Young Scientists for Africa

Our Mission

Young Scientists for Africa (YoSA) is a registered charity supporting young African science students by:

- Awarding scholarships to attend the annual London International Youth Science Forum (LIYSF).

- Creating a student network in Africa to enable and encourage careers in science.

This is necessary because:

- Extensive analysis has demonstrated that Africa needs science, not just aid, to address the socio-economic and public health challenges it faces.

- Africa needs young African scientists to lead the charge on reshaping the continent and improving and saving African lives.

What YoSA offers:

YoSA was established to support young African science students who don't typically have access to the same opportunities as those in other parts of the world. A central component of YoSA is a scholarship programme to sponsor African science students to attend the London International Youth Science Forum (LIYSF).

Proper representation of African students at this international forum is hugely important and before the creation of YoSA there was no representation of students from countries in Sub-Saharan Africa; a continent that constitutes approximately 20% of the world's youth population.

YoSA works with leading scientists and scientific initiatives in Africa to identify the best young African scientific talent. These students are then sponsored to attend the London International Youth Science Forum - an annual event which attracts over 500 of the world's best science students from more than 70 countries, many of whom have won national science competitions - and are given the chance to engage with world leading scientists in a two week programme of lectures, debates and visits to research institutions.

At LIYSF, YoSA students have the opportunity to share their perspectives and create lasting relationships with an audience of other young scientists from all over the world. They also raise the profile of African science by introducing other students to the challenges and opportunities for science in Africa.

YoSA operates through a network of facilitators and has established links with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (https://www.gatesfoundation.org/), The Wellcome Trust (https://wellcome.ac.uk/), The Alliance for Accelerating Excellence in Science in Africa (AESA) (http://aesa.ac.ke/), Projekt Inspire (http://projektinspire.co.tz/) and the Next Einstein Forum (https://nef.org/).

Through the support of its network of facilitators YoSA sponsors open and fair selection processes to identify talented young African scientists, for whom other financial support would not be available, and who are committed to pursuing science careers in Africa. The facilitators also support scholarship students locally with their visa and passport requirements as they have typically never travelled outside their own country before.

Our ambition is to support young African scientists, not just in attending LIYSF, but also in creating a network that can link into other African science initiatives such as Next Einstein Forum (https://nef.org/) and Africa Research Excellence Fund (http://www.africaresearchexcellencefund.org.uk/) as they progress in their education and careers. We have directly facilitated introductions for our students with these and other leading science organisations in Africa and we actively monitor and encourage the progress of their scientific development through these connections.

Each of our scholarship students has returned to Africa with a determination to succeed in science. They have been very proactive in communicating their experiences at LIYSF within their schools and local communities and inspire others pursue careers in science. They are each required to write a report of their experiences as part of the scholarship we provide and this forms the basis of these presentations.

Our students are fantastic ambassadors for science in Africa and it's no exaggeration to say that YoSA and LIYSF have had a life changing effect on them and their ambitions for their future careers as African scientists.

What is LIYSF:

The London International Youth Science Forum (LIYSF) is a two week residential event held at Imperial College London, with lectures and demonstrations from leading scientists, visits to industrial sites, research centres, scientific institutions and organisations, including world class laboratories and universities. LIYSF attracts over 500 of the world's leading young scientists, aged 16-21 years, from more than 70 countries. This year was the 60th LIYSF and further details can be found at https://www.liysf.org.uk/.