The Association of African Universities(AAU) hosted two very important meetings at its General Secretariat on 1st and 2nd November, 2018. The Regional Facilitation Unit for the ACE I and ACE Impact Projects hosted the 13th ACE I and first ACE Impact Project Steering Committee Meetings (PSC) at its General Secretariat in Accra, Ghana.

The thirteenth PSC meeting since the inception of the Project was held on Thursday November 1, 2018. The meeting began with opening remarks from the Chair, Professor Salifu Mohammed, the AAU and the World Bank. Also addressing members of the Committee was Dr. Halil Dundar (World Bank Practice Manager for West Africa), he noted that there was a clear sense of ownership of the project in the region and among the governments of the participating countries.  The ACE, he stated, is a flagship higher education project of the World Bank with significant collaboration and partnerships.

He was also thankful to the PSC for its strong leadership and support and called for continued guidance to ensure weaker centres complete their work successfully. Highlighting some project results notably increase in enrollments and international accreditations, Dr. Dundar confirmed that ACE II and ACE-Impact have benefited from the lessons learned. The first meeting was concluded with suggestions and contributions from various members.

November 2, 2018 was the first PSC meeting for the third phase of the Africa Centres of Excellence (ACE) Project. This meeting was chaired by the Minister of State in charge of Tertiary Education in Ghana, Professor Kwesi Yankah. Also present was representatives from the various Ministries of Higher Education in all 12 participating countries (Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroun, Cote d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Ghana, Guinea, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, The Gambia and Togo),the World Bank team in charge of the ACE Project and the Association of African Universities team including its Secretary General.

In his keynote address, Professor Yankah expressed gratitude to the World Bank and other development partners of the Project. He also commended the existing Centres especially the three Ghanaian ACEs for their enormous impact. Professor Yankah acknowledged the strategy to use these Centres as models to drive changes that will entrench Higher Education Institutions as principal producers of knowledge that directly impact on socio- economic development. Finally, he pledged the government’s continuous support and commitment to the implementation of the ACE I and ACE Impact Projects.

Presentations were made by the World Bank and AAU teams highlighting on the major milestones achieved by the Centers and the way forward.

Finally, the members of the Committee reviewed scores of the proposals submitted for the third phase of the Project (ACE Impact) to make a final selection. Out of the One hundred and ten (110) proposals submitted by 12 participating countries in West and Central Africa,  forty-four Centres were selected and will be formally initiated in the Project at the formal launch and boot camp in Djibouti from February 18-28, 2019.

Below are the selected Centres and their respective Institutions and disciplines.

S/N O. PROJECT TITLE LEAD INSTITUTION COUNTRY TOPIC DISCIPLINE
EXISTING CENTRES OF EXCELLENCE THAT HAVE BEEN CONDITIONALLY SELECTED FOR RENEWAL
1. CEA EN SCIENCES MATHEMATIQUES, INFORMATIQUE ET APPLICATIONS University of Abomey Calavi Benin Applied math & statistics STEM
2. CEA POUR LA FORMATION ET LA RECHERCHE EN SCIENCES ET TECHNOLOGIES DE L’EAU,

L’ENERGIE ET L’ENVIRONNEMENT EN AFRIQUE DE L’OUEST ET DU CENTRE (CEA-2IE)

2iE Burkina Faso Water, energy and   environment STEM
3. CEA MINES ET ENVIRONNEMENT MINIER (CEA- MEM) INP-HB Cote d’Ivoire Mining STEM
4. CEA CHANGEMENT CLIMATIQUE, BIODIVERSITE ET AGRICULTURE DURABLE (CEA-CCBAD) Université Félix Houphouët-Boigny Cote d’Ivoire Climate change Agriculture
5. CEA: STATISTIQUE ET ECONOMIE QUANTITATIVE ENSEA Cote d’Ivoire Statistics &

quantitative economics

Soc./Econ Sci.
6. REGIONAL WATER AND ENVIRONMENTAL SANITATION CENTRE KUMASI (RWESCK) KNUST Ghana Transport STEM
7. WEST AFRICAN CENTRE FOR CELL BIOLOGY OF INFECTIOUS AND NON- COMMUNICABLE DISEASES (WACCBIP + NCDS) University of Ghana Ghana Cell biology of infectious e diseases Health
8. WEST AFRICA CENTRE FOR CROP IMPROVEMENT (WACCI) University of Ghana Ghana Crop Improvement Agriculture
9. ACE IN GENOMICS OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES (ACEGID) Redeemer’s University Nigeria Genomics of infectious

diseases

Health
10. ACE FOR NEGLECTED TROPICAL DISEASES AND FORENSIC BIOTECHNOLOGY (ACENTDFB) Ahmadu Bello University Nigeria Neglected tropical diseases Health
11. ACE FOR REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH INNOVATION (CERHI) University of Benin Nigeria Reproductive Health Health
12. ACE IN DRY LAND AGRICULTURE (CDA) Bayero University, Kano Nigeria Dryland Agriculture Agriculture
13. CENTRE FOR FOOD TECHNOLOGY AND RESEARCH (CEFTER) Benue State University Nigeria Food tech and research Agriculture
14. ACE: OAU ICT-DRIVEN KNOWLEDGE PARK (OAU-

OAK)

