Africa Competence Centre

Africa Competence Centre of the University of Würzburg

The Africa Competence Centre of the University of Würzburg (ACCUW) is an association of researchers who have been working closely with partners in Africa for many years.

Our goal is to network this research and cooperation, and to make it better known to the public through events, and thus at the same time providing an insight into the cultural and scientific landscapes of the African continent.

Africa and JMU

Reserach

Members

Impressions of the University Tent at the Africa Festival 2025

From May 29 to June 1, 2025, the Africa Competence Centre was once again be represented with the university tent at Europe's largest and oldest festival for African music and culture. The University Tent of the Julius-Maximilian University of Würzburg has been an integral part of the Africa Festival for more than 15 years.

With/About Africa: Research and Teaching at the University of Würzburg

For years, Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg has been a centre for intensive, internationally acclaimed research on Africa and with African partners:

Radio Astronomy in Africa
Prof. Dr. Matthias Kadler and Prof. Dr. Karl Mannheim

UPSCALE: Climate-friendly Agriculture with Maximum Yield in East Africa
Prof. Dr. Ingolf Steffan-Dewenter and Dr. Michael Thiel

The Comoé National Park Research Station
Prof. Dr. K. Eduard Linsenmair and Dr. Erik T. Frank

African Ants – Paramedics in the Animal Kingdom
Dr. Erik T. Frank and Prof. Dr. K. Eduard Linsenmair

Researching the Fascinating Biology of the Sleeping Sickness Pathogen in Würzburg
Prof. Dr. Markus Engstler

Global Change on Kilimanjaro Endangers Biodiversity and Functions
Dr. Marcell Peters and Prof. Dr. Ingolf Steffan-Dewenter

Natural Products: Hope in the Fight Against Neglected Tropical Diseases and Cancer
Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Gerhard Bringmann

GreenMuseumHub: Sustainable Futures for Museums and Heritage Sites
Prof. Dr. Guido Fackler and Elisabeth Greifenstein

Black Voices in a White World of Music
Prof. Dr. Nepomuk Riva

Narratives of Musical Creativity in Post-Apartheid Cape Town
Prof. Dr. Juniper Hill

Be/longing: Contemporary Afro-Diasporic Women Writing
Jennifer Leetsch

German Involvement in the Transatlantic Slave Trade and Colonialism in Africa
PD Dr. Heike Raphael-Hernandez

The Literary Representation of Patrice Lumumba
Dr. Julien Bobineau

Black Studies on Instagram: Communicating Science
PD Dr. Heike Raphael-Hernandez

Drug Supply in Sub-Saharan Africa
Prof. Dr. Ronald Bogaschewsky, Felix Blank, Benjamin Siller

Relief Supplies in Sub-Saharan Africa
Benjamin Siller, Felix Blank, Prof. Dr. Ronald Bogaschewsky

Discoveries from Egyptian Temples: On Tradition, Economy, and Identity Formation in a Multicultural Context
Prof. Dr. Martin Andreas Stadler

Tropical Deforestation and Land Use Accelerate Climate Change in Tropical Africa
Prof. Dr. Heiko Paeth

UPSCALE: Climate-friendly Agriculture with Maximum Yield in East Africa
Prof. Dr. Ingolf Steffan-Dewenter and Dr. Michael Thiel

Sustainable Management of Hydropower Generation in West Africa
Dr. Michael Thiel and Dr. Sarah Schönbrodt-Stitt

Mapping in West Africa from Space
Dr. Michael Thiel

Remote Sensing Training in West Africa
Dr. Michael Thiel

North and West Africa. The last 200 years. Regeneration and desertification
Sani Ibrahim and Dr. rer. nat Prof. h.c. (Cluj) Erhard Schulz

Waste: Africa's Neglected Gold
Patience N. Ache

Africa and India: Challenges of a Millenia-Old Relationship
Dr. Philipp Gieg

Africa in International Relations: From Marginalization to Rising Influence?
Dr. Philipp Gieg and Timo Lowinger

Else Kröner Center for Advanced Medical & Medical Humanitarian Studies
Würzburg – Mwanza, Tanzania

SOPHEA: Healthy Planet – Healthy People
Dr. Eva-Maria Schwienhorst-Stich

InterAAECT – International Dialogue on Academic Adult Education
Prof.‘in Dr. Regina Egetenmeyer

The BEBUC Excellence Scholarship Program in Congo
Education for the DR Congo

News

Im Schatten der Macht: Kultur, Politik und Kritik in der Demokratischen Republik Kongo

Das Afrika-Kompetenzzentrum und die Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften laden am 14. Januar 2026 zu einem Podiumsgespräch über Kultur, Politik und Kritik in der Demokratischen Republik Kongo.

We Wanna Live! Museen gestalten Zukunft. Nachhaltige Projekte aus Ägypten, Deutschland und Tunesien

Studierende aus Ägypten, Deutschland & Tunesien setzen sich in einer Pop Up-Ausstellung mit nachhaltigen Zukunftsperspektiven auseinander. Die Eröffnung findet am Montag, 24. November 2025, um 18:00 Uhr im Lichthof der Neuen Universität am Sanderring statt.

New Publication: Landscape Fires and Their Induced Emissions in West Africa

In Issue 12 of the Young Africa Centre Series, Boris Ouattara analyzes landscape fires and their induced emissions in West Africa.

Impressions of the University Tent at the Africa Festival 2025

Afrika and Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg

Africa and Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg

The Africa Competence Centre of the University of Würzburg (ACCUW) bundles the research collaborations of the scientists at JMU – and helps to strengthen Africa expertise in Bavaria through its membership of the Bavarian Research Institute for African Studies (BRIAS).

Afrika and JMU