Cambridge Africa is pleased to inform you that we will celebrate Cambridge-Africa Day on 16^th June 2026, 9.00 am - 5.30 pm. The event is held every two years and will showcase a wide range of exciting collaborative research projects and capacity building initiatives involving Cambridge academics and postgraduate students in partnership with African colleagues. The day will present many opportunities for networking.

Programme

Our keynote speakers are Professor John Kitayimbwa, Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Uganda Christian University and Professor Kevin Chika Urama, chief economist and vice-president of the African Development Bank.  

Rev. Prof. John Mulindwa Kitayimbwa serves as Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic Affairs) at Uganda Christian University, where he leads academic strategy and quality assurance across a multi-campus institution of over 15,000 students. His leadership bridges institutional governance, research development, and the broader challenge of how African universities can cultivate knowledge systems that are at once globally engaged and deeply rooted in local realities. A Gates Cambridge Scholar, he pursued advanced studies in computational biology at Downing College and the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, University of Cambridge. His research has since concentrated on infectious disease modelling, bioinformatics, and the strengthening of health systems, yielding contributions to both scholarly literature and high-level policy engagement—including key advisory inputs during Uganda’s national COVID-19 response.

Beyond the university, Prof. Kitayimbwa chairs the Board of the Research and Education Network for Uganda (RENU), overseeing a national infrastructure that connects more than 1,000 institutions and supports high-bandwidth collaboration in higher education and research across the country.

Professor Kevin Chika Urama is a passionate and results-oriented Economist with over 30 years of Africa-wide and global experience in economic policy and knowledge management. He is Chief Economist/Vice President for the Economic Governance & Knowledge Management Complex of the African Development Bank Group. Professor Urama previously served at the Bank as a Senior Director for the African Development Institute and as Senior Advisor to the President of the African Development Bank Group on Inclusive and Green Growth Strategy, Policy Development, and Implementation.  Professor Urama holds both a Ph.D. in Land Economy and an MPhil in Land Economy from the University of Cambridge; a Master of Science in Agricultural Economics from University of Nigeria, and a First-Class Honors bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Economics from the University of Nigeria.

A globally recognized Development Economist, Professor Urama is an elected Fellow of the African Academy of Sciences (AAS); a Distinguished Professor of the University of Nigeria Nsukka; an Adjunct Professor at the Sir Walter Murdoch School of Public Policy and International Affairs, Murdoch University, Western Australia; and an honorary Professor of Practice at the University College London. He is currently a member of the Global Council on the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Programme details

This event will take place in-person in Cambridge. The Cambridge-Africa Day is primarily aimed at researchers in Cambridge and in Africa, African scholars in Cambridge as well as those supporting research collaborations between Africa and the UK.

See the full programme here. 

Event details: In the days leading up to the event, participants will receive an email with the event details. Please only come to the event if you have an in-person ticket.

Location: The address (for in-person ticket holders only) is The Howard Lecture Theatre, Downing College, Cambridge CB2 1DQ. The event will be signposted on arrival.

Posters

If you are a postgraduate scholar at the University of Cambridge and would like to present a poster on your research please email ca392@cam.ac.uk

A drinks reception will follow the event.

By registering for the Event, you are agreeing to the following terms:

1. I consent to the making and use of the recording of my contribution to and participation and performance in the Event/Project, the nature of which has been fully explained to me. I understand that if I am unsure of the meaning of the terms set out in this Form, the Event/Project Organiser can explain them to me.

2. I grant the following:

(a) my consent to the University and those authorised by the University to make and use images and recordings of me and my performance (my non-property performer’s right) at or for the above Event/Project taken by photograph and/or video/film and/or sound recording (“Recordings”) and a licence of my property performer’s right to use the Recordings, and

(b) a non-exclusive licence to the University and those authorised by the University to copy and make use of digital material I have prepared and submitted to the Event/Project, including but not limited to material I refer to or include in my performance in the Recordings (“Contributor Digital Material”) for the specific purpose of making and disseminating the Recordings and Contributor Digital Material by all means and in all media (in whole or in part, transcribed or otherwise) in perpetuity throughout the world for the non-commercial educational and promotional purposes of the University, such use including but not limited to print and online publication and broadcast, e.g. in University websites and social media such as YouTube, Facebook and X.

3. To the best of my knowledge and belief, my Contribution will not infringe the copyright or any other rights of any third party or contain any defamatory material. Should my Contribution contain third party material such as others’ text or still or moving images or of anyone in an image, the copyright/personal data in that content may belong to someone else, which means that I agree that I have obtained their permission/licence/consent as applicable to include it in my Contribution and allow it to be used by the University for the specific purposes set out in Clause 2.

4. I understand that I have the right to withdraw this consent and the use of my Contribution at any time by emailing the Event/Project Organiser named above, in which case the Contribution will not be used in future publications but may continue to appear in copies of the Contribution already in circulation.

5. The information provided in this Form is to be used for the purpose described above and is managed and stored by the University with my consent. Further information about the University’s use of my personal information is at: https://www.information-compliance.admin.cam.ac.uk/data-protection/general-data

If you have any questions, please email enquiries@cambridge-africa.cam.ac.uk

Location

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