NEWS:

17 Jun, 2016


Participants at one of ACE Stakeholders meeting at Capital hotel
The board of the World Bank has approved Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR) as one of the Centres of Excellence in Aquaculture and Fisheries Sciences in Africa.

According to the press release by Eastern and Southern Africa Higher Education Centers of Excellence (ACE II) Project, the World Bank Board has approved 24 Africa Centers of Excellence (ACE) through Eastern and Southern Africa Higher Education Centers of Excellence Project (ACE II).

“Each of the 24 Africa Centers of Excellence (ACE) will be funded up to US$6 million over the project period of five years,” reads the letter.

It reads that the selected ACEs are expected to address specific development challenges facing the region through graduate training in Master’s, PhD but also short-term courses and applied research in the form of partnerships and collaborations with other institutions and the private sector.

“Eight participating countries – Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia – are committing $140 million, credit from the International Development Association (IDA) of the World Bank Group to finance the selected ACEs,” reads the letter.

The letter further highlighted that the ACEs were selected through an open, objective, transparent and merit-based competitive process based on the following criteria: (a) proposal that addressed a specific challenge in one of the five priority areas in the region – industry, agriculture, health, education and applied statistics; (b) proposal of the highest quality; (c) hosting institution had evident capacity; (d) selection that provided for geographical balance; and (e) the hosting country had International Development Association (IDA) funding eligibility and availability.

“All these ACEs are expected to perform the following tasks; build institutional capacity to provide quality post-graduate education with relevance to the labor market; build institutional capacity to conduct high quality applied research, relevant to addressing a key development challenge/priority; develop and enhance partnerships with other academic institutions (national, regional and international) to pursue academic excellence; develop and enhance partnerships with industry and the private sector to generate greater impact; improve governance and management of the institution and set up a role model for other higher education institutions; and deliver outreach, and create an impact, to society by delivering excellent teaching and producing high quality applied research,” says the letter.

Over the project duration, collectively these ACEs are expected to enroll more than 3,500 graduate students in the regional development priority areas, out of which more than 700 will be PhD students and more than 1,000 will be female students. About 1,500 journal articles are expected to be published more than 300 research collaborations with private sector and other institutions will be launched all of which will generate almost US$30 million in external revenue.

In Malawi apart from LUANAR, University of Malawi’s Malawi College of Medicine has been approved as a Center of Excellence for Public Health and Herbal Medicine (CEPHEW).

Written By: Patricia Nkhoma



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