ASSIGNMENT
Dr David Mickler is Senior Lecturer in Political Science and International Relations at the University of Western Australia, Australia.
introduction
The University of Western Australia launched its Africa Research Cluster in May 2015 as a mechanism to coordinate Africa-focused and other Africa-relevant research being conducted across various faculties and disciplines of the university.
The cluster has aimed to explore opportunities for developing collaborative research projects between University of Western researchers and researchers and institutions outside the university, including those in Africa. The members of the Cluster come from Political Science and International Relations, Law, Plant Biology, Agriculture and Resource Economics, Archaeology and Heritage Studies, Earth and Environment, History, Linguistics, Medicine, Development Studies, and Geosciences.
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The Cluster also links to the University of Western Energy and Minerals Institute, the University of Western Centre for Muslim States and Societies, the Minerals and Energy for Development Alliance, the African Studies Association of Australasia and the Pacific, and the Africa Australia Association, among other connections. The Cluster also engages with government and industry in Western Australia, nationally and internationally, as well as with local African Diaspora organisations.The Cluster seeks to develop research collaborations and other forms of engagement to develop solutions to a range of social, political, economic and scientific challenges as well as to more generally develop and sustain meaningful and mutually beneficial linkages between Australia and Africa.