April 2024 marked a significant milestone for African radio astronomy with the successful deployment of the first TART (Transient Array Radio Telescope) in Mauritius. The installation took place at the Université des Mascareignes (UdM), Bel Air campus, under the auspices of Rhodes University’s Professor Oleg Smirnov, UdM’s Dr Keshav Sewraj, Dr Max Scheel of the Electronics Research Foundation (New Zealand), and South African Radio Astronomy Observatory’s (SARAO) Dr Nadeem Oozeer.

The workshop, held from 15 to 19 April 2024 in Cape Town, was attended by 65 graduates from 12 African countries holding a 4-year Bachelor of Science or Bachelor of Engineering degree, or students currently pursuing or having obtained a Master of Science or Engineering degree, as well as a few Doctoral degree candidates in various disciplines.

Nineteen students from Kenya and South Africa have been participating in a Development in Africa with Radio Astronomy training initiative, which is being run in partnership with the Kenya Optical Telescope Initiative.

Scientists and engineers from nine African countries, including South Africa, have converged at Rhodes University in Makhanda to share knowledge in building a low-cost radio telescope called the ‘Transient Array Radio Telescope’ or TART.

This year’s school hosted 25 participants in Cape Town from 5 to 11 March 2023, with participants hailing from diverse regions in Africa.

Funded by the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory’s (SARAO) Human Capital Development Programme, the workshop was held in collaboration with the Breakthrough Listen initiative, the MeerTime collaboration, the TRAPUM collaboration, the Transient Array Radio Telescope consortium and the Centre for Radio Astronomy Techniques and Technologies (RATT) in the Department of Physics and Electronics at Rhodes University.

In ceremonies at both sites in Australia and South Africa, the SKA Observatory celebrated the start of construction of its world-leading radio telescopes and announced €300 million worth of construction contracts.