Dr. David Strangway is a member of Development Workshop’s international advisory board and grew up in Angola in the 1940s and 1950s. He presents the key-not address that he gave the previous week to Angola’s National Conference on Science an Technology between the 11th and 13th September 2013. Dr. Strangway discusses Angola’s potential for developing technology and scientific knowledge and also the challenges that the country faces due to its history and the problems resulting from the unequal distribution of wealth. He notes that Angola’s life expectancy today of 51.5 years is little different form when his family left Angola in 1967. Dr. Strangway’s father and mother came to Angola in 1927 and spent 40 years working in the fields of medicine, public health, nutrition and agricultural.

1. David W Strangway,David W Strangway, PhD, FRSC, OCPhD, FRSC, OC
Founder, Quest University CanadaFounder, Quest University Canada

2. 
 Resident of Bie, Angola from 1934 to 1952
 Parents created and ran hospital in Angola from 1927 to
1967
 Umbundu name - Cikomo
MY LIFE IN ANGOLA

3.  Degrees from University of Toronto in geophysics
 Geophysical Exploration and mapping for mining companies for several years
across North America
 Faculty member - University of Colorado, MIT, University of Toronto
 Chief Geophysicist - NASA for Apollo lunar missions
 President - University of Toronto and University of British Columbia
 President - Canada Foundation for Innovation
 Founder - Quest University Canada
 Author - 170 research papers on earth and planetary science
MY EXPERIENCE IN
UNIVERSITY, GOVERNMENT,
AND THE MINING INDUSTRY

4. ANGOLA
AN OIL AND GAS
RICH NATION 1
Offshore Concessions
ranging from near shore
to deep and to ultra-
deep fields (9% of
output goes to Canada)
Liquefied Natural Gas
potential very high

5. ANGOLA
AN OIL AND GAS RICH NATION 2
Africa and South America split apart forming oil and gas rich basins 80-100 million
years ago
Cross section of Africa and South America offshore basins when placed together
showing pre salt deposits

6. ANGOLA
AN OIL AND GAS RICH NATION 3
Kwanza Basin and Campos Basin deposits

7. ANGOLA
A DIAMOND RICH NATION
Angola is rich in source kimberlites and alluvial deposits, produces
13% of world’s diamonds by values

8.  Great mineral potential; Minister Queiroz predicts that mining may
exceed oil sector
 National Geological plan to include geophysical mapping of the
country
 Potential for iron ore, copper, platinum group metals, rare earths and
others
 Angola has 26% of Africa’s water resources and major hydropower
potential
 Fishing resources driven by the Benguela current
 Angola has significant forest resources and rich agricultural
opportunities
ANGOLA
A MINING AND RESOURCE NATION

9. ANGOLA
A YOUNG NATION
Working age population to
2050
Empower young people to
capture the demographic
dividend (AfDB)

10. 
 Angola Gross Domestic Product is $120 billion per year today
 Gross Domestic Product projected in Angola Vision 2025 to grow to
$240 billion per year at growth rate of 7%/yr.
 World Bank says Angola well on the way to becoming a medium-
income country
 Target 2025- GDP per person $13,000/yr.
 Reduce poverty by 75%
 Create 8.5 million jobs
ANGOLA PROJECTIONS

11.  Climate Change for the planet
 Human Wellbeing and Development for people
 Societal Transformation – billion richest account for 70% of
consumption
 Billion poorest account for 1% of natural resource use
 World Economic Forum – Severe income disparity is a greater
disruptive risk than climate change
 Emissions, standards of living, and global ecological limits are
closely interlinked
GRAND CHALLENGES
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

12.  HDI based on:
 a. long and healthy life - life expectancy is 51.5
 b. access to knowledge – mean years of schooling – 4.7
- expected years of schooling – 10.2
 c. gross national product - $6200
 Angola is 148 out of 187 countries with a value of .508 -
potential with reduced inequality
 HDI corrected for income inequality (IHDI) – reduces HDI
to .285 – actual
ANGOLA
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INDEX (HDI)

13. 
 Energy
 Food
 Housing
 Education
 Health
 Employment
 Good governance
GRAND CHALLENGES
POVERTY REDUCTION/PEOPLE NEED ACCESS TO SERVICES

