Modern Africa is young, diverse and a research powerhouse. In this interview, Tobias Bonhoeffer and Michaela Hergersberg explain why the Max Planck Society is rethinking its collaboration with African partners - and what role established instruments such as the Max Planck Partner Groups and new programmes such as ARTEMIS and Bridging Minds play in this.
The Max Planck Society is rethinking its collaboration with African partners.
© Adobe PhotoStock
What is the aim of your trip to Africa?
Tobias Bonhoeffer: This is the last of three trips designed to identify which countries offer particularly strong potential for collaboration. Early last year, I travelled to Namibia and South Africa alongside me Institute coordinator, Andrea Rottach. This was followed in December by visits to Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda in the east. For those first two trips, Ms. Rottach very kindly stepped in for Ms. Hergersberg. Now we're heading to Botswana in southern Africa, plus Ethiopia, Nigeria, Ghana, and Senegal in the west. This region poses our biggest challenges: numerous small countries, tricky flight connections, patchy security in places, and language barriers in francophone nations
Michaela Hergersberg: I have particularly high hopes for Botswana, which Mr Bonhoeffer and Ms Rottach couldn't visit on their trip to southern Africa due to tight schedules. It's a democratic, relatively stable country with very young, excellent universities and highly motivated researchers. Despite current economic challenges and high youth unemployment, it offers good conditions for long-term collaboration. We'll also be holding discussions with political representatives there, with support from the German embassy.
Why do you take on these time-consuming and sometimes risky trips?
Bonhoeffer: Many things simply cannot be assessed from a distance: institutional reliability, infrastructure, security issues. You can only gauge where viable partnerships are possible by being there in person. That is precisely why it's so important to travel - to build trust, weigh risks, and get a realistic feel for the environment. No amount of online research can replace that.
Hergersberg: Knowing the local conditions is also crucial for developing successful programmes, as these differ hugely by region. Mr. Bonhoeffer mentioned the most important factors. What we experience on site directly influences the ideas we develop for new programmes and how they can be implemented. Our firsthand experiences directly shape the new initiatives we develop and how we bring them to life .
Why does the Max Planck Society need a strategy for Africa?
Bonhoeffer: Because otherwise we'd miss an enormous opportunity. There are research topics that can be tackled particularly well in Africa - from infectious diseases and palaeontology to climate research. The continent is also home to countless bright, scientifically minded people whose potential often remains untapped simply due to difficult external conditions. This is where we want to contribute: enabling excellent research on-site, enabling excellent research on-site while involving local talent and supporting their development in the best possible way. What is new is less the question of whether we collaborate with African researchers, but more how deeply and in what spirit of partnership we shape this collaboration in the future.
Hergersberg: Africa has the youngest population in the world. Two thirds of people are under 35. Strong population growth offers major opportunities but also carries risks if young people lack prospects. Research can drive long-term economic progress. At the same time, the continent offers incredible diversity - from ethnic groups and languages to climate zones and flora and fauna, from deserts to tropical rainforests.
Tobias Bonhoeffer, Chair of the Africa Roundtable and Director at the Max Planck Institute for Biological Intelligence, and Michaela Hergersberg, Africa Officer in the Department for Research Policy and External Relations at the Munich Administrative Headquarters: he advises the President of the Max Planck Society on its Africa strategy, and she has initiated programmes to support early-career researchers from Africa.
© Axel Griesch / private
How do you ensure that Africa also benefits from the collaboration?
Bonhoeffer: We want to move away from isolated activities. Operating a telescope such as the H.E.S.S. project in Namibia and employing a number of people locally is important and will remain so. But we want to go further by conducting research together in the long term, joint research as true partners drawing on the immense knowledge and potential of the African people. Personally, I am also driven by the question of how we can narrow the global North-South divide - because inequality is a major risk for the entire global community.
Keyword brain drain: which programmes counteract this?
Bonhoeffer: The concern that researchers might stay in Germany came up everywhere on our trips to southern and eastern Africa. This is exactly where the Max Planck Partner Groups programme comes in: postdocs who spend at least six months at an MPI and return home get €20,000 start-up funding to establish their own group. This sends a clear signal that we encourage returning home. For African partners, this proves we seek genuine collaboration - not to poach top talent.
Hergersberg: One challenge is that, so far, too few African researchers have stayed long enough at one of our Max Planck Institutes to meet the criteria for setting up their own partner group back home. This is slowly improving. That is why we are also working on new, low-threshold formats.
What are these?
Hergersberg: We have recently launched two programmes. ARTEMIS is a one-year mentoring programme for students, PhDs candidates and early postdocs from Africa. Mentees are paired with PhDs, postdocs or group leaders from the MPG and spend a four-week research stay at a Max Planck Institute. The exchange is deliberately designed to be approachable - at eye level, more like siblings.
These young people should feel free to ask anything, which is easier when there aren't so many hierarchical levels between them.
And the second programme?
Hergersberg: Bridging Minds is aimed at doctoral researchers from the Max Planck Society who deliver one-week workshops on their research at African partner institutions. The idea is to spark their interest in Africa, lower barriers, and perhaps encourage them to research or live there later on - and to open themselves up to living conditions they may not be used to in the global North. A key part of this programme is that the African partner institutions also provide something in return - usually a cultural experience in which our doctoral students are involved. This way, they too learn about the country and take something back home with them as "Max Planckies."
How are these programmes being received?
Hergersberg: Both have been a resounding success - feedback has been overwhelming. People are already asking about the next application rounds. At the same time, it has become clear that the Max Planck Society is still not well-known enough in Africa.
Bonhoeffer: Yes, that surprised us on our trips so far. Even university leaderships in Africa often know very little about what Max Planck is, and what we have to offer African researchers.
How do you plan to increase visibility?
Bonhoeffer: We are working closely with the Network of African Science Academies (NASAC), which we also visited in Nairobi. It is an association of all African science academies. Together, we are brainstorming which channels can be used to generate more attention - via social media, flyers, and high-level meetings - in order to reach people on the ground. These are all measures that can be implemented relatively easily and with few financial resources. But we need to roll up our sleeves and stay the course
Speaking of "staying the course": how will you measure the success of an Africa strategy in ten years' time?
Bonhoeffer: When Africa is naturally considered a space for research - and the Max Planck Society is just as present there as African partners are here. All of these are important steps toward breaking down the global North-South divide.
Hergersberg: For me, success would mean that programmes like ARTEMIS and Bridging Minds are established fixtures, and that young researchers subsequently benefit from further Max Planck programmes. We've already reached one milestone that I hadn't expected for another ten years with the first ARTEMIS call: Geoffrey Andama, one of the mentees, was directly appointed as a Max Planck-Humboldt Research Group Leader Stories like his show the incredible potential of the programmes we have.°
This interview was conducted by Petra Maaß
