May 19 - Higher Education and Research

PIX

Today we spent the morning at University Cheikh Anta Diop (UCAD).  A quick tour of some academic buildings and the University Library revealed that, though the academic infrastruture is overcrowded and dated, this is countered by the seriousness of the students we saw.  Lecture halls were overflowing with students, and there were very few empty chairs in the library; students were doing serious study in an environment unthought of by the average Georgia Southern student.

We then met with members of the faculty of the College des Lettres et Sciences Humaines.  Our dialogue was cordial and varied; we discussed commonalities such as a lack of funding, and looked for ways to collaborate on projects.  We'd like to open some channels of communication, and we'll jump on that project first once we're back in the US.  The usual technological methods for collaboration at a distance in the US (content management systems, videoconferencing, online course delivery, etc.) aren't possible here, so we'll begin at a lower level and see if the available technology can catch up with our needs.

After our meeting we toured several labs: Zoology, Anthropology, Water Reclamation, and Carbon Dating.  We saw the state of research at UCAD, and it is both timely, appropriate, and impressive.

After lunch at a local restaurant, we headed to the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA), the largest Social Science research center in West Africa.  Again, the work being done here is important, with almost every government in West Africa looking to these researchers to address significant problems throughout the region.

The evening brought a visit to a local club for many of us.  The music scene in Dakar is important to the development of popular music in the US, so perhaps we saw a rising star who will burst on to the American music scene in a year or two, or an influential group whose work is sampled by current pop and rap stars.