Confronting our Common Challenges: a new Approach to Strengthening Africa’s Research, Innovation and Higher Education Capacity.

Confronting our Common Challenges: a new Approach to Strengthening Africa’s Research, Innovation and Higher Education Capacity The African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA) and The Guild of European Research-Intensive Universities (The Guild) call for sustainable investment in African knowledge societies by creating Centres of Excellence to confront common challenges for both continents. Africa and Europe have a unique opportunity to develop their relationship in new, strategic ways, through investing in new programme collaboration in the area of research, innovation and higher education. ARUA and The Guild call for the creation of 40 African Centres of Excellence in areas identified by the African Union and the European Union as key concerns: Public Health; The Green Deal, Blue (Marine) Economy and Energy Transitions; Digital Transformations for a more sustainable economy and society; Good Governance, peace and security; Migration, Mobility, and overcoming discrimination. The Centres of Excellence should be built on strong collaboration between universities across Africa, closely linked with European partners and embedded in the concrete societal realities of their distinctive geographical contexts. They should strengthen the capacity of African universities in sustainable ways by moving away from an over-reliance of project-based funding. Each Centre would address a specific thematic cluster, building up capacities through joint research projects, high-quality research Masters programmes, the creation of doctoral schools, the support of postdoctoral fellows, and bespoke training for academic and professional services