Research Projects
The research and activities of the ARUA CoE are wide-ranging. Energy, particularly the transition to renewable energy, is a complex topic which interconnects with various other fields, and many of our projects are therefore multidisciplinary. On this page we show some of our ongoing activities and we’ll be sure to update it as we go along.
Capacity Building Project:
ARUA has partnered with the Grand Challenges Research Fund (GCRF), and each ARUA CoE received an award to build the research capacity of African researchers (read more about the partnership here). The ARUA CoE in Energy has set out a program of activities where young African researchers will be engaged and afforded the opportunity to enhance their research skills and capabilities, firstly through some of the structured courses designed and presented by the African Centre for Scholarship at Stellenbosch University, and secondly by giving opportunity for ‘learning-while-doing’, where young researchers will participate in research projects and learn from seasoned African academics while doing so. Through this programme, the ARUA CoE hopes to contribute toward the development of some of the promising young African academics, strengthen the renewable energy research on the continent, and build lasting partnerships between African institutions.
EcoAfrica project:
The EcoAfrica project aims to enhance agricultural output on smallholder farms by employing agro-ecological techniques (read more about the project here). The role of Stellenbosch University in the project is to investigate what contribution anaerobic digestion technology can make toward achieving this aim. Anaerobic digestion technology lends itself to small-scale agricultural systems, where it can convert spare biomass into renewable energy and fertilizer and can therefore possibly farming economics. The project sets out to determine whether such benefits can be realized in South African and Madagascan smallholder farming systems, and what the potential impacts of anaerobic digestion are on the farming system as a whole.