H
ow do you convey the dynamics and current and future social issues of Africa to a wider audience? Students of the Leiden-Delft-Erasmus minor African Dynamics 2024-2025 followed an Academic Podcast Workshop in the studio of Leiden University's Humanities Hub.
Not a non-committal activity for the minor students because as part of a course assignment it contributed to their final grade. The result is a high-quality podcast series.
Complex global challenges
Tackling complex global challenges for this year's assignments, the third-year bachelor's students explored the importance of interdisciplinary approaches in addressing complex global challenges, specifically applied to Africa.
The minor students take the listeners through various topics, many related to sustainable development goals and the major challenges for Africa as a rapidly growing continent. They explain theory, figures, dilemmas and talk to each other. The fun splashes off because the students from different fields of study talk to each other. This experience is important for when they later work in teams on solutions in which different disciplines are relevant.
'The population of Africa is expected to double in 25 years'
For example, Madelief Brood, a student of Civil Engineering at TU Delft, and Marissa Claasen, a student of Psychology at Erasmus University Rotterdam, made the podcast about the rapid population growth in Africa: 'The population of Africa is expected to double in 25 years. From 1.2 billion people in 2025 to 2.5 billion in 2050. What does that mean for infrastructure, education and employment, among other things? Sixty percent of the population is under 25, which gives enormous opportunities for economic growth and development.' Listen to the podcast of Madelief and Marissa here
Below you will find an overview of all podcasts of the students of the minor African Dynamics, now available on SoundCloud
Academic podcasts: for whom and why?
The students also explored the unique aspects of academic podcasts and how they differ from other formats. The target group in particular makes the difference: students, researchers, lecturers and other professionals who are looking for knowledge from scientific sources.
Iris de Koning, student of Liberal Arts & Sciences at Erasmus University Rotterdam: 'I found the podcast workshop very informative. Working with the studio equipment was a highlight. It helped me to familiarize myself with the software and the experience of working in a professional studio environment.'
The minor African Dynamics will start again in September 2025 with a group of students and lecturers from all three universities. Read more about this minor.