OAU Nigeria Digital

Development

STEM
15. CENTER FOR OILFIELD CHEMICALS RESEARCH (CEFOR) University of Port Harcourt Nigeria Oil and gas STEM
16. CEA MATHÉ-MATIQUES, INFORMATIQUE ET TIC (CEA-MITIC) Univ. Gaston Berger Senegal Digital Development STEM
17. CEA POUR LA SANTE DE LA MERE ET DE L’ENFANT (CEA-SAMEF) Université Cheikh Anta Diop Senegal Maternal & infant health Health
18. CENTRE D’EXCELLENCE REGIONAL SUR LES

SCIENCES AVIAIRES (CERSA)

Université de

Lomé

Togo Poultry

science

Agriculture
NEW CENTRES OF EXCELLENCE THAT ARE CONDITIONALLY SELECTED
19. CENTRE D’EXCELLENCE AFRICAIN POUR L’EAU ET L’ASSAINISSEMENT (C2EA) Université Abomey Calavi Benin Water & sanitation STEM
20. CENTRE DE FORMATION, DE RECHERCHE ET D’EXPERTISES EN SCIENCES DU MEDICAMENT Université de Ouaga I Burkina Faso Pharmaceutic al Science Health
21. CEA ET INNOVATION BIOTECHNOLOGIQUES POUR L’ELIMINATION DES MALADIES A TRANS- MISSION VECTORIELLE (CEA/ITECH-MTV) Université Nazi Boni Burkina Faso Biotech for eliminating vector transmitted

diseases

Health
22. ACE FOR POSTGRADUATE MEDICAL EDUCATION University of Buea

 

2

Cameroon OBGYN –

Medical education

Health

 

23. CEA: VALORISATION DES DECHETS EN PRODUITS A HAUTE VALEUR AJOUTEE (VALOPRO) INPHB CDI Waste management and value-

added

STEM
24. REGIONAL TRANSPORT TRAINING AND RESEARCH CENTRE KNUST Ghana Transport STEM
25. ACE:REGIONAL CENTER FOR ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY (RCEES) University of

Energy & Natural Resources

Ghana Power STEM
26. WEST AFRICAN CENTER FOR WATER, IRRIGATION AND SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE University of Development Studies Ghana Water & irrigation STEM
27. AFRICA CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE IN COASTAL RESILIENCE (ACECoR) University of Cape Coast Ghana Coastal Degradation STEM
28. WEST AFRICA GENETIC MEDICINE CENTRE University of Ghana Ghana Genetic medicine Health
29. CENTRE D’EXCELLENCE AFRICAIN POUR LA PREVENTION ET LE CONTROLE DES MALADIES TRANSMISSIBLES (CEA PCMT) Université Gamal Abdel Nasser de Conakry Guinea Prevention & control of transmittable

diseases

Health
30. CENTRE D’EXCELLENCE REGIONAL SUR LES PRODUCTIONS PASTORALES : VIANDE, LAIT,

CUIRS ET PEAUX (CERPP)

Université Abdou Moumouni Niger Livestock Agriculture
31. AFRICA CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE ON TECHNOLOGY ENHANCED LEARNING (ACETEL) National open

university of Nigeria

Nigeria Digital Development STEM
32. COVENANT APPLIED INFORMATICS AND COMMUNICATION Covenant University Nigeria Digital Development STEM
33. ACE: AFRICA CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE ON NEW

PEDAGOGY IN ENGINEERING EDUCATION (ACENPEE)

Ahmadu Bello University Nigeria Engineering education STEM
34. AFRICA CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE: PUBLIC HEALTH AND TOXICOLOGICAL RESEARCH University of Port Harcourt Nigeria Nursing Health
35. ACE: CENTRE FOR POPULATION HEALTH AND POLICY Bayero University Nigeria Nursing Health
36. AFRICAN CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE FOR MYCOTOXIN AND FOOD SAFETY Federal University

of Technology Minna

Nigeria Mycotoxin

and food safety

Health
37. ACE: DRUG RESEARCH, HERBAL MEDICINE DEVELOPMENT AND REGULATORY SCIENCE University of Lagos Nigeria Herbal medicine and regulation Health
38. CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE FOR INNOVATIVE AND TRANSFORMATIONS STEM EDUCATION (CITSE) Lagos State University Nigeria STEM

Education

Education
39. ACE FOR SUSTAINABLE POWER ANS ENERGY DEVELOPMENT (ACE_SPED) University of Nigeria Nsukka Nigeria Power STEM
40. CENTER OF EXCELLENCE IN FUTURE ENERGIES AND ELECTROCHEMICAL SYSTEMS Federal University of Technology

Owerri

Nigeria Renewable energy STEM
41. CEA « AGIR » EN ENVIRONNEMENT ET SANTE Université Cheikh Anta Diop Senegal Env & Health STEM
42. CEA AGRICULTURE POUR LA SECURITE

ALIMENTAIRE ET NUTRITIONNELLE (CEA AGRISAN)

Université Cheikh Anta Diop Senegal Food security & nutrition Agriculture
43. CENTRE D’EXCELLENCE REGIONAL POUR LA MAITRISE DE L’ELECTRICITE (CERME) Universite de Lome Togo Power STEM
44. CENTRE D’EXCELLENCE REGIONAL VILLES DURABLES EN AFRIQUE (DOUNEDON) Université de Lomé Togo Urban Design Soc./Econ Sci.

 

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