The aim of this workshop is to establish an ongoing partnership between the Universities of Bahir Dar and Cambridge based on a shared commitment to contributing to society. Workshop participants will identify shared common interests and evolve collaborative research proposals to submit to the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) and other funding programmes that support research for the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The primary themes addressed during the workshop will be water, food, energy, waste, health, work and livelihoods. However, anyone interested in establishing an ongoing relationship between the two universities on another theme is welcome to discuss the possibility with the organisers. Please contact Lara Allen (lara.allen@centreforglobalequality) in Cambridge or Seifu Tilahun (satadm86@gmail.com) in Bahir Dar to discuss the possibility. The workshop will consist of plenary presentations, small group work, 1-2-1 relationship building between collaborators, site visits and proposal writing.

The Cambridge Global Challenges Strategic Research Initiative has a limited amount of funding to support travel costs for Cambridge attendees, particularly for researchers working within the EPSRC remit. If Cambridge researchers would like to attend but will not be able to access travel funding, please email Lara. The total cost of attending the workshop (flights, visas, accommodation, food and field visits) is likely to be £1500. There is also some funding available to sponsor travel within Ethiopia if Bahir Dar participants would like to invite colleagues from Universities elsewhere in the country.

Partners in the GCRF InFAST Hub bid from universities other than Bahir Dar and Cambridge are also welcome to attend. Please contact Lara Allen (lara.allen@centreforglobalequality.org) to arrange this.

Draft Workshop Schedule

Day 1 – Saturday 24th March, 2018

• Plenary: Introduction to main partners; overview of Aims and Objectives of the Workshop
• Participants present 15 minute overviews of their research interests
• Group work: discussion groups by theme

Day 2 – Field visit – Sunday 25th March, 2018

Visit/s to potential research sites outside Bahir Dar

Day 3 – Monday 26th March, 2018

• Plenary: Short report backs by discussion groups; field visit reflections; identification of cross-cutting themes and potential coordination between thematically defined research projects
• Groupwork: Drafting of research frameworks on themes and specific project proposals.
• Plenary: Short overviews of potential research collaborations.

Day 3 – Tuesday 27th March, 2018

• Groups: Ground-Truthing through field visits – the University and research sites in Bahir Dar
• Core Bahir Dar and Cambridge Teams – Drafting of Workshop Report

The Masterclass was supported by an EPSRC GCRF Institutional Grant.