Dr. Amani J. Uisso, senior scientist at the Tanzania Forestry Research Institute (TAFORI) and In-Forest Mercator Fellow, spent a week at the Centre for Research on Evaluation, Science and Technology (CREST) in Stellenbosch for joint research. 

As Mercator Fellow in the In-Forest project, Amani contributes expert knowledge of forest research which is crucial for conceptual decisions as well as for the compilation, analysis and interpretation of data. From 22.-29. October 2023, he stayed at CREST to work with Prof. Nelius Boshoff (In-Forest Co-PI) and Dr. Similo Ngwenya on constructing a unique database of Tanzanian forest science that includes articles not captured by mainstream databases. Ahead of his travels, Amani had sourced such articles within Tanzania, both digitally and physically, mobilising his in-depth knowledge of Tanzanian scholarship and publication outlets. At CREST, he collaborated with Nelius and Similo to create a comprehensive dataset consisting of both the meta-data of publications and the texts themselves. Moreover, the colleagues started conceptualising the bibliometric and content analysis for which the data will be used. 

Mercator Fellows in DFG projects are scholars from abroad who add significant value to a research project given their outstanding expertise in a specific research area. They are associated with the project over the long term, contribute crucial expertise for the research conducted and increase its international visibility. The designated funding facilitates ongoing exchange as well as research stays to collaborate face-to-face.