News – Page 8 – ACE – Africa Higher Education Centres of Excellence

April 26, 2020

ACE for Impact Centers respond to COVID19

Overview

The life-threatening nature of the COVID19 pandemic has been felt globally – its influence on global education systems is also being felt in Africa. Activities in African higher education institutions (HEIs) were suspended by various governments in order to contain the spread of the virus. Many of these institutions are host universities of the Africa Centers of Excellence for Development Impact project (ACE Impact) and as a result, activities of these Centers were slowed down. However, as part of their objectives to address regional developmental challenges, the ACE Impact Centers initiated measures to support the containment and management of the virus in all 11 participating countries within the West African sub region.

What is an Africa Center of Excellence for Development Impact (ACE for Impact Center)

These are largely competitively selected faculties, schools or colleges within an African University. The ACE Impact Centers focus on STEM, Agriculture, Environment, Health and applied Social Sciences / Education thematic areas. As part of the ACE for Development Impact project they are mandated to deliver quality undergraduate and post-graduate programs, promote regional academic mobility, address national and regional problems through research and promote best practices to their entire university systems.

Challenges faced by the ACEs for Development Impact Centers

The Association of African Universities, which is the Regional Facilitation Unit for the ACE Impact project, in collaboration with the World Bank conducted a survey to understand steps taken by the ACE for Impact Centers in addressing the pandemic to ensure continuous teaching and learning. Subsequently, a virtual meeting was held with the Centers to validate information collected through the survey. The survey results indicated challenges faced by the Centers and they pertain to infrastructure ; skills ; e-Platforms; limited time to plan and implement alternative solutions; limited commitment of staff and students to online learning; funding challenges and infection risks.

A review of how the ACE for Development Impact Centers in West Africa are responding to COVID19

Even though the ACE Impact Centers are facing numerous challenges, they are still contributing their quota in helping countries within the West African sub-region manage the crisis. The Centers have so far responded to the COVID19 pandemic by using technology for teaching, learning and research; engaging in innovative and groundbreaking research activities and participating in community outreach activities and services.

Notably, there has been groundbreaking research going on in different centers to provide immediate solutions that can support the management of the pandemic. The researches have so far led to the sequencing of the virus, abilities to carry out massive testing and online screening of individuals’ risk levels, among others.
In line with the ACE for development impact project objective to contribute to regional development through applied research, the centers are doing research to address societal needs. These efforts have included the production of personal protection equipment such as face shields through 3D printing, manufacturing of ventilators, production of nose masks, production of alcoholic gels and hand sanitizers and manufacturing of hand washing equipment for communities in their respective countries.
Several Centers have also created mathematical models to help assess and predict the spread of the virus and the possibility of confinement in certain cities.

These initiatives are all key towards preventing the rapid spread of the coronavirus.

DOWNLOAD Table that profiles individual ACE for Impact Centers’ Efforts towards responding to COVID 19

About the Africa Higher Education Centers of Excellence Project

The Africa Higher Education Centers of Excellence (ACE) Project is a World Bank initiative in collaboration with governments of participating countries to support Higher Education institutions in specializing in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), Environment, Agriculture, applied Social Science / Education and Health. It is the first World Bank project aimed at the capacity building of higher education institutions in Africa. The first phase (ACE I) was launched in 2014 with 22 Centers of Excellence in nine (9) West and Central African countries; Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal and Togo. The Project aims to promote regional specialization among participating universities in areas that address specific common regional development challenges. It also aims to strengthen the capacities of these universities to deliver high quality training and applied research as well as meet the demand for skills required for Africa’s development. The second phase (ACE II) was launched in East and Southern Africa with 24 centers across Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.

Based on the initial successes, the World Bank and the French Development Agency (AFD) in collaboration with the African governments, launched the ACE Impact Project in 2018 to strengthen post-graduate training and applied research in existing fields and support new fields that are essential for Africa’s economic growth. There are 43 ACEs (25 new ones and 18 from ACE I); 5 Emerging Centers;1 “top up” center in Social Risk Management; and 5 Colleges and Schools of Engineering. The new areas include sustainable cities; sustainable power and energy; social sciences and education; transport; population health and policy; herbal medicine development and regulatory sciences; public health; applied informatics and communication; and pastoral production.

March 13, 2020

Vacancy- Project Coordinator

The African Centre of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases (ACEGID) hosted by the Redeemer’s University, Nigeria is recruiting for the position of Project Coordinator.

