA) is an international project with worldwide participation, to analyse radio signals from the Universe with two very large footprint telescope arrays across 9 African countries and Australia. The SKA will arguably be the largest fundamental science project ever undertaken and will open a new window on the Universe, shedding light on key unsolved problems in astronomy and cosmology. The huge volumes and sensitivity of the data from the SKA present a number of key challenges. One of the most pressing is the contaminating noise from radio-frequency interference (RFI) from the ever-growing number of cell phones, satellites, radio stations and television broadcasts. Efficiently dealing with this RFI at the multi-petabyte scale of the SKA requires rigorous new statistical and computation methods that bridge traditional statistics and cutting-edge machine learning and Artificial Intelligence. It represents a unique opportunity to build scientific capacity in Africa. The proposal is designed to contribute to this, through two main elements: the specialised training of two early-career SKA researchers, one in South Africa and one at Imperial College, focussed on recruiting from Africa; and the broader impact of training around 30-40 students from across Africa at the interface of statistics and artificial intelligence through a dedicated summer school and workshop. We aim to provide this training free to the students. The specialised research project has four main components: simulation, emulation, data compression, and statistical inference. Although this targets the SKA, the skills are broadly applicable to many areas where inference with complex simulations are important, including climate modelling, epidemiology and manufacturing. The proposers are leaders in all of the core method areas and have extensive experience in the training of junior researchers, and are ideally placed to impart this knowledge. In addition, the proposers have a proven track record of working effectively together.
SAPPHIRE : Supra-African Physics Partnership for Health Innovation and Radiotherapy Expansion
DEPARTMENT FOR SCIENCE, INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY
Vision: SAPPHIRE is a UK-African research and training partnership which will build capacity in Africa to obtain better fault information of M-LINACs and to feed into an M-LINAC tailored to low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Importance: Our previous STFC funded ITAR project surveyed 28 African countries, revealing two major challenges: 1) many African M-LINACs suffer from considerable down-time down due to frequent breakdowns of specific components; and 2) a shortfall exists in radiotherapy workforce, especially trained physicists. Team: We will bring together M-LINAC facilities in Accra and Kumasi (Ghana) and Pretoria (South Africa), two STFC accelerator centres in Oxford & Lancaster, and medical physics expertise from Cambridge in partnership with CERN and ICEC. Our global team has decades of experience in accelerator and M-LINAC research and has engaged in collaboration with African partners since 2010. Areas of Focus: Specific focus will be given to post-acceleration beam-shaping systems that match radiation beam to tumour target (i.e. multi-leaf collimator devices). MLCs are prone to frequent breakdowns. Project SAPPHIRE has 3 key objectives: Objective 1: To identify junior physicists in Africa to train in electronic data collection and analysis of usage and fault data from M-LINAC stock in their own centres. Objective 2: To use gathered data to assess the effect of faults and to define MLC tolerances, studying different candidate leaf designs for an improved and robust MLC unit. Objective 3: To compare the performance of candidate designs with current-generation commercial M-LINAC devices for treatment planning using real-world clinical data. We will achieve these objectives through four key Physics Education And Research Linkage work packages (PEARLs): PEARL-1 Data Capture. We will create a solution for electronic data capture (EDC) of M-LINAC fault and usage data, enhanced with key environmental factors (e.g. operating temperature, voltage stability, humidity and atmospheric particulate levels). Hasford, Addison and Nethwadzi will supervise training of junior physicists for EDC work in Ghana and South Africa. PEARL-2 MLC Improvements. Dosanjh, Burt, Addison, Hasford and Nethwadzi will develop an understanding of the causes of MLC faults, analyse the implications on the radiation patterns using Geant4 and develop improvements of the MLC design. This will allow researchers throughout our collaboration to investigate the relationship between reported fault and environmental data and the design constraints of the MLC. PEARL-3 Training workshops. Burt, Dosanjh, Jena, Ayette, Addison, Grover, Hasford, and Nethwadzi will establish two physics schools in Africa, first one in Ghana focussing on LINACs, their sub-components and faults/maintenance of those system and the second in Pretoria focussing on radiation physics simulations and imaging and treatment planning. PEARL-4 Treatment planning. Jena, Dosanjh, Ayette and Grover, will compare the performance of candidate hardware designs with current-generation commercial M-LINAC devices in a suite of treatment planning tasks typical of today’s clinical demands. Pathway to success: 1) We have a rich and capable multi-professional team and a long track record of successful collaboration. 2) We will make lasting impact through successful upskilling of junior physics staff in Africa, to perform better research and development in M-LINAC component design and operational robustness. 3) Data from SAPPHIRE will be used by our global consortium (ICEC) to design and deploy a novel fault tolerant M-LINAC design for LMICs by 2030.