14.  Transformation needed in linked areas of environment, technology
and society
 Requirements for Sub Saharan Africa Transformation
 an educated populace
 training of professionals
 centers of high skills and excellence in research
 Need to increase number of PhDs granted by African universities
 Need to provide opportunities for PhDs to return or stay in Africa
 20,000 professionals leave Africa every year
“The terms and conditions of academic work in African universities must be sufficiently
attractive to retain top talent” Phillip Altbach
GRAND CHALLENGES
Transformation - Environment, Technology and
Society

15. 
 Developed World 2.0 – 4.0
 African Union objective for each country in Africa 1.0
 In Africa, only South Africa is close to 1.0
 Sub Saharan Africa, without south Africa 0.3
GROSS EXPENDITURES ON RESEARCH AND
DEVELOPMENT
GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT (GERD/GDP)
DEVELOPED WORLD COUNTRIES WITH RESEARCH
CHAIRS TO STRENGTHEN CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE
Canada, Finland, Australia, Portugal, and
several others including Saudi Arabia

16.  SOUTH AFRICA Research Chairs Initiative (SARCHI)
 South Africa has created over 160 funded chairs – program modeled on Canada Research Chairs
 Delivering excellent results of research and training Masters and PhDs
 Chair Holders attract more competitive research funds internationally than they are provided
 TANZANIA
 Government has created the Nelson Mandela African Institute of Science and Technology –
focused only on Masters and PhDs.
 Creating a program of research chairs
 BOTSWANA
 “Diamonds Are Not Forever” strategy
 Creating new Botswana University of Science and Technology – now open
 Establishment of Botswana Innovation Hub and a chairs program
 MALAWI
 New University of Science and Technology in 2014
 ZIMBABWE
 Three new regional universities
EXAMPLES OF SUB SAHARAN AFRICA
ACTIONS - 1

17.  KENYA
 creating silicon savannah to anchor innovation hub
 establish program of research chairs – first two now in place
 EAST AFRICA
 Aga Khan Foundation establishing modern hospitals and the
Aga Khan University
 RWANDA
 established campus of Carnegie Mellon University as the focus
of an innovation hub on ICT
 public universities put under one management to help build
graduate and research strength
 BURKINA FASO
 established major research campus on Environment and Water
(2IE) with emphasis on graduate and research work
 NIGERIA
 new Nelson Mandela University of Science and Technology in
Abuja
EXAMPLES OF SUB SAHARAN AFRICA
ACTIONS – 2

18.  AFRICAN UNION – Pan African University with 4 campuses (soon 5)
 Key Element of African Development Bank ten year strategy 2013-2023
Graduate and research universities:
 Ibadan University, Nigeria – Institute of life sciences and earth sciences
( including health and agriculture)
 Yaounde University 11, Cameroon, Institute of governance, humanities and
social sciences
 Jomo Kenyatta University, Kenya, Institute of basic sciences, technology and
innovation
 Aboubekr Belkaid University, Tiemen, Algeria, Institute of water and energy
sciences (including climate change) to open in 2014
 Southern Africa – Institute of Space and Satellite Sciences (to be established)
EXAMPLES OF SUB SAHARAN AFRICA
ACTIONS – 3

19.  The World Academy of Science (the Developing World) (previously the
Third World Academy of Science)
 Many African countries have academies of science
 African Academy of Science
 Network of African Science Academies
 IAP – The global network of science academies
 African Observatory of Science and Technology and Innovation (AOSTI) -
African Union
RECOGNIZING EXCELLENCE IN SCIENCE
AND TECHNOLOGY

20.  High level panel on Science, Technology and Innovation (2014-2024) –
report to be released soon – includes the idea of chairs
 African Ministerial Council on Science and Technology (AMCOST)
 Conference of Ministers of Education of the African Union (COMEDAF)
 Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA)
 Association of African Universities
 “The panel has recommended that that attention be given to advanced
education and R and D facilities on the continent” AUC Commission
PAN AFRICAN
ORGANIZATIONS

21.  Angola stands on the threshold of becoming a developed country over the
next 20 years
 Angola has many issues to deal with on this journey
 It has the resources to address the needs of its people
 It has the resources that will permit it to develop a diversified economy
 It can become the country that my father dreamed of as he gave his whole
life to the development of the Angolan people
 He did this through access to better medicine, better public health, better
education, better farming, better forestry, increased life expectancy.
FINAL REFLECTIONS

22. 
Many thanks for the
opportunity to reflect on my
home country’s future.