This brief report is the result of another round of a data-gathering and benchmarking initiative at ARUA universities and funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York. It presents a quick summary of the findings of both the first and second rounds of data gathering over seven years, 2015-2021.
The African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA) in December 2021 commissioned a study to provide a baseline understanding of the current nature, structure, and process of doctoral training at the alliance’s 16 member universities.
In November 2022, ARUA launched its second Profiles Report (2018- 2021) at a ceremony in Cape Town. The launch event followed a meeting of ARUA Vice Chancellors hosted by the University of Cape Town. The Vice Chancellors who gathered for the meeting and the launch were generally positive about the report, and this was not surprising since the report showed a positive trend in the performance of their universities. The second Profiles Report can be described as showing some progress with several of the performance indicators considered.
Africa’s future will be determined by the effort that the region makes in pursuit of Agenda 2063 of the African Union and how such effort is amplified in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The effort must be driven by the availability and application of new knowledge in the production of goods and services, as well as in the governance and management of societies. This is what the development and application of new technologies and innovation are all about.
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.
This document presents findings on the analysis of Phase One of the data benchmarking study of ARUA universities, shedding light on their research profiles for the period 2015-2017. The study was funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the report was written by Professor Gerald Wangende-Ouma of University of Pretoria.
ARUA is delighted to share the results of the first phase of the Benchmarking Project with support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York (CCNY).
Authors: M. Flint-O’Kane, E. Abbey, J. Tager, J. Williams, S. Marillier, L. Oberlander, L. Shackleton, F. Swanepoel
The year began with a lot of promise for ARUA. There was rapidly growing interest around the world in what ARUA was doing to enhance the performance of African research universities, both in the region and globally. The network was set to build on various initiatives from the previous year, which had led to significant agreements and collaborations with leading global research and funding organisations. It was this growing worldwide interest in ARUA that led us to begin working closely with the Guild of European Research Universities, and to collaborate in the mobilisation of resources to support research and innovation in partnership with the European Union and the African Union.
The news that an effective vaccine against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 will be introduced imminently was welcomed with great enthusiasm worldwide. The consensus is that access to vaccines for low-income countries is a global responsibility.