Frugal Innovation for Societally-Important Challenges in Africa (FISICA)
DEPARTMENT FOR SCIENCE, INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY
Historically, Physics is seen to be a key driver of novel techniques and instrumentation that draw on our advances in scientific understanding. Such instrumentation often plays a critical role in helping to solve societal challenges in areas such as agriculture, climate change, energy generation, and healthcare. Sadly, much state-of-the-art technology is prohibitively expensive for developing countries, limiting its adoption. Here, we will bring together partners from the UK and several African countries – Ghana, Rwanda, South Africa and Tanzania – to collaborate on developing cost-effective instrumentation. The two types of instrumentation to be worked on are a hyperspectral imager and a gamma-ray spectrometer: A hyperspectral imager is an instrument that can be used to analyse fine details of the light reflected by the leaves of plants in different parts of the visible or infra-red spectrum. The properties of this reflected light turn out to be very sensitive to the health of plants or crops. In this manner, a hyperspectral imager can be a major benefit to monitoring of crops and other aspects of agricultural development. A gamma-ray spectrometer is an instrument that is sensitive to gamma radiation. Gamma radiation is emitted from so-called naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM) found in certain rocks, minerals and soils. A gamma-ray spectrometer can both quantify the radiation and identify its origin. This project will begin with two workshops: one in the UK and one in South Africa. The workshops will be facilitated by experts in innovation to help the project partners co-create mini projects making use of the novel instrumentation to address challenges specific to their own localities, with a particular focus on issues such as agriculture and climate change. The project will deliberately challenge people to work in a highly interdisciplinary way and collaborate with other researchers well outside their immediate field of expertise. Impacts are expected not only in technology development but also from the field trials to be carried out with the novel instruments. The project will also lead to capability building and upskilling of significant numbers of early career researchers at universities and organisations across several Africa countries. The project builds on existing strong collaborations between the University of York in the UK and three Universities in South Africa: University of Pretoria (UP), University of the Western Cape (UWC) and the University of Zululand (UZ). Indeed, this new project will, in part, exploit earlier STFC investments (Funder Award Reference ST/S003118/1) that built the Modern African Nuclear DEtector LAboratory (MANDELA) at the two historically disadvantaged universities, UWC and UZ.
Turkey - Research Environment Links
DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY
Turkey - Research Environment Links is funded through the UK Government’s Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Newton Fund and delivered on the UK side by the British Council. This activity contributes to the Newton Fund’s work in building research and innovation partnerships with countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America to support economic development and social welfare, tackle global challenges and develop talent and careers.
Future Cities - A UK-Indonesia Partnership on Sustainable and Inclusive Cities
UK - Foreign, Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO)
To support Indonesia to grow sustainably whilst adapting to the impacts of climate change in cities and investing in climate-resilient urban infrastructure.
Disability Capacity Building Programme
UK - Foreign, Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO)
To promote the rights of people with disabilities in line with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities by supporting the delivery of small grants, training and partnership building between UN agencies, governments, private sector and disabled persons organisations.
Ghana Revenue Programme
UK - Foreign, Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO)
To support reform of Ghana’s domestic revenue collection, including strengthening accountability mechanisms and providing the foundation for long term sustainable revenue generation.
Good Governance Fund (Phase 3) Eastern Neighbourhood: Supporting Governance and Economic Reform
UK - Foreign, Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO)
The Good Governance Fund Phase 3 will deliver demand-led support to governance reforms that allow open societies and economies to flourish. The Good Governance Fund will focus on improving democratic and economic governance, primarily through strategically targeted technical assistance. The Good Governance Fund programme will deliver interventions on a flexible basis, based on identified needs and/or requests from government counterparts or civil society in beneficiary countries (Armenia, Georgia and Moldova) in support of governance and economic reforms. This will support delivery and seek to prevent/reverse democratic backsliding. The Good Governance Fund is part of an integrated portfolio of programmes operating in the Eastern Europe and Central Asia Directorate region and supports the delivery of four National Security Council strategies and the Integrated Review.
Support to the Palestinian Authority to Deliver Basic Services, Build Stability and Promote Reform in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (SSRP)
UK - Foreign, Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO)
To support the Palestinian Authority (PA) to meet the needs of the Palestinian people. Funding will enable around 25,000 young Palestinians with access to an education, provide up to 3,700 immunisations for children, and 185,000 medical consultations each year. This will help to build and strengthen the capacity of PA institutions through public financial management reform, and build stability in the region by preserving the two state solution.
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