Medical and scientific researchers met from September 25 to 26 to take part in a workshop on scientific leadership and project management.

Every two years, the Cameroon Academy of Young Scientists brings together scientists, mostly young people, from Cameroon and abroad. This year, 19 scientists moved to the Higher Institute for Scientific and Medical Research (ISM) in Yaounde. It is all about a capacity building around scientific leadership and fundraising.

To achieve this, the Academy brought together a group of experts. They included amidst others Professor Beban Sammy Chumbow, president of the Cameroon Academy of Sciences and Dr Connie Nshemereirwe from the University of Pretoria in South Africa. Over the course of the two-day workshop, they will empower scientists to have a paradigm shift in the way they approach problems in their research centres and also have a greater impact on their environment. To this end, two workshops were held. One focused on writing projects for funding and the other on leadership.

In his speech, Professor Beban Sammy Chumbow said: “Leadership depends essentially on attitudes. People are knowledgeable, but to lead properly, they must be aware of their role as leaders, that is, where they want to take people and how to get there: vision and mission. We want young scientists to become leaders committed to national development”.

To achieve this, he stresses the important role communication plays: “We also need to communicate knowledge that is available. This knowledge can be used to improve living conditions. But this knowledge is available either in French or in English, even though about 60% of the population speaks only one of these languages. The issue now is to work towards making this knowledge accessible to all so that everyone can participate in improving the living standard. The country’s language policy is already in favour of the use of these languages, but practical measures must now be taken in the decentralised units so that there is an inclusive development”.