Could a country that has produced fewer than 100 PhDs in the past 50 years turn into a research powerhouse in a decade?
It’s the kind of story researchers love to tell people who question the usefulness of what they do: between 1975 and 1988 William Proxmire, a United States senator, gave out "Golden Fleece Awards" to researchers he felt were wasting public money. One recipient, Seymour Benzer, was doing research on the sex life of the South American fruit fly.
No image available
/ 13 November 2006
As the October rains finally rolled in over Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, last week, storm clouds of a different kind were gathering over the country’s universities. Learning ground to a halt and students were sent home as lecturers entered their second week of industrial action over stagnating salaries.