{"id":2576,"date":"2025-09-13T08:23:25","date_gmt":"2025-09-13T08:23:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.starsfellows.africa\/?p=2576"},"modified":"2025-09-13T08:23:26","modified_gmt":"2025-09-13T08:23:26","slug":"african-stars-fellows-reflections","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.starsfellows.africa\/pt\/2025\/09\/13\/african-stars-fellows-reflections\/","title":{"rendered":"African STARS Fellow’s Reflections"},"content":{"rendered":"

In just weeks, fellows from across the continent have already engaged in leadership, science communication, and innovation training.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By: Katrine Anker-Nilssen photos: Stefan Els<\/p>\n\n\n\n

he African STARS Fellowship is cultivating a new generation of leaders committed to translating research into impactful solutions for Africa. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In just weeks, fellows from across the continent have engaged in leadership, science communication, and innovation training, forming networks that transcend disciplines and borders. Their reflections underscore a shared commitment to tackling challenges in public health, biotechnology, and local manufacturing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We spoke with four fellows from the CERI cohort, who all emphasised how the programme equips them with skills, perspectives, and confidence to make their research relevant beyond academic journals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What motivated them to apply, and how do they feel about the programme so far?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Celestine Kemunto Nyamari from Kenya, a molecular biologist and public health researcher, shared, \u201cI wanted to bridge the gap between science and practical solutions for public health. This fellowship has already reshaped my identity as a researcher, emphasising leadership, mentorship, and impactful communication, empowering me to inspire real change across Africa.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

South African multilingual biomedical scientist, Charleen Wormsberg ,applied to the fellowship because she felt the need to contribute to something greater. \u201cI was drawn to this programme\u2019s vision of integrating science and entrepreneurship. The fellowship fast-tracks skills scientists often miss, reshaping my outlook on science\u2019s impact.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kennedy Mulungu, a young Malawian biomedical scientist, expressed his motivation to develop local biomanufacturing capabilities. \u201cThis fellowship provides world-class skills in vaccine design and diagnostics, empowering me to address our health challenges and contribute to building resilience in Malawi.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kingstone Nihaka from Zimbabwe, a co-founder of a biotech start-up who is passionate about democratising biotechnology, noted, \u201cThe first three weeks have been transformative. The fellowship has fostered networking, leadership conversations, and a journey of unlearning and relearning that empowers our vision for African-led solutions.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The African STARS Fellowship strives to improve African capabilities in genomics, diagnostics, and vaccine manufacturing while strengthening the African health workforce in response to future epidemics. Through this exciting fellowship, there\u2019s no doubt that these emerging young leaders are poised to make a lasting impact on the continent\u2019s future.
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In just weeks, fellows from across the continent have already engaged in leadership, science communication, and innovation training. By: Katrine Anker-Nilssen photos: Stefan Els he African STARS Fellowship is cultivating a new generation of leaders committed to translating research into impactful solutions for Africa.  In just weeks, fellows from across the continent have engaged in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2578,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2576","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.starsfellows.africa\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2576","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.starsfellows.africa\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.starsfellows.africa\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.starsfellows.africa\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.starsfellows.africa\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2576"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.starsfellows.africa\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2576\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2579,"href":"https:\/\/www.starsfellows.africa\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2576\/revisions\/2579"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.starsfellows.africa\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2578"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.starsfellows.africa\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2576"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.starsfellows.africa\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2576"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.starsfellows.africa\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2576"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}