02 October 2017
In pursuit of its mission as espoused in the Science & Technology Act, the National Commission for Science and Technology (NCST) in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance, Economic Planning and Development through the Malawi Public Policy and Analysis Project (MPPRAP) a project that promotes evidence based policy decision making, organized the 2017 National Research Dissemination Conference, with a theme "Research and Innovation: A catalyst for Sustainable Development" in Mangochi, Malawi on 28 and 29 September 2017.
The aim of the conference was to provide a platform to present and discuss lessons learnt, best practices and solutions to the challenges impeding on socioeconomic development. It objectives included to:
The conference was graced by the Minister of Education, Science and Technology who was the Guest of Honour. Other speakers during the opening plenary included the Secretary to Treasury, Secretary for Education Science and Technology, the Chief Director, Economic Planning and Development, the Chairperson of the Board of Commissioners for NCST, the Executive Secretary of the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF); among other dignitaries.
NCST invited Paul Cunningham, IIMC / IST-Africa & mHealth4Afrika coordinator to provide a keynote presentation on Collaborative Innovation and Research Collaboration in the opening Plenary.
The conference brought together over 200 participants including: researchers; academics; representatives from government ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs); representatives of non-governmental organizations; development partners; the private sector; and members of the press.
Chancellor College demonstrated the current iteration of the mHealth4Afrika platform and the use of medical sensors at the point of care, which facilitate vital sign readings to be automatically populated into the patient's electronic patient record in the mHealth4Afrika platform in the Exhibition. The platform is currently being piloted in healthcare clinics in the Zomba and Machinga Districts in Southern Malawi, Kenya, Ethiopia and South Africa.
These practical demonstrations in the Exhibition provided conference participants with access to tangible results coming out of one of the Research and Innovation Actions funded through the Horizon 2020 ICT-39-2015 Call.