Research on Tap: BU and Africa

Some are calling our times “the African Century,” given the profound implications of the continent’s demographic transitions for African peoples and the world at large. By 2050, 2.5 billion people, more than 25 percent of all of the world’s population, will live in Africa, a number on track to grow to 40 percent by the end of the century. This oft-overlooked region of the world is home to diverse cultures, religions and political struggles, as well as economic opportunity and challenge.

At Boston University, scholarship and research related to Africa is on the rise. With its roots in the BU African Studies Center, which is celebrating its 70th anniversary, BU has a wide comparative advantage in many aspects of research on Africa, from the Medical Campus and the School of Public Health to the Pardee School and the Department of Anthropology and in between. In this Research on Tap, extensive expertise will be convened across disciplines, schools and colleges to help members of this broad research community coalesce, expand knowledge and plant seeds for deeper collaboration.

The Research on Tap series, sponsored by the BU Office of Research, brings together groups of BU researchers around important topics. At each event, 10-12 researchers present a maximum of four slides and deliver a four-minute “elevator pitch” of their work. Research on Tap events are open to faculty, staff, postdocs and graduate students. Each presentation is followed by refreshments and lively discussion with colleagues and potential collaborators.