Sub-Saharan African student admission and research ties: a summary

Published in December 2023.

Please note that due to the highly devolved nature of activities at the University of Cambridge, this is not intended to be fully comprehensive but provides an overview of the University's links with institutions in sub-Saharan Africa.

The University of Cambridge holds a diverse portfolio of collaborations with institutions in sub-Saharan Africa. These span all disciplines and involve all the six Schools of the University. Many students from sub-Saharan Africa come to the University to share in our pursuit of education, learning and research at the highest international levels of excellence. In 2023 the University undertook a mapping of research ties with, and student intake from, sub-Saharan Africa, and have summarised the major findings. This work was done in collaboration between Cambridge-Africa, Cambridge Global Challenges and the Strategic Partnerships Office.

Africa and Cambridge publications

The University of Cambridge has many diverse connections across Sub-Saharan Africa which have developed organically over time. In the last 10 years, Cambridge researchers have co-published with researchers from most countries in the region.

There were over 3850 collaborative publications identified in the Dimensions database between Cambridge and researchers in Sub-Saharan Africa between 2013-2022. 

There were 36% more collaborative publications in the period 2018-2022 compared to 2013-2017 overall.

Cambridge researchers have co-published with colleagues from 42 of the sub-Saharan nations; the six countries with the largest share were South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, Uganda, Ghana and Ethiopia. There 8 countries where our search identified no shared publications.

Areas of collaboration

The most highly represented topics in co-publication, defined according to the Sustainable Development Goals developed by the United Nations, are: Zero Hunger, Good Health & Wellbeing, Climate Action, Life on Land and Life Under Water.

Table 1. Percentage of co-publications by collaboration topics
Sustainable Development Goals Percentage of co-publications
Good health and well being 59
Life on land 14
Other 13
Climate action 6
Life under water 4
Zero hunger 4

Africa and Cambridge - Grants

Grant support for work with Sub-Saharan Africa comes from diverse sources, including the Cambridge-Africa Alborada Research Fund, Global Challenges Research Fund Quality Related Research support from Research England, and from external sources including research councils and charities.

The four sources for funded projects mapped in Figure 1 are (from left to right) the Cambridge-Africa Alborada Research Fund, UKRI, GCRF, and Other.

Map of Africa showing sub-Saharan funded projects in each country from each of the four sources.
Figure 1. The number of shared grants from four sources in the period 2017-2022.

 

The total grant support with start dates between 2017 and 2022 from some external funders (research councils and charities) is over £19 million, with the largest share going to project grants. The median award sum is around £50K, and the median duration is 24 months.

Table 2. Percentage of total shared grants with African partner institutions from external funders in 2017-2022
African partner institutions (by country) Percentage of total shared grants
Ethiopia 25
Kenya 22
Uganda 19
Ghana 17
Other 9
South Africa 8

Africa and Cambridge admissions

Over the period 2018-2022, we received applications for postgraduate education from most countries in Sub Saharan Africa. The majority came from nine countries - Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia & Zimbabwe. Applicants from these countries are also highly represented among those who proceeded to enrolment.

Student applications (2018-2022)

Student admissions for each country in sub-Saharan Africa.
Figure 2. Map of Africa showing student applications for postgraduate education from each sub-Saharan country

 

Confirmed places

Confirmed student places for each country in sub-Saharan Africa.
Figure 3. Map of Africa showing confirmed student places for postgraduate education from each sub-Saharan country

How was this summary prepared?

This summary has been prepared in collaboration between Cambridge-Africa, Cambridge Global Challenges and the Strategic Partnerships Office. If you would like further information, please visit these websites for contact information and updates.

The data presented here is based on information held in the University of Cambridge and from external sources such as Digital Science’s Dimensions database (for co-publications) and the grant databases of external funders (e.g. UKRI, British Academy).

Please note that due to the highly devolved nature of activities at the University of Cambridge, this is not intended to be fully comprehensive but provides an overview of the University's links with institutions in sub-Saharan Africa.