Centre Overview
The African Centre of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases (ACEGID), based at Redeemer’s University Nigeria, is driving biomedical innovation at the leading edge of pathogen surveillance, diagnostics, and outbreak response. Established in 2013 and supported by the Human Heredity and Health in Africa (H3Africa) consortium and the World Bank, the ACEGID platform is building genomics pipelines, advancing our understanding of microbial threats, and training the next generation of African scientists how to identify, manage and control these pathogens.

Project Overview
ACEGID conducts clinical and laboratory research activities including the protocol on Severe Infectious Disease: Surveillance, Detection, Risks and Consequences in West Africa which develops descriptive, epidemiological results with sufficient host, pathogen, vector, and interaction information to allow hypothesis generation. Some of these studies involve the enrollment and follow-up of research participants.

Position Purpose
The Site Project Coordinator will be responsible for providing support, managerial oversight and coordination of the projects and ensure its smooth day-to-day operation. The incumbent will provide sufficient update of the operations, logistics and laboratory activities ongoing at the site. He/She will track the project milestones and manage the relationship between the project team, the leadership and the hospital management. The project coordinator will relate cordially with the study PIs, and ensure all potential risks and timelines are managed.

Key Responsibilities
Work with project staff to document and facilitate understanding of project plans and goals related to project scope, quality, timeline, and cost
Anticipate obstacles and implement mitigating strategies
Create plans for monitoring and reporting progress. Includes preparation periodic review reports for funding agencies and collaborators
Plan and track logistics for performance of studies
Actively work with collaborators to improve project infrastructure and management
Prepare, submit, and keep up-to-date all IRB/MTA/DUA approvals for projects
Oversee and keep up-to-date lab safety and human subjects certifications for research study staff
Oversee sample and data management and other project documentation
Implement and maintain quality control and assurance measures at the site
Monitor procurement and maintain financial oversight of on-site project spending

Key Requirements
University degree in a relevant field
2-3 years of site (facility) level coordination experience required
Must have excellent written and verbal communication skills
Must have the ability to interact with an interdisciplinary group including international collaborators,global health researchers, research scientists, and data analysts
Experience in global health or genetics desired
Experience in managing funder/sponsor relations desired

How to Apply

Attach a cover letter, a CV and any other relevant documents as a single file in pdf format titled with your full name, and send in a mail with ‘Site Project Coordinator’ as its subject to info.acegid@run.edu.ng

For more information, kindly visit https://acegid.org/job/site-project-coordinator/

October 6, 2019

Daily Summaries of ACE Events in Dakar

The Africa Higher Education Centres of Excellence (ACE) Project organized its 11th and 2nd ACE I and ACE Impact workshops respectively. The events took place at the King Fahd and Radisson Blu hotels in Dakar, Senegal from September 24- 27, 2019. The workshop was preceded by Project Steering Committee meetings held on September 23 at the World Bank Office in Dakar. Below are summaries of the daily happenings.

Click to read September 23 & 24 summaries (English)

Click to read September 23 & 24 summaries (French)

Click to read September 25 summary (English)

Click to read September 25 summary (French)

Click to read September 26 & 27 summary ( French)

Click to read September 26 summary (English)

Click to read September 27 summary (English)

September 18, 2019

ACEs meet to Strengthen their Capacities to Deliver Quality Post-Graduate Training and Applied Research

The Africa Higher Education Centers of Excellence (ACE I) and Africa Higher Education Centers of Excellence for Development Impact (ACE Impact) projects will be holding a biannual meeting in Dakar, Senegal from September 23-27, 2019. With support from the Ministry of Higher Education in Senegal, the World Bank and its partners (Agence Française de Développement (AFD) and the Association of African Universities (AAU)) launches the eleventh ACE I and second for the ACE Impact projects.

The meeting brings together several actors of the higher education sector, including, Vice Chancellors and academics from institutions hosting the Centers, government representatives from the participating ACE1 and ACE Impact Countries, the private sector, industry players and policy think tanks. The overarching goal is to create a platform for the Centers to gain knowledge relevant to the implementation of the projects, exchange information on their respective programs, build networks and forge partnerships to ensure the successful implementation and realization of the project’s objectives.

Click to read Press Release in English

June 19, 2019

Call for participation: Workshop on Research Methodology, Data Analysis and Publication

The Africa Centre of Excellence in reproductive Health (CERHI) hosted by the University of Benin, Nigeria in collaboration with the Chicago and Fayetteville State Universities in the USA is organizing a five-day workshop on Research Methodology, Data Analysis and Publication. The workshop comes off from July 8-12, 2019 at the CERHI Secretariat, University of Benin in Nigeria.

