[ETH4D] ETH for Development Newsletter

If this newsletter is not displayed properly, please click here to go to the website showing its full content.

Dear reader,

As ETH has switched to emergency operation, moving teaching and events online, we are also switching to a virtual environment and are excited to share our 4th newsletter. In the Solidarity section, we share the ETH’s platforms for community support in these challenging times. The Learning section provides an insight into sustainable development driven initiatives and potential future collaborations, while in Opportunities we present a number of grants for students and professors to apply for. Finally, we are very happy to share an insightful interview with Dr. Wilfred Elegba, one of our collaborators in Ghana, in the People section.

These are difficult times for many people around the globe and we are particularly worried about the consequences of Covid-19 for people in low-income countries. ETH4D therefore announces a special call for ETH4D Research Challenges that helps to prevent the spread of an infectious disease in African countries or to mitigate their negative impact on people’s health or livelihoods. The deadline for applications is 17th May 2020.

Stay healthy,

The ETH for Development (ETH4D) team

Contents

•	Solidarity
•	Innovation
•	Learning
•	Opportunities
•	People
•	Events

As solidarity and collaboration are essential in such exceptional times, ETH members offer a number of initiatives to help the community:

HelpfulETH is an emergency research-initiative, which aims to provide short-term engineering solutions for needs in the healthcare sector caused through the current epidemic situation. A workshop manned by student volunteers has already started producing face shields and a sterile device for protecting smartphones from the virus.

Students4Hospitals is an ETH students’ initiative supported by Prof. Dr. Jörg Goldhahn at D-HEST. Students of all disciplines can register to be placed in a healthcare institution and hospitals can register their need for volunteers.

Pharmadelivery enables pharmacies which are under a great deal of stress to connect quickly with pharmacy students who are eager to get involved and offer a helping hand.

Donate to the Corona Impulse Fund to allow quick, flexible implementation of measures and projects relating to the coronavirus.

Please get in touch if you know about any solidarity platforms, activities or networks that target specifically the needs of people in the Global South. We will collect these and share them in the news section of our webpage.

For more information on ETH solidarity initiatives, visit togETHer.

Our partners in Ghana

The class suspending has caused a shockwave and has raised many new challenges not only within ETH, but also within our partner universities in Ghana – Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and Ashesi university. Both have suspended classroom teaching and are putting together an effective distance learning plan to keep students academically active – according to Dr. Wilfred Elegba (read also his interview in the People section), in such situations sharing resources with partner universities abroad proves to be especially valuable.

Engineering solutions for the diagnosis and treatment of Covid-19

ETH4D member Prof. Wendelin Jan Stark with his team at the Functional Materials Laboratory are currently developing low-cost and easy-to-build solutions to fight the global Covid-19 disease that could also benefit low- and middle-income countries. Read about the projects here.

Electrifying Rwanda: Why mini-grid companies have lost the game

Rwanda’s goal to reach 100% electrification by 2024 relies heavily on off-grid electricity systems, like solar home systems and mini-grids. This will be a tall order for burgeoning solar home system and, especially, mini-grid companies, says Churchill Agutu, an ETH4D fellow and PhD candidate in the Energy Politics Group in collaboration with the Kigali Collaborative Research Centre (KCRC). Read the full article here.

ETH4D visits EPFL to foster future collaborations

On 26th February 2020, ETH4D visited Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL) to discuss innovation, sustainable development and possible cooperation in fighting global challenges. Read about the meeting and the EPFL's initiatives here.

SDG Public Lecture Series goes online!

The SDG Public Lecture series give insights from cutting edge science and leading societal actors on different sustainable development topics. Now you can listen to the scientific perspectives and panellist discussions on SDGs online. Register for participation in online sessions here.
The lecture series are taking place every Wednesday at 17:15-19:00 until May 2020.

ETH4D Research Challenges: Special call to respond to COVID-19 outbreak on the African continent

These are difficult times for many people around the globe and we are particularly worried about the consequences of Covid-19 for people in low-income countries. ETH4D therefore announces a special call for ETH4D Research Challenges that helps to prevent the spread of an infectious disease in African countries or to mitigate their negative impact on people’s health or livelihoods. The deadline for applications is 17th May 2020.

Open call for ETH4D grants

Apply for the following grant schemes and scholarships before 31 May 2020. Please note that special rules apply for visas for visitors from low-income countries due to Covid-19 and we currently expect that they can visit starting autumn 2020.

E4D Doctoral Scholarship Programme promotes doctoral research that is directly relevant for improving the lives of people living in poverty.

E4D Continuing Education Scholarship Programme aims to enhance the knowledge and skills of future leaders from low- and middle-income countries.

Visiting Scientist Grants encourage ETH scientists to bring senior scientists from low- and middle-income countries to ETH Zurich for a research stay or a workshop/conference attendance.

Teaching Stay Grants fund ETH scientists to travel to partner institutions for lectures, courses and collaboration meetings.

Visiting Student Grants support doctoral or master students from low- and middle-income countries to visit an ETH Zurich research group for 2-3 months.

Meet Dr. Wilfred Elegba

We would like to introduce you to Dr. Wilfred Elegba, one of our collaborators from Ghana. Wilfred received his doctorate in Plant Science from ETH Zurich and is currently working as a research scientist at the Biotechnology and Nuclear Agriculture Research Institute in Accra. In this interview, he talks about the benefits of an intercultural summer school, the development opportunities that researchers from Switzerland and sub-Saharan Africa can collaborate on, and the common misperceptions the Swiss have about Africa. Read the full article here.

Portraits

Dr. Martijn Sonnevelt

World Food System Center
Executive Director

Alexandra Hees

ETH for Development
Program Associate

ETH4D PhD Lunches		6 May 2020, 11:45 - 13:00 3 June 2020, 11:45 - 13:00 Now online More information and registration here.
ETH4D Doctoral Colloquium: Research for Development		NEW DATE 26 - 27 November 2020 ETH Zurich, Switzerland In this interdisciplinary PhD colloquium, doctoral students across several departments present and discuss their doctoral projects in a critical way. More information
ETH Sustainability Summer School		POSTPONED TO NEXT YEAR June 2021 Kumasi, Ghana In collaboration with ETH Sustainability and Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), ETH4D is organising a summer school in Ghana on the topic of solid waste. More information

ETH4D in the Social Media

Contact

ETH4D
Clausiusstrasse 37
8092 Zurich
Switzerland

eth4d@ethz.ch