This Early-Career Research Fellowship is being initiated by the African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA), with support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York, to support a total of thirteen (13) Early-Career Research Fellows to undertake globally competitive research at the ARUA Centres of Excellence (CoEs).
Just ahead of the EU-AU summit, The Guild and African Research Universities Alliance’s (ARUA) panel discussion, organised on 14 February 2022, provided a timely outlook on what is needed to further strengthen African universities and African-European university collaborations in the long-term.
Through the proposed AU-EU Innovation Agenda, announced on 14 February ahead of the AU-EU summit, universities are assuming a central place in the development of AU-EU relations.
Africa has many development aspirations, at the top of which is structural and institutional transformation. This transformation is what will facilitate the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and other aspirations.
MESSAGE FROM THE SECRETARY-GENERAL – I am happy to report that despite the pandemic, the number of ARUA activities in 2021 remained high and engaging. This was largely because, like many other organisations around the world, we used the available Information and Communications Technology quite effectively in organising our events and meetings.
In 2017, the AU-EU summit paved the way for the recognition of science collaborations and the need for strengthening the research and innovation capacity of African universities as key priorities in the African-European partnership.
The African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA) and The Guild emphasise the critical importance of strengthening African research universities in a wholistic way, calling to action the African Union (AU) and the European Union (EU), national governments, public science bodies, and Universities and their communities themselves.
As policy-makers gear up for a summit on 17-18 February 2022 where a new multi-year strategic agreement (2021-27) between the African Union (AU) and the European Union (EU) will be introduced, research universities sent a clear message that enhanced African-European university collaboration should be a key component of the agreement.
Over 200 scientists have voiced their support for the joint initiative of The Guild and the African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA) on strengthening the research capacities of African universities.
22 November 2021 – virtual conference
The African Union’s Agenda 2063 and the EU’s vision for Global Gateways prioritising an AU-EU strategic partnership have both set ambitions to develop an African knowledge society through research and innovation. This is crucial to strengthen a prosperous Africa based on inclusive growth and sustainable development. We need a new approach to tackle the AU’s and EU’s common challenges, from climate change to health to digitalisation.