The workshop seeks to enable participants disseminate research findings using the appropriate media and technologies; differentiate between quantitative and qualitative research approaches and equip them with the ability to identify methodological and statistical pitfalls; describe the common experimental designs as well as code and analyze quantitative data using SPSS software and analyze qualitative data using the Atlas and NVivo softwares.

Lecturers, Clinicians, Researchers, Scholars, post graduate students and individuals who seek to enhance their research knowledge and skills are encouraged to attend.

Workshop Fee: 50,000 Naira for Nigerians and US$150 for international participants.

Interested participants should kindly click to to register.

For further information and enquiries, please contact management on;
Email: info@cerhi.uniben.edu
Phone: +2348039101991, +2348120608497

June 11, 2019

ACECoR Calls for PhD and Masters Applications

The Africa Centre of Excellence in Coastal Resilience (ACECoR) hosted by the University of Cape Coast, Ghana has issued out a call for Applications into its MPhil and PhD Programmes for 2019/2020 academic year. Programmes offered are; Integrated Coastal Zone Management, Fisheries Science, Oceanography and Limnology.

Application deadline is 8th July, 2019. Interested applicants should kindly visit https://acecoradmissions.ucc.edu.gh/ to apply

May 23, 2019

ENSEA Calls for Applications into its PHD Programmes

As part of strengthening research at the National School of Statistics and Applied Economics (Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Statistique et d’Economie Appliquée d’Abidjan, ENSEA) Cote d’Ivoire, a call for Applications in its PhD Programmes have been issued. Programmes offered are:

Quantitative Economics
Statistics and Social Sciences
Statistics and Public Health
Statistical Methodology

Application requirements include the following;

Cover letter addressed to the Director of ENSEA
Recently updated Curriculum Vitae (CV)
Copy of the A-level/12th Grade/High School Certificate
Certificates and transcripts of Masters and First Degree Programmes and any other proof that may support the application.
Thesis on research project of a maximum of five (5) pages clearly indicating the title, problem, objectives, analytical approach, literature review, hypotheses and expected results as well as corresponding bibliographic references. Particular attention will be paid to the quality of writing of the proposed research topic and its relevance to the research interests of ACE researchers
Two (2) letters of recommendation that can justify the student’s research capacity (preferably two letters from lecturers qualified to supervise a thesis).

Applications containing all certified documents should be sent via email: ecoledoctorale@ensea.edu.ci with “Application for the Recruitment of Doctoral Candidates ” as the subject. Please note that any incomplete application will be rejected and applications from non-French speakers and women are strongly encouraged.

For more information please visit https://ensea.ed.ci/en/ or contact the following numbers TEL: (225) 22 44 08 42 / CEL: (225) 08 62 64 36

Application Deadline: May 31, 2019

April 12, 2019

CERHI Organizes workshop on Strengthening of Ecosystems

The Centre of Excellence in Reproductive Health Innovation (CERHI), University of Benin in Nigeria in collaboration with the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE) in Nairobi, Kenya is organizing a two-day workshop on “Strengthening the Ecosystems in Universities in West and Central Africa” from April 29-30, 2019 at the Banquet Hall of the CERHI building, University of Benin.

The workshop aims to update the knowledge of participants on the role of innovation in reserach excellence, to establish the importance of innovation ecosystems and to provide practical sessions on building innovation ecosystems.

Researchers and scientist from Universities and Research Institutions, postgraduate students and policy makers in the feilds of health, science, agriculture, engineering, technology aand social sciences are encouraged to attend.

Registration fees for Nigerian participants is N30,000 and USD100 for foriegn participants.

For more information, kindly contact
Vivian Onoh, Program Manager CERHI
info@cerhi.uniben.edu
vivian.onoh@cerhi.uniben.edu

April 8, 2019December 15, 2020

Genomics Summer Bootcamp

The African Centre of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases (ACEGID) hosted by Redeemer’s University, Nigeria is organizing training workshops on Molecular Biology Genomics and Next Generation Sequencing from May 20- June 14 and May 6-31, 2019 respectively at the Redeemer’s University.

Courses under Molecular Biology and Genomics include; Molecular Bilogy theory, Laboratoty techniques, PCR primer designs, Sanger Sequencing Statistic, Data visualization, among others.

For Next Generation Sequencing, courses include; Library Construction, MiSeq operation, Science information, Bioinformatics analysis,Next generation sequencing, qRT-PCR and Career development.

All who seek to enhance their understanding and also pursue a career in Genomics are kindly requested to apply.

