About The Institute

The Scholar Ship Research Institute (TSSRI) performs interdisciplinary research in the environmental and social sciences, harnessing international academic partnerships to examine critical global challenges. The Institute accomplishes these goals by:

• Connecting students, scholars and institutions around the world;
• Engaging global leaders through innovative, interdisciplinary scholarship; and
• Fostering the development of innovative undergraduate and postgraduate teaching.

The Institute administers ten research programmes in the natural and social sciences designed to complement The Scholar Ship’s undergraduate and postgraduate curriculum. The Institute also contributes to the onboard learning community through its international workshops, regional capacity-building seminars, and the Global Scholars initiative.

FEBRUARY 2008 | CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA
"African Scientific Responses to African Challenges"

The Scholar Ship Research Institute and the World Association of Young Scientists organise a capacity building workshop for young African scientists onboard The Scholar Ship in Cape Town, South Africa.

Press Release>
Workshop Programme>  

A Message from Jane Goodall

At the start of a new millennium we are experiencing the rapid destruction of habitats and wildlife on a global scale. Human populations have grown, needing ever more land for their crops and livestock.  In many places in the developing world where forests and woodlands have been cut down, soils have become infertile and eroded, and this has led to increased poverty. We are already feeling the effects of global climate change due to emissions of greenhouse gases. Around the globe the use of agricultural, industrial and household chemicals has polluted land and leached into streams and rivers, groundwater and oceans. Countless animal have been affected and many species already driven to extinction. Because of all this it has finally been understood that a healthy ecosystem is necessary for the well being of our own species. At least some of the violence around the world is due to competition for increasingly depleted natural resources including, and most worrying, fresh water.
 
To heal some of the scars we have inflicted on Planet Earth, to create a more equitable distribution of wealth, and to develop sustainable life styles, are global challenges that must be tackled by everyone from governments to corporations to the general public. Scholars and researchers have an essential and ever increasing role to play in meeting these challenges.  New discoveries lead to increased understanding and awareness, and, in turn,  to new and more effective strategies and tools for change. Teaching, in turn, helps raise the awareness of future leaders and scientists, empowering them to take informed action.
 
I believe that The Scholar Ship Research Institute (TSSRI) programmes address many of these important themes. The research mission recognises that the natural and the social sciences have complementary roles to play in increasing our knowledge of the world around us and in building research teams across disciplinary and national boundaries, and especially between the economically developing and developed countries.  As such, the Institute can play an important role in raising awareness and informing policy around the world. TSSRI’s  students have every opportunity to benefit from the rich experiences offered by the curriculum. I am honoured to be an Hon. Board member of  TSSRI and I am keen to foster future links between this endeavour and my global environmental and humanitarian programme Roots & Shoots.
 
Jane Goodall, Ph.D., DBE
Founder, The Jane Goodall Institute