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Universities launch Africa-Europe Clusters of Research Excellence to pioneer new approach to equitable collaboration
At their recent summit in Brussels, the Vice-Chancellors and Presidents of the African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA) and The Guild of European Research-Intensive Universities (The Guild) have launched seventeen research clusters that aim to transform the nature of collaborative research, foregrounding equity as a precondition for excellent and impactful research to address our common societal challenges.
Die EU agiert in der Forschungszusammenarbeit mit Afrika deutlich moderner als die Schweiz
Während die EU bei der Forschungszusammenarbeit mit Afrika Gas gibt und innovative Förderinstrumente schafft, verharrt die Schweiz in alten Positionen. «Man sieht das Potenzial der Länder des globalen Südens nicht», so CDE-Direktor Thomas Breu und Präsident der Kommission für Forschungspartnerschaften mit Entwicklungsländern KFPE. Dabei wäre dringend mehr Bewegung nötig, um die globalen Herausforderungen und Krisen gemeinsam anzupacken – «auch im eigenen Interesse», wie er betont.
Developing equal, mutually beneficial partnerships with African universities
This paper sets out a rationale for a new ambition of collaboration, based upon the need for new levels of investment in Africa’s research capacity. As the African Union and the European Union are developing a new strategy for jointly addressing our global challenges, they have a unique opportunity to invest in African research universities, and support new collaborative networks of universities and researchers in both continents. This is key to the ability of both continents to address our societal challenges like climate change and digital transformation. Both, the European Union and the African Union, have emphasized the importance of supporting research and innovation, and the universities within which these take place. This is a crucial time to act, to ensure that collaboration between Africa and Europe is future-oriented and strategic, and carries the support of universities, governments, and the two Unions.