Events

TICAD7 Official Side Event “Fostering Africa Japan university partnerships in science, technology, and innovation”

August 29, 2019

Yokohama, Japan

OVERVIEW
BACKGROUND
SPEAKERS

The session discussed how university partnership can increase the quality of teaching, research and innovation in higher education to tackle socio-economic challenges in Africa including those related to SDGs. The World Bank financed Africa regional higher education projects, concrete partnership examples, and future partnership opportunities were introduced.
Program
Chair
Oussouby Sacko
President of Kyoto Seika University
Opening Remarks
Ministry of Finance, Japan
Africa’s Challenges and Opportunities
Hafez Ghanem
Vice President, Africa Region, The World Bank
Introduction of PASET
Eugene Mutimura
Minister of Education, Rwanda
Presentation material: Introduction of PASET and ACE (PDF)
University Partnership Models using the World Bank financed Projects
Sajitha Bashir
Advisor, Education Global Practice, World Bank
Presentation material: University Partnership Models: ACE and PASET RSIF (PDF)
Discussion on African-Japanese University Partnerships
Discussants:
Mike Hughes
Advisor, Science and Technology, Ministry of Education, Rwanda
Amit Dar
Regional Director for Human Development Practice Group in Africa, World Bank
Oussouby Sacko
President of Kyoto Seika University
Gerald Misinzo
Associate Professor and Leader at SACIDS Africa Centre of Excellence for Infectious Diseases, SACIDS Foundation for One Health at Sokoine University of Agriculture, Tanzania
Presentation material: SACIDS - Africa Center of Excellence for Infectious Diseases (PDF)

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Date/Time: Monday, September 2, 2019, 2:30pm-5:00pm

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Date/Time: Tuesday, September 3, 2019, 2:30pm-5:00pm
Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) lags behind in higher education and research output. This is related to the poor quality of training in universities and the lack of a strong pipeline of secondary education students. Strengthening the higher education and research outputs, especially in the area of science, technology, agriculture, health and related fields, has higher development impact. The lack of a critical mass of scientifically- technically trained people limits the assimilation, diffusion and adaptation of new technologies by firms and by workers and makes it more difficult to address development challenges such as climate change.
To address these development challenges which also closely relate with SDGs, some important regional initiatives have been launched by the World Bank in the Africa region – the Africa Centres of Excellence (ACE) regional projects and the Partnership for skills in Applied Sciences, Engineering and Technology (PASET). The ACE is a World Bank-financed project to invest in competitively selected 72 research centers from African universities in 20 countries to develop its research and teaching capability, regional and international inter-university and industry partnerships and high-quality masters and PhD programs. PASET is a partnership initiative launched by the African governments and facilitated by the World Bank, focusing on building scientific and technical skills in higher education and technical education, together with the private sector and other donors. It has a special focus on building relations and learning from countries in Asia and Latin America. Its flagship initiative is the Regional Scholarship and Innovation Fund (RSIF), a pan-African science fund, to provide PhD scholarship, research and innovation grants. The RSIF also aims to build capacity in selected 10 RSIF host universities in SSA for doctoral programs, applied research and innovation in applied sciences, technology and engineering fields.
Both ACE and PASET work as regional platforms and embrace partnership with foreign universities and corporations to improve the quality of teaching, research, and innovation.
This session discussed the challenges that African countries face and how university partnerships have contributed to improving the quality of higher education and research as well as commercialization of research.
Hafez Ghanem

Vice-President, Africa Region, World Bank
Dr. Hafez Ghanem, an Egyptian and French national, is the Vice President of the World Bank for Africa since July 1, 2018. A development expert with over 30 years of experience, Dr. Ghanem leads an active regional portfolio consisting of over 600 projects totaling more than $71 billion. Under his leadership, the World Bank supports inclusive growth and poverty reduction by financing projects that boost human capital, support private sector development, raise agricultural productivity, improve access to infrastructure, build resilience to climate change, and promote regional integration. Intensifying assistance for fragile and conflict-affected states, promoting gender equality, and providing economic opportunities for youth are core to his vision for the Africa Region. Prior to his appointment as Vice President for Africa, Dr. Ghanem served as Vice President of the World Bank for the Middle East and North Africa from 2015 to 2018, overseeing the World Bank’s engagement with 20 countries. Leading up to this, he was a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution in the Global Economy and Development program leading the Arab economies project, focused on the impact of political transition on Arab economic development. Between 2007 and 2012, he served as the Assistant Director-General at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). He was responsible for the Economic and Social Development Department and the FAO’s analytical work on agricultural economics and food security, trade and markets, gender and equity, and statistics. In this role, he and his counterpart at the OECD coordinated the preparation of the International Organizations’ recommendations to the 2011 G20 meeting on how to respond to the global food crisis. He also led the reforms of the Committee on World Food Security to make it more inclusive and responsive to country needs. Dr. Ghanem’s career at the World Bank has spanned over 24 years (1983-2007), during which he has worked on Bank operations and initiatives in over 20 countries in Africa, Europe and Central Asia, Middle East and North Africa, and Southeast Asia. He has many publications in professional journals and was a member of the core team that produced the World Bank’s 1995 World Development Report.

