Under the British Council’s Researcher Links programme, offered under the Newton Fund, we invite you to participate in a five-day workshop on air pollution in emerging mega-cities. The workshop is being coordinated by Lancaster University (UK), African Technology and Policy Studies (Kenya), and North West University (South Africa). Open to Early Career Researchers (ECRs) based in UK, Kenya and South Africa.

The aims of the workshop are to:

• establish the current state of the science and the current and future needs of the atmospheric research community to address the growing issue of air pollution, climate change and their impacts on society in and around emerging mega-cities;
• introduce ECRs to a wide range of techniques and skills required to pursue cutting edge, transformative atmospheric research;
• raise awareness of the need for transdisciplinary co-produced research to holistically tackle the challenges of the UN Sustainable Development Goals;
• establish a cohort of ECRs engaged in chemistry-climate and air pollution research in UK, Kenya and South Africa, who have the potential to become future research leaders;
• facilitate cross-boundary networking and identify common experience on which to build future collaborative partnerships with fellow ECR, established scientists, policy makers and stakeholders.

The workshop will be facilitated by established researchers and practitioners, who will also act as mentors to participating ECRs:

• Dr Kirsti Ashworth, Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Research Fellow, LEC
• Dr Paul Young, LEC and Pentland Centre
• Dr Nicholas Ozor, Executive Director, African Technology and Policy Studies Network (ATPS)
• Dr David Odee, Kenya Forest Research Institute (KEFRI)
• Dr Akanimo Odon, CEO flexylearn.com and Africa Strategy Advisor at LEC
• Prof Paul Beukes, North Western University, S Africa
• Dr Rebecca Garland, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), S Africa

Ten ECRs from each participating country will be selected through a competitive application process. The application form and further details of the application process are available here. The form should be completed and returned to the relevant country contact by 18 Feb 2018.

You can download the application form and find further information about the workshop and the application process at 
http://www.lancaster.ac.uk/lec/news-and-events/events/trilateral-workshop-air-pollution-in-emerging-mega-cities-sources-evolution-and-impacts or contact Kirsti Ashworth at k.s.ashworth1@lancaster.ac.uk