A neuroscience network across continents

Within the thriving community of neuroscientists at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA), a handful of young researchers foster an additional, special tie across continents. These scientific interns, graduate students, and postdocs are Imbizo alumni from across Africa and Europe.

Their paths have converged around ISTA Professor Tim Vogels and Imbizo, the computational neuroscience summer school he co-founded, over several southern summers near Cape Town in South Africa. Now, these young researchers represent a unique intercontinental network of computational neuroscientists with strong ties in Africa, Europe, and worldwide.

Shaping the future of neuroscience in Africa, with African minds

Experimental neuroscience is a small but energetic field in South Africa and the African continent. However, running a technologically advanced lab comes with prohibitive expenses that are not in the budgets of many institutions in the Global South.

Theoretical neuroscience, on the other hand, needs little more than a laptop, pencil, and paper. Thus, this rapidly emerging field has become indispensable in analyzing the increasingly complex experimental results in neuroscience and in modeling the brain.

As a co-founder of Imbizo, Vogels envisioned computational neuroscience as Africa's chance to make a lasting impact on the competitive international research scene in neuroscience. Thus, the time was ripe to start this "imbizo," a "gathering to share knowledge" in the South African language Xhosa, Nelson Mandela's mother tongue.

"We conceived Imbizo to anchor the needed research and teaching infrastructure in computational neuroscience in the African continent. By doing so, we sought to shift the narrative from 'teaching African researchers' to 'providing brilliant African minds with the resources and tools to carry out their own research and teaching at an international level,'" says Vogels.

The most recent Imbizo alumna at ISTA, Hager Ali, who attended the summer school in January of this year, has a similar impression: "Imbizo seeks to democratize computational neuroscience and make it more accessible in Africa so that the continent is not only a receiver but also a contributor to neuroscience research," she says.

This experience led Ali to join the Vogels group at ISTA as a scientific intern. Lordstrong Akano, an Imbizo 2022 alumnus who also spent a year as a scientific intern at ISTA, adds, "Imbizo provides vital, invaluable connections to African researchers who must constantly deal with the dearth of adequate infrastructure for advanced research on the continent."

A tremendous impact on scientists' careers and lives

The young researchers' shared connection to Imbizo has ignited a strong sense of community and a cohesive network, which they further nurtured at ISTA. "The ethos of mutual support and collaborative learning are integral parts of Imbizo, creating bonds that last well beyond the program," says Ali.

For ISTA Ph.D. graduate Basile Confavreux, the connection to Imbizo was even strengthened in his next career step. In his current position as a Senior Research Fellow at the Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit of the University College London, the French researcher feels well surrounded by multiple Imbizo alumni.

"I actually started a collaboration here with a friend I met at Imbizo in 2020. To me, science is a lot about exchanging and debating ideas with people you can trust, at least a lot more than I initially thought. This allows for new exciting ideas to emerge while keeping the drive for research alive. Imbizo introduced me to a crowd of clever and well-wishing neuroscientists now scattered across the world who are always down for such rich exchanges," says Confavreux.

Returning the favor: A vocation for science outreach and teaching

ISTA postdoc Christopher Currin's path is further testimony of Imbizo forging strong connections among the participants and lecturers and inspiring them to give back. Attending Imbizo in its first year in 2017 motivated the Capetonian to later contribute to the summer school's community impact. He thus became a Head Teaching Assistant at Imbizo from 2019 through 2024.

"This experience has allowed me to exchange expertise and share some of my philosophies for life, science, and pedagogy," he says. Since being involved in Imbizo, Currin has contributed to other week-long workshops and grassroots communities in South Africa that mainly focus on artificial intelligence.

"Together, these communities have many threads weaved between them and it is beautiful to see the positive influence these efforts are having on the research landscape in my country."

Ali is also eager to induce a change. "I'm committed to giving back to my home country, Sudan, and the African continent, where resources are limited and attention is needed," she says.

Using the knowledge and experience she is gathering at ISTA, she aims to engage in outreach initiatives that foster research growth and help improve health care across the continent. But right now, she has her eyes fixed on one major objective: starting her graduate studies.

Likewise, as an aspiring clinical scientist currently finalizing his studies in general medicine in Nigeria, Akano has already been involved in medical outreach missions to isolated communities in his home country. Conscious of the need to specialize abroad, Akano aims to gain invaluable experience in state-of-the-art methods to help patients get the best care in Nigeria and Africa.

"Upon finishing my degree in Nigeria, I aim to travel abroad again for a residency in pediatric neurology with a sub-specialty in neuro-oncology and epilepsy. This will allow me to reach the pivot point and return to Africa to help induce a change at a community level. I am grateful for my experiences at ISTA and Imbizo to have facilitated this path."

In January 2025, a new group of promising young researchers from across Africa and the world will gather in the southern summer by the beach near Cape Town to share knowledge at another "imbizo."

"Imbizo will continue to bring together bright young minds from Africa and beyond, connect them for life, and allow them to sail to new horizons, inspiring others along their way," concludes Vogels, who stepped down from his function as Imbizo President in 2024 but remains on the summer school's organizing board.

Provided by Institute of Science and Technology Austria