International Science Programme

On 4–8 May, ISP had the pleasure of hosting a delegation from Strathmore University, Kenya 🇰🇪, consisting of 50 lecturers and students from the Statistics and Data Analysis programme. The delegation was headed by ISP graduate Elvice Ongonga.

During the visit, the delegation met researchers and representatives from several Swedish universities and research environments:

• 4–5 May: Uppsala University — including the Department of Statistics, SciLifeLab, and Uppsala Forum for Africa Studies
• 6 May: Linköpings universitet, including a visit to the Science Park
• 7 May: Mälardalens universitet
• 8 May: KTH Royal Institute of Technology

The delegation also visited the Embassy of Kenya in Sweden

In Uppsala, part of the delegation participated in the conference Research Opportunities at the Intersection of Society, Life Sciences, and Technology, organised by SciLifeLab.

The visit provided opportunities for academic exchange, discussions on higher education and research, and strengthened connections between Swedish and African universities.

The ISP-supported math network CoRE-Math is offering 6-8 fully funded fellowships for PhD students, postdocs, and senior researchers to spend up to 3 months at Uppsala University, Sweden 🇸🇪, in 2026.

Applications from women researchers are strongly encouraged.

Deadline: May 15.

Read more👇🏼

Warm congratulations to Dr Chansopheakra Sovann from RUPP - Royal University of Phnom Penh Cambodia 🇰🇭 who successfully defended his PhD thesis “Ecosystem services from a tropical forest landscape in Southeast Asia: Assessing impacts of land-use and land-cover changes” at Lund University Sweden 🇸🇪 in early March.

Dr Sovann was a PhD student in the Sida - Styrelsen för Internationellt Utvecklingssamarbete bilateral research programme in Cambodia, but when the programme ended in December 2024 ISP took over the responsibility for the remaining PhD students.

From ISP Laureate to Director General: A Journey of Scientific Excellence and Leadership

ISP at Uppsala University warmly congratulates Professor Jérémie Thouakesseh Zoueu on his appointment as Director General of the Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques en Côte d'Ivoire. 🇨🇮

This appointment represents a moment of pride for ISP and a powerful illustration of the ISP mission: supporting talented scientists from low- and middle-income countries to become leaders in science, education, and research governance.

A journey rooted in public education and scientific curiosity:
Professor Zoueu’s story begins in the public education system of Côte d’Ivoire, where early curiosity for nature, mechanics, and electronics shaped his interest in science. Like many young Africans, he learned through observation, experimentation, and creativity—often using limited resources to explore complex ideas.

His academic excellence led him through some of the most selective scientific pathways in Côte d’Ivoire: from the Lycée Scientifique de Yamoussoukro to elite preparatory classes in mathematics and physics, and later to advanced university studies in physics. These foundations prepared him for an international scientific career grounded in rigor and perseverance.

Advanced training and international research excellence:
After completing his undergraduate and Master’s degrees in physics in Côte d’Ivoire, Professor Zoueu pursued advanced training in France 🇫🇷, earning a Master of Science and a PhD in laser physics and applications. His doctoral and post-doctoral work, conducted in world-class laboratories, focused on laser engineering, optical instrumentation, and advanced materials—fields at the frontier of modern science and technology.

Returning to serve, building capacity, and shaping institutions:
Rather than remaining abroad, Professor Zoueu made a deliberate choice to return to Côte d’Ivoire, where he joined the National Polytechnic Institute Félix Houphouët-Boigny (INP-HB). There, he built a distinguished career as an educator, researcher, and mentor, supervising numerous master’s and doctoral students and contributing to the development of strong research teams.

Over the years, he became deeply involved in scientific networks, institutional development, and research governance—areas where scientific excellence meets leadership and strategic vision.

ISP’s role - investing in people, enabling impact:
Throughout his career, Professor Zoueu has been part of the ISP community, benefiting from its philosophy of long-term, trust-based support to scientists with strong local commitment and international potential.

His trajectory—from ISP laureate to head of a major international research institution—embodies the impact ISP seeks to achieve: scientists empowered not only to produce knowledge, but also to lead institutions, influence policy, and inspire future generations.

Leading the Swiss Centre for Scientific Research in Côte d’Ivoire:
As Director General of CSRS, Professor Zoueu will lead one of the most respected research institutions in West Africa, with a strong international profile and a long tradition of excellence. His vision emphasises:
- scientific excellence and integrity,
modern, data-driven and accountable governance,
- strong international and regional partnerships, and research that delivers tangible benefits for society.
- A source of inspiration for the next generation

For ISP, this appointment is more than an individual success—it is a collective achievement and a message of hope. It demonstrates that sustained investment in scientific capacity, mentorship, and institutional trust can enable researchers from the Global South to reach the highest levels of scientific leadership.

ISP proudly celebrates Professor Zoueu’s achievement and looks forward to continued collaboration with him and the CSRS in advancing science for sustainable development in Africa and beyond!

Warm congratulations to Dr Sophany Phauk from RUPP - Royal University of Phnom Penh Cambodia🇰🇭, who last week successfully defended his PhD thesis “Primary and secondary symbionts: Symbiotic diversity of Auchenorrhyncha (Hemiptera) and their ecological interactions” at Uppsala University Sweden🇸🇪.

Dr Sophany was a PhD student in the Sida - Styrelsen för Internationellt Utvecklingssamarbete bilateral research programme in Cambodia, but when the programme ended in 2024 ISP took over the responsibility for the remaining PhD students.

