EU-Africa Conference: Applied Sciences as drivers for regional innovation ecosystems in Africa

DAAD Brussels, in partnership with the European Commission, OBREAL Global, EURASHE, EDUFI, Nuffic and a network of German Universities of Applied Sciences have great pleasure to invite you to the joint conference
“Applied Sciences as drivers for regional innovation ecosystems in Africa”,
on 5 and 6 September 2023 in the Renaissance Hotel in Brussels.

Against the background of the Sustainable Development Goals, the Africa-EU Joint Vision for 2030, the Global Gateway Strategy, the EU-AU Innovation Agenda and the African Union’s Agenda 2063, the need for a stronger focus on applied sciences is paramount for the benefit of the social and economic development in Africa.

Aims of the conference

• Discuss the contribution of the applied sciences in fostering innovation and job generation in Africa.
• Examine the complex interactions of regional innovation ecosystems.
• Contribute to the further development of the EU-Africa Partnership in the field of higher education and research.
• Discuss the importance of the Global Gateway as a framework for further cooperation.
• Present different successful cooperation projects between academia and industry on both continents.
• Engage in a dialogue with industry and other related education sectors (TVET) on training human resources and the mutual learning between stakeholders.

Conference structure

• Day 1: The public conference targeting practitioners and policy experts that will set the scene and examine the various dimensions of the topic.
• Day 2: (Higher) education cooperation projects will discuss and share practices in policy workshops clustered around four thematic tracks: (Renewable) Energy and Green Transition; Agriculture and Food Security; (Public) Health; IT/Technology and Innovation.