The 1993 Nobel Prize laureate in medicine and physiology, Sir Richard Roberts is urging African scientists to make good research their ultimate goal.

He, however, believes getting an excellent education early is crucial.

“To do a good research, this is an excellent ambition and something you should strive for.

“The way to do it in Africa is to get the very best of education you can while you’re young and go abroad to continue your studies and go back to Africa to see what you can do for Africa,” he said.

He spoke at the Renowned Scholars’ Forum by the Young Researchers’ Forum (YRF) of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology.

Sir Richard is credited with pioneering work on DNA sequencing and genetic engineering, which led to discovery of what is known as alternative splicing of genes.

He however admonished African scientists not to make Nobel prize their ambition.

“It’s always a mistake to make the Nobel Prize your ambition. The chance of achieving is very small.

Sir Richard who has set up for-profit company, New England Biolabs, hinted that a similar outfit will be set up in Africa to help fund African research.

“We want to start this small company in Africa. We hope it will generate some money for research. We will show in fact, how it’s possible to succeed in Africa,” he said.

Young Researchers’ Forum

Young Researchers’ Forum, which is under the aegis of the Office of Grants and Research is a network of young faculty members of the University.

It seeks to encourage research citizenship and culture among members.

The Renowned Scholars’ Dialogue (RSD) is one of its programmes.

Under the RSD, the YRF will host an eminent academic annually to share experiences on how they navigated the challenges and making it to the top.

The scholars are expected to offer insights into how to transform research and innovation to start-ups and full-blown businesses for wealth creation.

“We bring on eminent people making impact on society to encourage young researchers in the Forum about the challenges we might encounter and the successes that await us,” lead, Prof. Marian Asantewah Nkansah noted.

Sir Richard Roberts, a Nobel Prize laureate, therefore started the series with, “The Path to the Nobel Prize”.

One of the participants, Dr. Jacob Hamidu revealed he has incorporated Sir Richard's ideas in his teaching career.

“I’ve been using some of the concepts and discoveries of Sir Richard in my teaching. Being able to bring science into business is very important. It goes on to further encourage us in what we’re doing,” he said.