Africa-France academic partnerships focus on gender equality and employability

The first seminar of the Academia Partnerships Africa-France (PeA) program was organized by AFD, Campus France, the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR) and the French Embassy in Benin from December 10-12, 2024, at the Institut Français in Cotonou (Benin). With almost 180 attendees, the event brought together for the first time all the leaders of PeA-supported Franco-African projects and actors from the academic and research ecosystems.

Among the guest speakers was Dr. Moussa Diaby, Director General of INP-HB (Institut National Polytechnique Félix Houphouët-Boigny), who is working to position the university as a beacon of excellence, research and innovation serving sustainable development in Africa. Based in Yamoussoukro, Côte d'Ivoire, INP-HB was awarded second place by Top University Rank for Francophone Africa. For the past decade, INP-HB has been receiving support from AFD through various financial tools in order to renovate its infrastructure and facilities, develop its training programs and grow partnerships.

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As an actor in Africa’s academic ecosystem, you have just attended the first PeA seminar. What do you think of this partnership program? 

Dr. Moussa Diaby: This is a promising and relevant initiative for strengthening academic and research capacities in Africa. The possibilities on offer, particularly in research project funding, academic mobility and the joint development of programs, represent major steps forward. They are crucial to building a sustainable educational ecosystem for Africa.  

During the seminar, you presented the priority actions carried out by INP-HB towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). You made particular mention of the creation and impact of the Gender Unit in response to the SDG 5 on gender equality. Could you tell us about it?

The mission of INP-HB’s Gender Unit is to implement our institutional strategy to promote social inclusion and gender equality and with our partners. Our activities include awareness campaigns on gender-based violence and harassment at school; the appointment and training of gender coordinators in our strategic departments to gauge impact; the creation of a student-run Gender Club; as well as a Gender Tour in high and middle schools to encourage girls to choose scientific disciplines. Our objective is to get girls to study sciences, and aims for a 35% take-up by 2030 compared to 29% today. At the governance level, the university is made up of 26% women, with the goal of achieving gender parity in the coming years.

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You are working to expand the influence of your institution in Côte d’Ivoire, in the West Africa sub-region, and internationally. What key actions have you implemented to achieve this? 

Our actions are centered on three cornerstones: the formalization and diversification of national and international partnerships, our membership of university excellence networks, and the growth of our alumni network. We have been able to deploy our influence policy through making internationalization a key strategic pillar. We have recently developed partnerships in Asia, with Shenzhen University and the Indian firm Zoho. In Africa, we help train students from various countries such as Liberia, Gabon and Guinea-Bissau. This international outlook is reflected in the diversity of our student body, which this year includes 23 different nationalities.

INP-HB has also increased academic mobility and introduced double degree programs with prestigious institutions such as the École des Ponts ParisTech and the École Polytechnique, the latter with whom we have also launched off-campus training, as well as the Conservatoire national des Arts et Métiers (CNAM) and the Abidjan Urban Mobility Project. Space research and innovation projects are underway with the Dar es Salaam Institute of Technology in Tanzania. Our active participation in international events (U7+, RESCIF) and our alumni network also play a crucial role in raising INP-HB’s visibility.

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Partnerships with the private sector to promote the professionalization and employability of students are crucial for PeA-supported projects. Do you have any best practices to share? 

To strengthen our efforts in this area, we have created a Department of External Relations and Partnership Monitoring. To promote exchanges between the academic and business worlds, we hold regular forums and seminars, organized by our INP-HB Career Center, for example, or our Enterprise Day, attended by our partners in search of talented students. Companies also actively participate in developing our syllabi, sit on graduation juries and help train our students during 30% of their educational journey.