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#Researchforimpact: Africa-UK trilateral research chair to help empower African women
Author: Division for Research Development
Published: 13/08/2020

​As African cities become increasingly urbanised, most households end up living in informal settlements, challenging urban planners on the obligation to build sustainable cities and communities. Also, the demand for energy grows. Because energy stands central to the global move into the Fourth Industrial Revolution, Africa's ability to participate in this revolution will be compromised if energy sufficiency is not secured.

Research is increasingly revealing energy insecurity to have gendered impacts. The policies and practices designed to address energy access tend to be gender blind, thereby insufficiently responding to the requirements of the urban poor.

With the launch of the GENS Trilateral Research Chair in October 2019 and the subsequent development of GENS Living Labs, SU aims to work with communities in co-designing solutions to energy insecurity, specifically in poor urban areas in Africa. A gender-conscious approach is assumed in this work.

Collaborating for success

Mainstreaming Gender for Energy Security in Poor Urban Environments – in short, Gender for Energy Security (GENS) – is one of two Africa-UK trilateral research chairs in South Africa, awarded in 2019. The GENS chairholder is Prof Josephine Kaviti Musango from the School of Public Leadership at SU. This trilateral chair constitutes a collaboration between SU, Brunel University London (BUL) and the University of Nairobi (UoN). Working closely with Musango on this research chair are the principal investigators Dr Fabrizio Ceschin from BUL and Dr Amollo Ambole from UoN. The GENS chair is being funded for a five-year period by the National Research Foundation and the Newton Fund (through the British Council).

Musango hopes that the funding will continue beyond five years, as this research chair will be invaluable to improving the lives of women in poor urban areas on the African continent.

The GENS Trilateral Research Chair will bring together a diverse suite of experience from fields such as system dynamics, renewable energy policy, sustainable design, gender innovations, humancentred design and collaborative design.

SU's School of Public Leadership (SPL) will be hosting a number of postgraduate students who will conduct research for the chair. Also, postgraduate students from the Department of Industrial Engineering are involved in the chair's research. According to the former director of SPL, Prof Johan Burger, this research chair is a huge milestone for the school and is helping SU achieve its Vision 2040 goals by advancing knowledge in service of society.


* This article featured in the latest edition of Stellenbosch University (SU)'s  multi-award winning publication Research at Stellenbosch University . Produced annually by SU's Division for Research Development (DRD), this flagship publication offers the national and international research community as well as other interested parties a comprehensive, yet accessible overview of innovative and interesting research being done at the institution.The theme of the edition is Research for Impact which is one of SU's core strategic themes from its Vision 2040 and Strategic Framework 2019–2024.

Click here to access the virtual copy.   ​​