PARC’s Research Associate Dr Eyob Balcha Gebremariam is one of six academic staff at the University of Bristol who have been awarded joint Fellowships and Professorships at the University of Cape Town (UCT). This is a wonderful partnership opportunity, facilitating greater engagement, impact and longer-term collaboration between the universities and their communities.
Eyob’s topic of research is ‘A comparative study on the multiple layers of power imbalances in scientific knowledge production: the case of public health in Ethiopia and South Africa’. He said:
“This fellowship is a good opportunity for me and two collaborating institutions (PARC and HUMA) to initiate and implement a research activity informed by the Africa Charter. Potential outcomes will help to sharpen the analytical perspectives of the Charter, and the comparative nature of the research can also strengthen its significance through considering variations across countries.”
His research will ascertain the ways in which power imbalances identified in the Africa Charter are manifested in the production of scientific knowledge in public health in Ethiopia and South Africa.
The research will generate comparative empirical data to identify the key actors and processes of scientific public health research, examine the influence of international collaborations in the processes of scientific research, document and analyse the experiences of African research actors involved in international research collaborations, and the recognition and inclusion of “local” knowledge systems in the study of public health.
The project findings will be disseminated through academic and policy papers, blogs, webinars and seminars/lectures. The research project builds on the strategic partnership of PARC (UoB) and HUMA (UCT) and will potentially contribute to implementing the Africa Charter.
Eyob’s first period of stay at UCT will be June-July 2024. The Fellowships are due to run for two years (six months of which will be based at UCT). You can read more about them in the University’s press release. In return, up to six academics from UCT will be visiting Bristol as part of the collaboration programme.
The participating Professors and Fellows will co-publish papers and submit joint grant applications to continue building the partnership between UCT and Bristol, as well as contributing to the wider research culture of the university.
