The OR Tambo Africa Research Chairs combine political, development, and higher education objectives. At continental level, this initiative aims to initiate a catalytic effect on the development of research infrastructure in recipient countries by supporting prominent researchers to undertake world-class research in priority areas and contribute to producing knowledge and advancing research skills in line with (i) the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and the Science, (ii) Technology and Innovation Strategy for Africa (STISA-2024), and with (iii) the development needs of recipient countries. To attain these goals, funds have been made available to the Copperbelt University OR Tambo Research Chair Initative (CBU-ORTARCHl) to support both postgraduate training and postdoctoral fellowships through the National Research Foundation (NRF) and the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) of South Africa in partnership with the Oliver and Adelaide Tambo Foundation, and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) of Canada. https://www.idrc.ca/en/project/or-tambo-research-chairs-sub-saharan-africa

CBU-ORTARCHl
In October, 2020, the University was awarded to host the OR Tambo Africa Research Chair Initiative in Environmental Management under the leadership of Prof. Stephen Syampungani at Riverside campus in Kitwe. Research will be conducted through two thematic areas: Pollution & remediation and Socio-ecological landscape studies, aiming at developing models for restoration of mining generated landscape ecosystems in Zambia.