By Mahzouba Maya Faal
The five-day 8th Regional Workshop of the Africa Centres of Excellence (ACE) Project held at the Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara International Conference Centre came to an on Friday, November 18th 2022.
The regional high-level confab was launched on Tuesday, November 15th by His Excellency President Adama Barrow. In his opening speech, President Barrow said that the workshop was organised at a time when his government is making concerted efforts to transform the higher education system through reforms that would put the youth at the forefront of national development.
“The Gambia is working towards establishing a full-fledged Centre of Excellence in Science, Technology, and Engineering for Entrepreneurship. The purpose for this focus is obvious; we need adequate human capital that is equipped with entrepreneurial mindsets to match our development strides and aspirations.” While officially closing the event on Friday on behalf of the President, Vice President Badara A. Joof called on participants to share the knowledge and experiences they have garnered during the week-long workshop with those who were unable to attend.
He applauded the Minister of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology and the entire team of MoHERST for a splendid job of hosting the 8th ACE Impact Regional Workshop in The Gambia.
VP Joof also extended the appreciation of President Adama Barrow to the World Bank, the Association of African Universities (AAU) and Agence Française de Développement (AFD) for supporting the successful proceedings of the event.
He expressed optimism that the University of Applied Science, Engineering and Technology (USET), supported by the AAU through the World Bank, ACE Impact Project, will have a massive impact in The Gambia and beyond.
One of the key highlights of the event he Gambia was the Student Poster Exhibitions. At least 15 of the best ACE Impact students were selected for the maiden edition of the Student Innovation Research Award (SIRA).
Students from the University of Applied Science, Engineering and Technology (USET) in The Gambia were also given the opportunity to share their innovative research outputs through a poster exhibition at the International Conference Centre.
Participants of the 8th Regional Workshop of The ACE Impact Project were representatives from the 53 Centres of Excellence from Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Djibouti, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal and Togo. The ACE Impact is a World Bank initiative in collaboration with governments of participating countries to support higher education institutions specialising in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), Agriculture, Health, Environment and Social Science/ Applied Science and Education. It is the first World Bank project aimed at building the capacities of higher education institutions in Africa through the promotion of regional specialisation among participating universities in areas that address specific common regional development challenges.