Eugene Mutimura

Minister of Education, Government of Rwanda
Hon. Dr. Eugene Mutimura is the current Minister of Education in the Republic of Rwanda, and ensures that the Ministry of Education develops and implements policies that provide equal opportunities to Rwandans to access high quality education through world class learning facilities and renowned learning institutions. Dr. Mutimura previously worked at the Inter-University Council of East Africa. He Coordinated the Eastern and Southern African Centers of Excellence project funded by the World Bank in 8 countries, to support research and education in 16 Universities. As a trainer with substantial pedagogical and research experience, Dr. Mutimura oversees the Ministry of Education policies that underpin national agenda to collaborate with African colleagues to utilize technology to transform education and research, and advance scientific discovery to leverage national and regional labour market opportunities. Dr. Mutimura believes that the most valuable investment lies in education, and nurturing of talents for young scientists. With the support from the Government of Rwanda, and in collaboration with various partners, the Ministry of Education will continue to contribute and advocate for improved commitment and investments in science and research to advance Rwanda’s vision to become a knowledge-based economy.

Oussouby Sacko

President of Kyoto Seika University
Born in Mali in 1966, Oussouby SACKO studied in China, majoring in architecture. Residing in Japan since 1991, he earned his PhD at Kyoto University’s Graduate School of Engineering, Department of Architecture, researching relationships between society and architectural space. His publications include Literacy and Culture of Knowledge (Nakanishiya Publishing, 2007). Joining Kyoto Seika University in 2001, he was promoted to Professor in 2013. On April 1, 2018, he was inaugurated as President of the University.

Sajitha Bashir

Advisor, Science, Technology and Innovation, Office of Global Director for Education, World Bank
Dr. Sajitha Bashir is Advisor for Science, Technology and Innovation in the Office of the Global Director, Education Global Practice at the World Bank. She was the Manager for Education in the Eastern and Southern Africa region of the World Bank, where she oversaw a large portfolio of education projects and analytical work in 20 countries. She has more than 25 years of experience leading policy dialogue, projects, and research in education and other social sectors from her work for the Bank in Africa, South Asia, and Latin America; in India’s national and state governments; and in various donor agencies. She catalyzed the creation in 2013 of the Partnership for Skills in Applied Science, Engineering and Technology (PASET), which is mobilizing African governments, new development partners, and the private sector to strengthen skills development, higher education, and research in the areas of science and technology. She is the co-author of Facing Forward: Schooling for Learning in Africa, a flagship study of the World Bank on the quality of basic education in Africa. She has published widely in education and related fields. Before joining the World Bank, she was chief consultant for research and evaluation with the government of India’s national school education program. She holds bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees from the London School of Economics.

Michael Hughes

Advisor, Science, Technology and Innovation, Ministry of Education, Rwanda
Mike Hughes is a Chartered Engineer with over 30 years experience in the Power Industry, Telecommunications, and more recently in Science, Technology and Innovation Policy and Strategy. His experience spans both Africa and UK. In Zambia he was head of telecommunications and electro-technical for the power company. In the UK as a manager for the National Grid Company including Programme and Business manager for the build of a National Fibre Optic Network. He was appointed as Science, Technology and Innovation Advisor to the Ministry of Education, Science, Technology, and Research from 2004-2006, Ministry in the President's Office in Charge of Science, Technology and Information Communication Technologies from 2006-2009, and Ministry of Education since August 2009.

Amit Dar

Regional Director for Human Development Practice Group in Africa, World Bank
An economist by training, Amit has worked extensively on education, labor markets, skills development, and social protection, as well as results-based financing. He has held various positions in South Asia and in the Social Protection Anchor Unit, his recent assignment being Director of the Education Global Practice. His current position is Regional Director for Human Development in Africa. Amit holds a Ph.D. in Economics from Brown University.

Gerald Misinzo

Centre Leader, SACIDS Africa Centre of Excellence for Infectious Diseases, Sokoine University of Agriculture
Gerald Misinzo, holds a Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine from Sokoine University of Agriculture, an MSc in Molecular Biology from the Catholic University of Leuven and a Doctor of Philosophy in Veterinary Medicine from Ghent University. He is an associate professor of virology, immediate past (July 2014 to June 2019) head of Department of Veterinary Microbiology, Parasitology and Biotechnology and leader of the Southern African Centre for Infectious Disease Surveillance – Africa Center of Excellence for Infectious Diseases of Humans and Animals in Southern and Eastern Africa (SACIDS-ACE; http://www.sacids.org). SACIDS-ACE is a One Health partnership of medical and veterinary institutions whose Vision and Mission are rooted in the quest for enhancing Africa’s capacity for the science evidence based risk management of infectious diseases through the One Health approach. His major research interest is on transboundary animal diseases of short cycle stocks such as domestic pigs, sheep, goats, poultry and fish that affect livelihoods and food security, such as African swine fever and peste des petits ruminants. At the moment, my expression of interest has been nominated for submission of a full proposal for the Oliver R Tambo Africa Research Chairs Initiative (ORTARCI) 2019.

EVENT DETAILS

DATE/TIME: Thursday, August 29, 2019, 10:30am-12:00pm (JST)
VENUE: Pacifico Yokohama Annex Hall F203, 1-1-1, Minato Mirai, Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Japan(Please refer "ACCESS" in RELATED below)
LANGUAGE: English and Japanese (with simultaneous interpretation)
CONTACT: Koichi Omori, World Bank Tokyo Office TEL: 03-3597-6650
komori@worldbankgroup.org