Warm congratulations 🎉 to Dr Nana Coulibaly from USTTB Mali 🇲🇱, who successfully defended her PhD thesis on December 19. 👏👏👏👏

Dr Nana is part of the ISP supported physics group in Mali, and she has been sponsored by the ISP supported physics network in West Africa (AFSIN - African Spectral Imaging Network).

The ISP-supported RUPP - Royal University of Phnom Penh PhD graduates Dr Chanrith Phoeurk and Dr Laingshun Huoy visited ISP HQ last week. We were happy to meet one last time them before they head back to Cambodia 🇰🇭!

Photo from left: Anna Wallin (ISP), Dr Chanrith, Ulrika Kolsmyr (ISP), Dr Laingshun with her son, and Solomon Tesfalidet (ISP).

Last month ISP´s Olle Terenius wrote a very interesting 👏 article about research dissemination in the Swedish magazine Tidningen Curie. Below is a translation to English:

Science outreach made easy

Never in history has so much knowledge reached so many people with so little effort. Olle Terenius writes about the process of editing Wikipedia articles.

It is often said that reaching the general public with information about one’s research requires meticulous preparation, a deep understanding of the target audience, and a lot of time.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. A little more than ten years ago, with help from the communications department at the SLU, I started a project to encourage SLU researchers to edit articles on Wikipedia.

Why? Because it was clear that SLU researchers possessed a wealth of knowledge that the public wanted but wasn’t accessing. And in a world full of fake news and “alternative truths,” it is more important than ever to have a credible, free, and easily accessible source of knowledge for everyone.

Since 2017, I have been employed by the Department of Scholarly Communication at Uppsala University Library, where I teach 200 doctoral students each year how to edit Wikipedia articles. Mostly in medicine and natural science, but also in history. The doctoral students primarily edit in English, but also in their own native languages. As for now, articles have been edited in about 20 different languages. This means readers of Bengali, Farsi, or French—among others—now have access to updated and quality-assured information.

Are we reaching people with our efforts?
I use a tool that tracks how many times articles edited by course participants have been read. A recently completed course for science PhD students generated 775,000 page views in just one month. The most-read article was Kalman filter—a familiar concept to some, but for most, something they clicked on because they wanted to learn what it means.

The roughly 3,000 articles edited by doctoral students at Uppsala University have been viewed around 800 million times since we worked on them. Yes, you read that right—we are approaching one billion views of Wikipedia articles edited by researchers at Uppsala University. No other form of research communication reaches so many people with so little effort.

Back to those original claims: that research communication requires careful preparation, good knowledge of one’s audience, and lots of time. Is it true? Judge for yourself.

Careful preparation:
Our PhD students are asked to list 3–5 keywords describing their research and read the corresponding Wikipedia articles—about 15 minutes of work. All other preparation has happened during their years of study. For example, one doctoral student in magnetism noted that five years after beginning her university studies, she now had the expertise to edit the very Wikipedia article on magnetism that she had once read as a new student.

Knowledge of the audience:
We actually have no idea who the readers of the articles are—other than knowing that, among the millions of readers, there are people seeking information on broad topics like diabetes (over 600,000 annual views on English Wikipedia) and those looking up niche topics like the Lippmann–Schwinger equation (around 15,000 annual views).

We also know that many readers are university students taking courses taught by our researchers. By editing Wikipedia articles in their field—either alone or together with students—teachers can help future students understand the course material more easily.

And how much time does it take?
Of course, one can spend as much time as one wants, but if every researcher in Sweden devoted just 0.1% of their annual working time—about two hours—to improving Wikipedia articles, the impact would be tremendous.

Finally, here is a quote from one of the history PhD students who completed our Wikipedia-editing training:

“Extremely inspiring, fun, and challenging in a good sense. Should be systematized and applied on a larger scale, university-wide and beyond. More important than anything I’ve ever done as a student or doctoral candidate.”

Note: My work with Wikipedia has been funded not only by Uppsala University but also by the Vetenskapsrådet (Swedish Research Council), Formas, Stiftelsen för startegisk forskning (Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research), and Riksbankens Jubileumsfond.

Att nå ut med forskning behöver inte vara så svårt | Tidningen Curie Sällan har så mycket kunskap nått så många med så liten insats. Olle Terenius skriver om arbetet med att redigera Wikipediatexter.

Warm congratulations 🎊 to Dr Sreymean Ngok from RUPP - Royal University of Phnom Penh Cambodia 🇰🇭, who successfully defended her PhD thesis "Synthesis and Characterization of Nanocomposites-based Materials for Electrochemical Sensing Applications” at Linköpings universitet Sweden 🇸🇪 on December 12.

Dr Sreymean was a PhD student in the Sida - Styrelsen för Internationellt Utvecklingssamarbete bilateral research programme in Cambodia, but when the programme ended last year ISP took over the responsibility for the remaining PhD students.

Warm congratulations 🎊 to Dr Wilson Kairuh who successfully defended his PhD thesis “Structural Health Monitoring with Sleeved Waveguides and Gamma Tomography" at University of Nairobi, Kenya 🇰🇪.

Dr Wilson has been an ISP sandwich student in the ISP-supported physics group KEN:01/2 which focus on “Nuclear and associated analytical techniques in environmental science studies”.

As part of Dr Wilson´s research, he spent time at IIT Madras, India 🇮🇳 and Universität Wien, Austria 🇦🇹.