It should also be noted that the ben-
efits for volunteers go beyond a sense
of accomplishment of having done
something good. That is to say, vol-
unteers also gain a broader vision of
the world and how people in different
cultures tackle varying aspects of life,
and how to navigate these cultural
differences. By working with TReND,
volunteers will certainly have an easi-
er time when working with colleagues
and managing teams in their future
professional lives.
Figure 2: The Global TReND (Teaching and Research in Neuroscience for Development) Net-
work. Source: trendinafrica.org.
Building infrastructure
We are constantly accepting func-
tional equipment donations. They
are compiled in a database where
researchers from African institu-
tions can search for the required item
needed to perform a set of experi-
ments. As a condition of receiving the
donation, the shipping costs must be
paid by the African lab and the African
lab must commit to making the equip-
ment “open” for fellow researchers
who might want to use the equipment
as well.
Teach in Africa
This program matches researchers
from all levels who want to spend
longer periods (normally one to two
semesters) as guest researchers in
African institutions teaching classes
and doing research.
Outreach
Local volunteers, consisting mainly of
alumni from our courses, visit schools
to show students the wonders and
joys of science via interesting experi-
ments and by sharing personal expe-
rience as a researcher. The goal is to
increase kids’ awareness of science,
break down misconceptions and show
that “alternative” career pathways ex-
ist other than medicine, law, and en-
gineering.
Although the NGO is relatively young,
being founded in 2011, some inter-
esting news and results are starting
to come about. Some of the highlights
include:
• Setting up a confocal microscope in
Nairobi.
• An article written by our alumni was
featured on the cover of PLoS compu-
tational biology.
• Curating an online collection of open
source hardware for science.
• An innovation prize from Cambridge
for our open-source DIY microscope,
the Flypi.
• Several reports from alumni on the
applications they found for the knowl-
edge acquired at our courses.
• A number of outreach events at pri-
mary and high schools developed and
managed by alumni and volunteers.
These achievements demonstrate
that TReND’s efforts have a multipli-
cative effect, as the knowledge and
equipment we share is used and then
further shared with others. It also in-
dicates that we are headed in the right
direction, as alumni are able to use
previously acquired skills coupled with
new tools to become more independ-
ent and train others to increase their
scientific competency. If this multipli-
cative effect takes hold, African scien-
tists will be in a competitive position
to impart a big impact on their na-
tions’ futures, as they would be able
to produce more transparent, reliable
and affordable science, focusing on
their own local issues and interests.
It would also help reduce the “brain
drain,” as large migratory movements
would seem less appealing and less
necessary.
A final argument for those thinking
about contributing to TReND:
Website: www.trendinafrica.org
Twitter: trendinafrica
André Maia Chagas graduated
from the Cellular and Molecular
Neuroscience master’s pro-
gram in 2010. He is currently a
PhD candidate in behavior and
cognition. He also founded the
website openeuroscience.
com and continuously advo-
cates making science more
open.
[1] www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-
release/2016/04/05/increasing-econom-
ic-growth-fragile-states-prevent-future-
refugee-crisis-world-bank-president
[2] Kasper, J. & Bajunirwe, F. (2012). Brain
drain in sub-Saharan Africa: Contributing
factors, potential remedies and the role
of academic medical centres. Archives of
Disease in Childhood, 97(11), 973-979
[3] www.trendinafrica.org
May 2017 | NEUROMAG |
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