9th ACE Regional Workshop – ACE – Africa Higher Education Centres of Excellence

June 12, 2023

ACE Impact-Morocco Partnership Forum provides learning opportunities for Vice Chancellors

To fast-track the connections between Sub-Saharan Africa and Moroccan universities and industries, the World Bank partnered with the Morrocco Ministry of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Innovation, Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P), OCP Africa, the Association of African Universities (AAU), and the French Development Agency (AFD) to co-host the ACE Impact-Morocco Partnership Forum from 31 May to 2 June 2023 in Marrakech, Morocco.

This Partnership Forum involved the ACE Impact Centers, Moroccan government representatives, Moroccan universities, Tunisian universities, private sector representatives, experts in commercialization of research, other thematic/sector experts, and experts from the World Bank, AFD, IRD, and AAU. Because sustainability is vital for the future of the ACE Impact Centers, the Vice Chancellors of universities hosting the 53 Centers were invited to participate in this partnership forum so that they benefit from knowledge sharing and hopefully forge partnerships and networks with regional stakeholders to advance the sustainability of their Centers and their higher education institutions overall.

Learning visit to Mohammed VI Polytechnic University

In line with the objectives of the partnership forum, over 40 Vice Chancellors and Focal Points of governments participating in the ACE Impact Project visited the Mohammed VI Polytechnic University on the 31st of May 2023. Mohammed VI Polytechnic University is strategically positioned to promote applied research and innovation and places research and innovation at the forefront of African development.

The visit by the Vice Chancellors focused on understanding the strategic plan for Mohammed VI Polytechnic University, learning how faculty are supported to digitalize their courses, gaining exposure to the peer learning school, learning about the relevant and impactful research being conducted in the areas of phosphate fertilizers, green energy, materials science, and nano engineering. The Vice Chancellors who visited Mohammed VI Polytechnic University attested to the fact that is a model university of excellence in Morocco and Africa as a whole – demonstrating a high quality and conducive environment for teaching, learning research and collaboration.

Best Practices in Research Funding

Since funding is a key ingredient of sustaining the ACE Impact Centers, another special session on “Best practices in research funding in the context of autonomy” was organized for the Vice Chancellors on the 1^st June 2023. Professor Mustapha Bennouna the former President of Abdelmalek Essaadi University, Tétouan-Morocco and now a World Bank Consultant facilitated this session to discuss good practices regarding research funding and shared experiences across African universities. “There are several reasons why governments must invest in research, and these include strengthening innovations, encouraging dynamic businesses, developing an effective system for creating and disseminating knowledge, taking advantage of the transition to the digital economy, and fostering talent and skills” stated Professor Bennouna at the beginning of his presentation.

Morocco is currently dedicating 0.8-1% of its GDP for research expenditure and the goal is to match and exceed countries such as Sweden, Denmark and Finland who are spending more than 3% of their GDP on research. Professor Bennouna also spoke about sources of research funding in general, common approaches to allocating public research funding, research funding in Morocco, Moroccan sources of financing and strengthening the financial autonomy of universities. He advised that for sustainability to be achieved, governments must be the largest sponsors of research and other sources such as private sector, foundations, sponsorships, and charities must complement government efforts.

Since 2015 the government of Morocco has made strides in strengthening the ‘National Fund for Scientific Research and Technological Development’ by ensuring that it is supplemented by other sources of funding. The country has also prioritized studies into the introduction of appropriate incentives and mechanisms such as research tax credits and public/private partnerships with a view to mobilising private research funds. The National Centre for Scientific and Technical Research (CNRST) is key player in the Morocco research and innovation space – it runs the National Support Programme for Sectorial Research and issues calls for research proposals to public institutions.

“To strengthen the financial autonomy of universities a new law called the ESRI PACT provides for the strengthening of the universities’ financial autonomy and the introduction of a control system based on performance criteria”, said Professor Bennouna. Financial autonomy will encourage universities in Morocco to mobilize their own funds and build their capacities to contract large projects and to invest in innovation and entrepreneurship.

Question and Answer Session

During the question-and-answer session following Professor Bennouna’s presentation the Vice Chancellors asked for advice on alternative sources for supporting universities since budgets provided by governments to universities were decreasing. Professor Bennouna recommended that universities target participating in thematic cooperation networks to respond to some international calls for large research funding.

Another question was on the level of PhD graduates employment in Africa and Professor Bennouna advised that universities should focus on running innovative PhD programs and not producing theoretical PhD graduates. The focus must be on developing new skills for PhD graduates and linking the training of PhDs to economic and global needs, advised Professor Bennouna.

On the question about the level of support from the private sector to research funding in Morocco Professor Bennouna advised universities to specialize in specific research domains so that they become known for expertise in a specific research domain. Private sector would then be attracted to support these specialized universities who meet the needs of the specific private sector.

