The Honourable Minister of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology, Professor Pierre Gomez, is currently participating in the Higher Education Ministerial Summit, organised by Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF) in Quebec, Canada.
The four-day meeting, which commenced on October 30th, aims to bring together Higher Education ministers to reflect on various higher education development issues globally and in their respective jurisdictions. The themes include:
o Issues and reflections on the nature and role of the teachers in the era of artificial intelligence;
o New artificial intelligence ecosystems;
o Research and publications in tertiary and higher education;
o Student and staff mobility in higher education;
o Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Tertiary Education
During the panel discussions, Professor Gomez highlighted Gambia’s higher education transformation agenda, anchored on hands-on education, innovation and entrepreneurship.
The Minister held bilateral meetings with the colleague higher education ministers of Quebec, Canada – Honourable Pascal Dery and of Morocco – Honourable Abdellatif Miraoui, on potential collaboration and bilateral assistance towards TVET promotion in The Gambia, including scholarships at the postgraduate level.
The meeting agreed that The Gambia will host in April 2024 the upcoming Annual Sub-Regional Conference of Higher Education Ministers and Sectors of Southern Senegambia under the auspices of AUF.
Meanwhile, in a similar engagement, the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology, Dr. Yusupha Touray, who doubles as a Regional Steering Committee Member of the ACE Impact Project and the Director of Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI), Mr. Samba Sowe, also doubling as the ACE Impact National Focal, are currently attending the ACE Impact Regional Workshop in Abidjan, Cote D’Ivoire. The meeting is being held from the 31st of October to the 3rd of November, 2023. The Team also includes officers of the Emerging Centre on Science, Technology and Engineering for Entrepreneurship (STEE) of the University of Applied Science, Engineering and Technology (USET) and the Projects Coordination Unit (PCU) of the Education Sector.
The theme of the Project is focusing on the sustainability of the higher education centres of excellence in Africa (including the STEE of USET) and how the flow of research output and human capital could be maintained for Africa’s socio-economic development.
The World Bank-funded ACE Impact Project is financing the establishment of the degree programmes (College of Science and Engineering) and the innovation and entrepreneurship (Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship) components of the new University (USET).
It may be recalled that The Gambia successfully hosted the colourful 8th ACE Impact Regional Workshop in November 2022.