For more information, visit https://acegid.org/

February 23, 2019

ACEI and ACE IMPACT Official Opening Ceremony held in Djibouti on Wednesday 20 February 2019

The much-anticipated opening ceremony for the Africa Centres of Excellence for Development Impact Project was held on the morning of Wednesday 20^th February 2019 at Kempinski Hotel in Djibouti City, Djibouti. Dr Saida Chideh Soliman was the madam of ceremonies. In attendance were the President of the Republic of Djibouti H.E. Mr Ismail Omar Guelleh, the First Lady of the Republic of Djibouti, The Honourable Minister of Higher Education and Research in Djibouti, H.E. Dr Nabil Mohamed Ahmed, the Secretary General of the Association of African Universities, Prof Etienne Ehouan Ehile, the Djibouti World Bank Country Representative, Mr Atou Seck, and the French Development Agency Deputy Manager for Education, Vocational Training and Employment Sector, Ms Valerie Tehio.

Remarks by the Secretary General of the AAU

Professor Etienne Ehouan Ehile applauded the President of the Republic of Djibouti for taking time out of his busy schedule to participate in the ACE IMPACT Official Opening Ceremony. He said that this confirmed the President’s commitment to the Education Agenda in Djibouti and Africa as a whole. He also thanked the Government of Djibouti for supporting the hosting of the 2019 ACE meetings. He reminded the audience about the African Union Commission Policies and International Development Policies that promote the growth of education. He reiterated that strategic investments in Higher Education were critical for national development. On a lighter note he asked the President to ‘always remember the gratitude of the higher education stakeholders when he hears the cock crowing every morning’. Please Click Here for the Full Speech of the AAU Secretary General

Remarks by the Representative of the French Development Agency

Ms Valerie Tehio the Deputy Manager for Education, Vocational Training and Employment Sector made remarks on behalf of the French Development Agency (AFD). She said that the AFD was honoured to be part of this event and the ambitious ACE IMPACT program. AFD looks forward to contributing to the success of the ACE IMPACT project – through complementary support for regional networking and funding of technical experts to support selected ACEs. She concluded by wishing the participants successful meetings.

Remarks by the Djibouti World Bank Country Representative

Mr Atou Seck thanked all the participants for coming to Djibouti to attend the scheduled meetings. He also thanked all the institutions represented for their willingness to collaborate. He paid tribute to Mr Andreas Blom for his well-documented efforts towards strengthening African Universities. He mentioned that Djibouti was selected as an emerging Centre of Excellence in Africa in the field of logistics and transport within the faculty of engineering. He predicted that in future people would come to Djibouti to learn about transport and logistics or to do cutting edge research in the areas of transport and logistics.

Remarks by the Minister of Higher Education and Research, Djibouti

H.E. Dr Nabil Mohamed Ahmed welcomed the participants to “Djibouti the land of encounters, the land of peace and the land of engagements”. He expressed his joy that this event had materialized as per his vision. He paid tribute to the World Bank and AAU for supporting the Government of Djibouti to hold the ACE meetings in Djibouti City. He also congratulated the University of Djibouti Vice Chancellor for successfully spearheading the associated planning and logistics. He emphasized that it was the responsibility of Africans to work hard and ensure that educational institutions were effective and that the certificates given were recognized internationally. He said that Africa needed to catch up in the area of applied new technologies. Djibouti needs to optimize the transport chain by harnessing technology. Djibouti must exploit its competitive advantage as a transport hub. There is also an urgent need to increase the number of Djiboutian women Professors

The Message from the Honourable President of the Republic of Djibouti

His Excellency Mr Ismail Omar Guelleh the President of the Republic of Djibouti congratulated the organizers and the participants for the holding of the conference and the launch of the ACE IMPACT Project. He thanked the partners for positioning Higher Education to support the socio-economic development of African countries. He voiced his delight that Djibouti was now a member of the restricted club of ACE universities. He reminded the audience that he was a firm believer in providing African solutions to African problems. Therefore, he was thrilled that the ACE Djibouti would focus on logistics and transport. The President said that the transport sector was the “lungs of Djibouti”. Djibouti was ready to exploit its strategic location. There was a need to digitize the transport and transit procedures for the Djibouti transport sector. He underscored that scientific and technical development was therefore key. He ended his remarks by stating that he believed in the capacities of African countries, the youth and African researchers. He officially declared the conference opened.

Links to some photos.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=14xTS-RXI2mZ3ub5PZ9sRtWLKgOHMQd5Y