On the important question of the independence of research focus versus the interests of the funders, Professor Bennouna reiterated that “If universities are excellent and focused on their areas of specialization they will be identified for the funding of their strong, specialist and relevant research areas”.

Conclusion

Clearly the ACE Impact-Morocco Partnership Forum provided valuable learning opportunities for Vice Chancellors that are hosting ACE Impact Centers. The topics that they were exposed to during the forum will contribute to their institutional strategies for sustaining their Centers and leading advocacy in their countries for increased research funding by their governments. The forum also provided opportunities for the Vice Chancellors to establish partnerships and networks with Moroccan universities and other regional stakeholders to advance the sustainability of the quality work being done by African higher education institutions.

June 12, 2023

Outcomes from the joint ACE Impact-Morocco Partnership Forum (May 31 – June 2, 2023)

The hosting of the 9^th ACE Impact Regional Workshop and joint ACE Impact-Morocco partnership forum in Marrakech Morocco from 29^th May to 2^nd June 2023, was unique because Morocco is not one of the ACE Impact hosting countries. Morocco was identified to host these events because the country is strategically positioned to share its knowledge for the benefit of the ACE Impact Centers. The universities in Morocco are arguably more advanced in terms of their infrastructure, research and learning facilities and staffing as compared to most of their counterparts in sub-Saharan Africa.

The partnership forum took place from 31^st May to the 2^nd of June 2023 and involved plenary sessions, thematic breakout sessions and field visits to selected educational and research institutions in Morocco. The main objectives of the ACE Impact-Morocco partnership forum were to:

Advance cross-country partnerships and networks between ACE Impact centers and Moroccan higher education institutions and private sector stakeholders, and
Present opportunities for deep dive training and capacity building on the topic of moving research from the lab to the market.

The Thematic Breakout Sessions on the 31sy May were organized to initiate and foster partnerships by providing opportunities for participating researchers to share their research fields and identify opportunities for collaboration. The nine sessions which were facilitated by the ACE Impact experts were focused on Agriculture, Health, ICT, Education, Engineering, Energy & Environment, Water, Mining and Transport and Logistics.

The Engineering, ICT, Transport, Logistics and Urban Development partnership discussions revealed that the ACE Impact Centers and Moroccan Universities were keen to collaborate in the areas of digital technologies, that is artificial intelligence, big data processing, natural language processing, blockchain, and robotics. Additional priority areas for collaboration were agreed to be in joint faculty research publications, and grants; joint faculty and student exchange, supervision, and training; sharing of teaching/learning materials and best practices; joint organisation of PhD summer schools, seminars, webinars, scientific and technical workshops and conferences and collaborations in implementing entrepreneurial and innovative initiatives.

The Environment and Energy thematic group discussion between the ACE Impact Centers and the Moroccan Universities revealed that their highest interest for collaboration is in renewable energy enhancement, battery development, energy storage optimization, photovoltaic, electricity network management, green hydrogen, energy efficiency, pollution control and risk analysis.

The agriculture cluster of ACE Impact Centers and Moroccan Institutions agreed to cooperate through student exchanges, PhD training, seminars, and common research projects. They also agreed to collaborate in communication, sharing cross information and common advertising. The ACE Impact Food for West Africa network (Food4WA) and the Africa Initiative at UPM6 agreed to initiate the linkage between Morocco Institutions and ACE Impact centers. Immediate practical outcomes of the agriculture cluster included the invitation to Morocco Institutions to participate in the international conference on drylands in Kano September 2023. A connection was made between the Centre d’Excellence Regional sur les Productions Pastorales (CERPP) and the Hassan II Institute of Agronomy and Veterinary to collaborate in animal embryology and artificial insemination.

The health thematic group agreed that their joint areas of cooperation were in idea development, building networks, business development, faculty exchanges and student exchanges. This cluster agreed on the research themes of infectious diseases, pharmaceutical science, drug development, herbal medicine, food safety, nursing, reproductive, maternal, and infant health, and genetic medicine.

The ACE Impact centers also benefitted from mini workshops that were organized on commercialization of research results. These were parallel workshops to train participants on tools in value creation; what the journey from patent to products to market involves; and how to strengthen commercialization in the university ecosystem to attract investors and funders from both the private and public sectors. The ACE Impact Centers also had the opportunity to share on how they are currently handling the commercialization of their research results. The discussion knowledge sharing addressed models of technology transfer that are working well and provided best practices in planning, setting up private sector ventures and fostering public private partnerships.

The outcomes from the joint ACE Impact-Morocco partnership forum include the well-articulated proposed areas of collaboration, improved awareness of the research focus of the ACE Impact Centers, exposure to various models for research commercialization and value creation and physical exposure to selected Moroccan Universities that are doing well in the areas of research, teaching, and impactful collaborations.

