Universities launch Africa-Europe Clusters of Research Excellence
19-06-2023
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.
The Africa-Europe CoRE, led by ARUA and The Guild, address head-on the inequity that has characterised research in relation to Africa, to the detriment of global science. In particular, they are distinguished by:
- Equity, as a precondition for producing outstanding research with maximum societal impact.
- A commitment to societal transformation, as each Cluster focuses on acute societal needs that require the urgent focus of research and innovation.
- Inclusiveness, as the Clusters bring together researchers from universities and research institutes from across Europe and Africa, far beyond ARUA and The Guild.
- Long-term commitment from researchers, underwritten by long-term institutional support.
- Commitment to transforming Africa’s capacity for knowledge production, with a particular focus on young researchers (including Masters and PhD students), ensuring they are embedded in global scientific networks, and giving them the best possible opportunities to contribute to global science in Africa.
- Commitment to capacity-building in high-level research infrastructures open to all who need it, and to seek a coalition of funders to achieve this aim.
