Signature of a Partnership Agreement with the University of Nairobi
May 11 2023The University of Nairobi (Kenya), CentraleSupélec – Université Paris-Saclay, and four institutions in the ParisTech network—AgroParisTech, Chimie ParisTech – PSL, École des Ponts ParisTech, Mines Paris – PSL—signed a Tripartite Partnership Agreement on Thursday, May 11, 2023. The objective of this agreement is to launch a four-year cooperation program for the development of an Engineering and Science Complex (ESC) in Nairobi.
Professor Stephen Kiama, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Nairobi, traveled to France for the occasion along with his team. He visited CentraleSupélec, Paris-Saclay University, AgroParisTech, Chimie ParisTech – PSL and the École des Ponts ParisTech.
The University of Nairobi, Kenya’s top university and a regional leader in the fields of science and engineering, trains the country’s future leaders. This profile is in line with the aims of our Grandes Écoles, all of which would like to expand their partnerships in Africa. The partners will share their expertise and best practices in five key areas: governance, study programs, ties between academia and the world of business, research and innovation, and internationalization. The Engineering and Science Complex (ESC) will be partly funded by a sovereign loan from the French Development Agency (AFD).
The objective of this partnership is to enable skills and expertise to be shared and exchanged over the long term, as well as to implement teaching focused on the use of digital skills and technology, in accordance with the curriculum, in order to fulfill the growing needs of East Africa’s manufacturing and emerging services industries.
Seminars, conferences and meetings will be organized in Nairobi, Paris, and remotely over the course of the next four years. Development is already under way for some activities, including joint scientific workshops and delegation visits. The partners will also jointly apply for European funding to further their internationalization efforts, particularly links between researchers and academic staff.
This partnership will enable AgroParisTech to:
- strengthen its collaboration with English-speaking African countries, which is a key part of its international development strategy;
- maintain the coherence of its research and education themes: the Green and Blue Engineering Center is one of four centers of excellence whose development will be supported by this agreement;
- consolidate preexisting ties between the “Water for All” chair and the University of Nairobi.