STEM Tea | Empowering youth, empowering communities: on a mission to decolonize knowledge

Host AJ Hinton is joined by Alhaji N’jai (left), a man wearing many hats; Alhaji is a Senior Scientist, Associate Professor, Pan Africanist and philanthropist. Alhaji currently teaches at the University of Sierra Leone (Freetown, Sierra Leone) and the California University of Science and Medicine (CA, USA) while maintaining the position of Director of the Global Health Institute – One Health, West Africa, at the University of Wisconsin–Madison (WI, USA). Additionally, he is the Founder and Chief Strategist of Project1808 (WI, USA), an organization that forms partnerships with universities to foster community development through education.

In this episode of the STEM Tea podcast, Alhaji and AJ discuss the role that Project1808 is playing in building global and local partnerships for young people in Sierra Leone, reaching out to communities to equip young people with the skills and knowledge to thrive in STEM. Plus, find out how you can get involved in Alhaji’s global initiative.

Contents

• Introductions: 00:00–01:40
• How Alhaji’s journey brought about the formation of Project1808: 01:40–08:27
• Project1808 and its university partners: 08:27–14:30
• What educational needs exist? 14:30–21:30
• How you can support Project1808: 21:30–24:40
• Learning more about Alhaji’s research career, from genomics to Ebola virus to Head & Shoulders: 24:40–32:40
• What is the next step for expanding global health, based on Sierra Leone’s public health reforms? 32:40–38:42
• Opportunities for virtual and in-person collaborations: 38:42–42:44
• Are there international internship opportunities for students to get involved? 42:44–47:23
• Redefining the classroom: the Gola Rainforest for training students: 47:23–48:33
  • Potential for pathogen discovery in the Gola Rainforest as climate changes: 48:33–52:36
• Concluding remarks and social media handles! 52:36–54:09