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Publication of the call for proposals for the 3rd edition of the “Academia Partnerships Africa-France” (PeA) programme: new support for higher education projects between Africa and France
Paris, 19 November, 2024 – The call for proposals for the third edition of the “Academia Partnerships Africa-France” (PeA) program, formerly “Partnerships with African Higher Education”, has been published today and remains open until 6 May 2025. With an overall budget of €15 million, this new edition looks to fund five or six new projects.
Financed by the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs (MEAE) via the Agence française de développement (AFD), the PeA is in line with France’s political will to double the partnerships between African and French higher education and research institutions and rounds off the policy of welcoming African students in France. It is implemented with support from the Ministry of Higher Education and Research (MESR) by the Agence nationale de la recherche (ANR – French National Research Agency) with Campus France to coordinate PeA seminars.
Since 2020, the PeA has been funding Franco-African academic partnerships working to develop training programmes (Bachelor’s, Master’s and/or PhD levels) in economic sectors that are priorities for the African partner countries. The first two editions have already provided support for 13 projects in 7 countries and covered 13 different training programmes.
For this new edition, the PeA will be open to South Africa, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Rwanda and Togo. By broadening its support to new countries and projects, the PeA is helping to promote access to higher education for young people on the African continent and meet demands for skills needed for the countries’ sustainable development.
The “PEA 3” call for proposals
The Agence nationale de la recherche (ANR), operator of the “Academia Partnerships Africa-France” (PeA) programme, has today published the third call for proposals from the 12 aforementioned countries. The closing date for the call for proposals is set for 6 May 2025 and the winners are to be announced in Autumn 2025.
The PeA supports projects that:
- are driven by a consortium coordinated by a higher education or research institution in a PeA 3-eligible African country, on the one hand, and a French higher education or research institution, possibly bolstered by other such French institutions, on the other hand;
- aim at stepping up and implementing training programmes covering Bachelor’s (3 years of study), Master’s (5 years of study) and/or PhD (8 years of study) levels and delivered in Africa;
- target a sector that is a priority for the country’s or region’s socio-economic development, where training capacity falls short of employment capacities;
- help to build the capacities and skills of the African country in managing this sector;
- explicitly promote gender equality in terms of access and success;
- anticipate the required academic and financial sustainability of the training partnership.
The projects will be supported over 4.5 years with project funding ranging from €1.5–3 million.
Consult the call for proposals at: https://anr.fr/en/call-for-proposals-details/call/specific-call-for-proposals-academia-partnerships-africa-france-3rd-edition-pea3-2025/
THE “ACADEMIA PARTNERSHIPS AFRICA-FRANCE” (PeA) PROGRAMME
Training men and women experts, producing scientific knowledge, informing decision makers and boosting innovation: higher education and research institutions have a critical role to play in implementing sustainable development trajectories. Whilst building the capacities of African higher education and research institutions as well as the international outreach of French higher education and research institutions, the Academia Partnerships Africa-France programme aims to:
• offer all students from the African continent the opportunity to find quality training that starts at Bachelor’s/Licence level in their country or region, and matches the needs of the socioeconomic world;
• guide African and French higher education and research actors in developing partnerships, particularly in sectors that are strategic for the economies of the countries involved;
• facilitate two-way mobility for students and teachers between a French higher education and research institution and an African higher education and research institution.
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13 higher education projects between France and Africa already supported The first two editions of the PeA have funded 13 projects in seven African countries and involved some fifty French and African higher education and research institutions. In addition to developing networking for African and French scientific communities, the PeA projects are coming up with their first concrete results: overhaul of syllabuses, launch of more than 10 new programmes (Bachelor’s and Master’s), teacher training, funding for some thirty PhD students, support for international mobility and innovation, inauguration of an entrepreneurial village, development of relations with the socio-economic sector, equipment received to professionalise training. As from 2027, nearly 4,000 students will be enrolled each year on the 13 training programmes supported by the PeA. |
Find out more:
- The call for proposals:
https://anr.fr/en/call-for-proposals-details/call/specific-call-for-proposals-academia-partnerships-africa-france-3rd-edition-pea3-2025/
- The “Academia Partnerships Africa-France” programme: www.afd.fr/en/pea
About AFD
Agence Française de Développement (AFD) Group finances, supports and accelerates the transitions necessary for a more just and resilient world. It thus contributes to implementing France’s policy on sustainable development and international solidarity. It is with and for communities that we build, with our partners, solutions in more than 160 countries, as well as in 11 French overseas departments and territories.
Our objective: to reconcile economic development with the preservation of common goods: the climate, biodiversity, peace, gender equality, education and health. Our teams are involved in more than 3,600 projects in the field, which are part of the commitment of France and the French people to fulfilling the Sustainable Development Goals. For a world in common.
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About the Agence nationale de la recherche
The French National Research Agency (ANR) is the funding agency for project-based research in France. As a public institution under the authority of the French Ministry of Higher Education and Research, the ANR funds and promotes basic and applied research in all disciplines at the national, European, and international level. It also funds technological innovation, technology transfer, and partnerships between research teams from the public and private sectors, in addition to strengthening dialogue between science and society.
The ANR also serves as the main operator of the France 2030 Investment Plan in higher education and research. France 2030 supports excellence and transformations in higher education, research, training, and innovation within priority sectors. The Agency selects, funds, and monitors projects in connection with these objectives.
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Campus France is an agency that promotes French higher education as an attractive option for international students. Its mission also includes managing scholarships from both French and foreign governments, providing support to students and researchers abroad, supervising the France Alumni network, and analyzing student mobility in France and around the world.
In France, the agency coordinates the Campus France Forum (more than 376 institutes of higher education and research). Globally, 275 Campus France offices and branches are overseen by French embassies in 134 countries.
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