We are pleased to announce the two grantees of the Special Covid-19 call, which supports research projects that address the negative impact of infectious diseases on the African continent. The first project by Dr. Nicole Stoffel assesses the impact of iron deficiency anemia on vaccine efficacy in Kenya. The second project by Prof. Dr. Stephan Wagner studies how to optimise logistics preparedness for disease outbreaks in Uganda.

In 2019, destructive fires in the Brazilian Amazon attracted much media attention. But thanks to a severe drought and even higher rates of deforestation, the fire season could be even worse in 2020. ETH4D member Prof. Rachael Garrett, together with Dr. Federico Cammelli from the Environmental Policy Lab and Prof. Jos Barlow from Lancaster University, published an insightful article on their research about fire use among Amazonian smallholders. Read here why farmers in the Amazon continue to set fires and how fire use could be made more sustainable.

The Design and Technology Lab is a joint venture between the Industrial Design Programme at Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK) and the Product Development Group of ETH Zurich dedicated to developing innovative solutions to real-world problems. For one semester, students work on solving challenges posed by NGOs, industry partners, or the research community. One example of such a project is PressPoint, a decentralised collection point with an integrated mechanical compressor for PET bottles, which students developed in collaboration with the start-up rePATRN in Ghana. If you are looking for a solution to a problem that involves design and technology, feel free to get in touch with the Lab and present your challenge. Project ideas will be accepted until the end of October.

In recent months, ETH Zurich and Ashesi University in Ghana, together with industry partners, have been developing a master’s programme in engineering, which aims to educate a next generation of leaders in sub-Saharan Africa. The jointly developed programme will be taught in Ghana in tandem between faculty from both universities. Graduates will receive an MSc degree from Ashesi University and an ETH MAS degree. This collaboration will support capacity building at Ashesi University and gradually build a two-year master’s programme that our partner university can sustainably present beyond the collaboration. The experience gained by faculty members from ETH Zurich should enable the wider ETH community to appropriately address the most urgent challenges and opportunities of our time through our research and teaching.

Having recently signed a memorandum of understanding with Ashesi University as well as agreements with several industrial partners, and having approval for the initiative at all levels at both institutions, we will celebrate the realisation of the initiative during a kick-off event on 13 October 2020. Find out more about the collaboration between ETH and Ashesi University here.

ETH4D in collaboration with the EcoVision Lab and the World Food System Center are pleased to invite you to the AI for Sustainability session at the Digital Festival Zurich. Learn from experts how they use Artificial Intelligence for global sustainable development and gather inspiration on how to use your own skills to contribute to a sustainable and inclusive future. Discuss AI for Sustainability with:

Charity Wayua (IBM Research Public Sector Kenya, IBM Research Africa)
Moustapha Cisse (Google AI Ghana, AIMS)
Jan Dirk Wegner (EcoVision Lab, ETH Zurich)
Massimo Selmo (Barry Callebaut)

ETH4D will be present at this year's ETH Industry eWeek, which takes place online from 21 to 24 September. Each day of the week will be dedicated to a particular field of research and professors and entrepreneurs will be there to answer your questions during a 20-minute live chat session. ETH4D will participate in the virtual exhibition that will showcase selected research teams, ETH centres, recent spin-​offs and young entrepreneurs. Take a look at the highlights of the ETH Industry Day 2019 and read more about the upcoming event here.

The third call for ETH4D Research Challenges is still open! The goal of these project-based collaborations between ETH scientists, the private sector, NGOs, governmental organisations and partners from around the world is to develop innovative and effective solutions for poverty reduction. Application deadline: 30 September 2020.

The deadline for the following grant schemes and scholarships is 30 November 2020.

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.

We would like to welcome our new members Dr. Pius Krütli from the Department of Environmental Systems Science, Prof. Michael Zimmermann from the Department of Health Sciences and Technology and Prof. Ernst Hafen from the Department of Biology.

Find the full list of our members here. If you want to join our network, please contact ETH4D Executive Director Adina Rom at adina.rom@nadel.ethz.ch.

We would like to congratulate Prof. Rachael Garrett for receiving the European Research Council (ERC) Starting Grant for young researchers.

The awarded project aims to provide major advancements in our understanding of the conditions under which forest-​focused supply chain policies can be both effective and equitable, leading to improved conservation and livelihoods in the tropics.

We also continue our interview series in which people from our community share insights about their work in global sustainable development. This time we get to know Shafiur Rahaman, a Research Project Manager for Eawag in the Rohingya refugee camps at Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh. Shafiur is coordinating the project activities of the ETH4D Research Challenge Community governance of emergency sanitation at the field level. In the interview, he talks about the challenges of his work in the refugee camps, his experience as an EPP fellow in Zurich, and his advice for building strong partnerships between researchers and collaborators in the field.