June 12, 2023

PSC Members meet to discuss the implementation progress of the ACE Impact Project

Project Steering Committee Convenes in Marrakech to review ACE Impact Progress

As a prelude to the 9^th ACE Impact Regional Workshop that was held in Marrakech Morocco from 29 May to 2^nd June 2023, the Project Steering Committee (PSC) met to receive updates on the implementation of the project and to also provide guidance on implementation strategies. The ACE Impact project operates under the overall guidance and oversight of the PSC whose main tasks are to set implementation guidelines, review results and progress, oversee the Regional Facilitating Unit (the Association of African Universities) and to ensure the achievement of the project objectives.

Eleven (11) representatives of government/ministry of Higher Education from each of the ACE Impact participating countries converged at Riad Ennakhil Hotel in Marrakech to review and guide the overall progress of the project. The meeting was ably chaired by Professor Kokou, the PSC Member from Togo.

In his welcome remarks the Secretary General of the AAU, Professor Olusola Oyewole expressed his appreciation to the PSC members and Focal Points for their “enthusiasm and commitment to ensuring that centers are working up to expectations and at par with the project goals and targets”. He also paid special tribute to the Kingdom of Morocco through the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation, the Mohammed VI Polytechnic University, and OCP Africa for their support and partnership in hosting the 9th ACE Impact Regional Workshop.

Progress Updates from the AAU

Dr Sylvia Mkandawire, the Senior ACE Impact Project Manager presented the progress report on behalf of the AAU which is the Regional Facilitation Unit (RFU) for the project. Her updates covered the period November 2022 to May 2023 and highlighted progress on the coordination and facilitation of regional activities, monitoring and evaluation, capacity building, project communication, partnership brokering for sustainability and sharing of good practices across the countries.

The National Facilitation Units of Nigeria, the Gambia, Burkina Faso and Ghana were reported to have actively supported the implementation of several ACE Impact project activities such as evaluation exercises, implementation support missions and national review committee meetings. Dr Mkandawire also reported that the Project had achieved impressive results in the areas of external revenue generation (US$77 million), PhD enrollment (3,357 students), Masters enrolment (9,631 students), national program accreditation (283 programs nationally accredited), regional students enrolment (10,489 students), and female students enrolment (11,357 students).

It was reported that the AAU RFU had supported Centers with low disbursement linked indicator achievements, disbursements, and funds utilization rates through targeted technical support to improve their performance and increase earnings by June 2023. During this reporting period the AAU and World Bank teams together with appointed subject-matter experts had also undertaken virtual and onsite missions to 22 centers in Cote d’Ivoire, Djibouti, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Niger, Nigeria, and Togo to follow-up on mid-term project actions and acceleration plans and to discuss the finalization of restructuring proposals. Dr Mkandawire narrated various seminars and trainings that had been hosted for the Centers on communication, celebrating women’s day, procurement, international institutional accreditation, and fighting sexual harassment.

In the area of project communication and visibility she shared that the RFU team was exploring partnership agreements with Science and Development (SciDev), Times Higher Education and the Voice of America (VoA), to profile the project’s success stories to an international audience. The ACE Impact Project was also reported to have brokered several project-wide partnerships to sustain the gains made so far. Examples of these partnerships include the Morocco-ACE Higher Education Forum hosted from 31 May to 2^nd June 2023; the ongoing and upcoming partnerships with USA Universities; the IBM ACE Impact Partnership and the European Union Partnerships with selected Centers.

Dr Mkandawire concluded by sharing some challenges and opportunities presented by the ACE Impact project and these included inadequate capacities for developing safeguard instruments and plans before the rehabilitation, construction, or renovation activities; inefficient procurement systems; high inflation rates leading to delays and amendments to annual work plans, budgets, and procurement plans; inadequate strategies to support the sustainability of the Centers and insufficient numbers of qualified faculty at some Centers.

ACE IMPACT Project Restructuring

Overall, the ACE Impact project restructuring aims to optimize project performance, adapt to changing circumstances, and ensure successful project delivery within the available resources and constraints.

Mr Harry Crimi, the Education Consultant, with the World Bank reported on the activities that had been undertaken towards restructuring the ACE Impact Project ahead of the project closure on the 30^th June 2025. The justification of the project extension and restructuring is based on several factors that include country specific delays, COVID-19 disruptions, costs already incurred that cannot be recovered, risks of not completing civil works, increasing demand for partnerships, and increased impact of the project on students receiving support.

The restructuring exercise involved the participating countries and their Centers. The roadmap towards the development of the restructuring plans for each of the Centers included the assessment of Centers, consultation with PSC, World Bank and AAU teams, and agreement on finalized parameters of restructuring. The restructuring was achieved through in-person and virtual support by the World Bank / AAU / AFD / PSC, leading to the reallocation of existing funds, and allocation of additional funds.

By the 30^th June 2023 the World Bank team expects to have received restructuring/extension requests from participating governments, formally submitted restructuring packages to the World Bank management, sought formal clearance from the World Bank management and submitted notices to borrowing countries.