The future of Africa-Europe research collaboration is at a crossroads, and the key to unlocking its full potential lies in addressing mobility barriers. While progress has been made in shifting the narrative from a donor-recipient dynamic to a vision of equal partnership, significant challenges remain, particularly for African academics and students seeking to engage with their European counterparts.
Professor Olusola Oyewole, Secretary-General of the Association of African Universities (AAU), highlights the major obstacle of "significant visa hurdles" faced by African academics and students. This issue, he argues, hinders the fluid intellectual exchange necessary for true equality and collaboration.
The recent AU-EU Summit in Luanda, Angola, marked the 25th anniversary of the AU-EU partnership and produced a joint declaration emphasizing resilience and cooperation for mutual benefit. However, the declaration's focus on education, research, and innovation fails to fully acknowledge the mobility barriers that continue to hinder progress.
"While European partners can often travel to Africa with ease, our academics face significant visa hurdles to visit Europe," Oyewole points out. "Overcoming these barriers is essential for the partnership to reach its full potential."
The strategic value of the EU-Africa relationship is underscored by recent global funding shifts, with EU framework programs like Horizon Europe and dedicated Africa initiatives providing a layer of stability. Professor John O Gyapong, Secretary-General of the African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA), emphasizes the importance of investing in education and research for peace and stability, especially in meeting the needs of Africa's growing youth population.
"This renewed partnership signifies a positive move towards equal, sustainable cooperation that promotes knowledge, innovation, and security across the continent," Gyapong says.
From an institutional perspective, Dr. Vincent Ogutu, Vice-Chancellor of Strathmore University in Nairobi, Kenya, predicts an opportunity for other players to step in as major funding from the US and some Global North countries declines. He argues that successful North-South projects can attract partnerships from peer institutions, even from countries that have cut funding at the national government level.
"Collaboration with African higher education institutions could put those Global North countries back in the driving seat, allowing them to prepare good candidates to hire while also lessening the need for people to emigrate if their own countries are developing as a result of these collaborative projects," Ogutu explains.
One European university leading the way in developing a mutually beneficial approach to cooperation with African countries is Italy's Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore. Following the AU-EU Summit, Professor Mario Molteni emphasized the university's Global MBA in Impact Entrepreneurship and initiatives like Circular Labour Migration, which align with the Africa-EU partnership vision and the Italian government's Mattei Plan.
"We see our collaborations with African universities as a concrete model of genuine shared-growth and future cooperation," Molteni says.
The AAU and the European University Association (EUA) issued a joint statement before the AU-EU Summit, outlining priorities for cooperation, including recognizing the importance of university cooperation, enabling interregional exchange, and focusing on values-based partnerships. The statement highlights progress since the last AU-EU summit in Brussels in 2022, including Horizon Europe's Africa Initiatives and the Youth Mobility for Africa Global Gateway Flagship initiative.
Michael Gaebel, Director of Higher Education Policy at the EUA, emphasizes the need for higher education and research to be fully acknowledged in the larger AU-EU collaboration frameworks, going beyond a technical and utilitarian approach.
Professor Jan Palmowski, Secretary-General of The Guild of European Research-Intensive Universities, welcomes the explicit commitment towards research, education, science, and technology in the joint declaration from the AU-EU Summit. He highlights the importance of investing in education and research to overcome brain drain in the context of the AU-EU Innovation Agenda.
"Given that the declaration also mentioned many areas for which research collaboration is crucial, this declaration is an important affirmation of the importance of collaboration in research and education as an essential pillar of the AU-EU partnership," Palmowski concludes.
The Global Gateway strategy, launched in 2021 with a €306 billion investment, aims to boost smart, clean, and secure links in digital, energy, and transport sectors while strengthening health, education, and research systems worldwide. It is fully aligned with the United Nations Agenda 2030 and its Sustainable Development Goals, with the Africa-Europe Investment Package as a key milestone.
