African ministers have welcomed
the offer of Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) to help build innovation management
capacity at national and regional levels.
“This collaboration will go a long way in helping high-level
African officials strengthen their capacity in research, technology and
innovation management,” said Dr. Martial De Paul Ikounga, African Union’s
Commissioner for Human Resources, Science and Technology (HRST).
The offer was made by HKS’s Professor Calestous Jumaduring
his keynote speech at the first meeting of the African Union’s Specialized
Technical Committee on Education, Science and Technology (STC-EST) help in
Addis Ababa on 27-30 November, 2015. The ministers requested the HRST
Commission to work with HKS to develop modalities for the implementation of the
cooperation which can form the basis for similar capacity building initiatives
with relevant STI institutions.
HKS has
launched the Technology, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship in Africa (TIEAfrica) Executive Program with a
$1 million gift from the Schooner Foundationto
HKS’s Belfer
Center for Science and International Affairs.
“This support was inspired by the collaboration we have had
with the Commission during the formulation and adoption of the Science,
Technology and Innovation Strategy for Africa (STISA-2024),” Professor Juma
informed the ministers.
The first three-day session of TIE-Africa will be held at
HKS in September 2016. “The program will bring together senior leaders from
across Africa to address critical challenges facing their economies and support
them in their implementation of innovation strategies,” Professor Juma said. He
said that the “focus will be on finding solutions to critical issues identified
by member states.” “We look forward to working closely with the HRST Commission
in identifying participants across Africa whose initiatives could have a major
impact of development objectives,” Professor Juma added.
“We consider the collaboration with Harvard Kennedy School
as an important step in working with some of the world’s leading universities
to build our management capabilities. We look forward to expanding our
collaboration of like-minded universities around the world,” he said.
END
For further information contact
Directorate of Information and Communication | African Union
Commission I E-mail: dinfo@africanunion.org I Web
Site: www.au.intI Addis Ababa | Ethiopia
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