Description
We have established a biennial school in Africa, on fundamental physics and its applications (ASP). We find that fundamental physics provides excellent motivation for students of science. The aim of the school is to build capacity to harvest, interpret, and exploit the results of current and future physics experiments and to increase proficiency in related applications. The school is based on a close interplay between theoretical, experimental, and applied physics. The participating students are selected from all over Africa. The school also offers a workshop to train high school teachers, an outreach to motivate high school pupils and a physics conference to support a broader participation of African research faculties. The duration of the school allows for networking–interactions among the participants. Support for the school comes from institutes in Africa, Europe, USA and Asia. The first school took place in Stellenbosch, South Africa on August 1–21 2010, the second edition in Kumasi, Ghana on July 15-August 8 2012, the third edition in Dakar Senegal on August 3–23 2014, the fourth biennial school at the University of Rwanda on August 1–19 2016, and the fifth edition in Namibia on June 24–July 14 2018. The next edition of the school is planned in 2020 in Morocco. In this proposal, we discuss strategies to make the school sustainable and call for support from the international community. We consider access and participation in fundamental science to be an important right. Through this work, it is hoped that the community of scientists who are at the forefront of science is enhanced and diversified thus fulfilling the mission of international research and education institutes.
