Mission Statement
To maximise the potential for outstanding research and teaching, acting as a node to support emerging partnerships between University of Glasgow and a variety of agencies in Malawi, especially College of Medicine and MEIRU.
Why University of Glasgow and why now?
University of Glasgow (UofG) has a long term commitment to Malawi collaborations, as exemplified by UofG’s investment in leadership of a major Malawi research centre in Malawi Epidemiology and Intervention Research Unit (MEIRU).
It has longstanding collaborations with a number of Malawian organisations including:
- The College of Medicine (CoM)
- Malawi-Liverpool-Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Programme (MLW)
- Blantyre Malaria Project (BMP)
- University of Malawi Chancellor College
- Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR)
- Malawi University of Science and Technology (MUST)
- Malawi epidemiology and intervention research unit (MEIRU)
Coordination of such interactions across the UofG has now become critical to ensure consistency of engagement, to establish a coherent framework aimed at enhancing interaction for both Malawian and Scottish partners, and optimal internal cross-disciplinary cooperation.
Malawi as a country has a number of health challenges that are specific to the country and the region. Some of these health-related problems, such as those related to non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are similar to those prevalent in Scotland, others relate to key areas of longstanding expertise at UofG.
That being the case, it is vital that UofG develops strong cross-college/ cross-discipline programmes across the University. This will maximise capacity and competitiveness to address these complex problems in a way that is transparent and develops equal and mutually respectful academic and administrative partnerships with Malawian members.
We therefore aim to support an ongoing programme of work, addressing locally-identified elements of vital importance to the health and wellbeing of Malawians and other communities in the region.
While UofG has clear strengths in health and wellbeing-related work in Malawi, which has given the cluster impetus to form, it is intended that the cluster will support the vision and wide-ranging strengths of UofG and Malawian institutions beyond this area, and to support interdisciplinary collaborations.
Specific Operational Short-Medium Term Objectives
- To act as a node for researchers in Glasgow and Malawi to approach to help rapidly identify collaborators, or access information to enable and maximise the value of Malawi:Glasgow research partnerships.
- To provide logistical support for Malawi-focused research in which UofG is a partner
- To work alongside other partner organisations such as MLW, BMP and their parent institutions that include University of Liverpool, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Michigan State University, University of Maryland, to contribute to strengthening research, teaching and/or clinical capacity at College of Medicine, Chancellor College, LUANAR, MUST and reciprocally to strengthen global research capacity at UofG.
- To engage with existing and create new cohorts of relevance, for example, through the emerging partnership in MEIRU and with the Blantyre-Blantyre project.
- To determine those thematic areas in which Glasgow’s strengths can optimally contribute in Malawi, in particular using the externally funded centres of excellence in UofG.
- To strengthen the capacity of research and teaching among our Malawian partners, by pursuing funds to support training and PGR opportunities.
Institute Contacts
Institute of Health and Wellbeing
Christopher Bunn - Christopher.bunn@glasgow.ac.uk
College of Arts & Humanities
Anselm Heinrich - Anselm.Heinrich@glasgow.ac.uk
Tiina Tuominen - Tiina.Tuominen@glasgow.ac.uk
Michael Syrotinski - Michael.Syrotinski@glasgow.ac.uk
College of Science and Engineering
Deborah Dixon - Deborah.Dixon@glasgow.ac.uk
College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences (MVLS)
Antonia Ho - Antonia.Ho@glasgow.ac.uk
Christopher Moxon - Christopher.moxon@glasgow.ac.uk
Overall contact for magnetic is: malawi-glasgow-network@glasgow.ac.uk