MESRS hosted ICT-39 focused IST-Africa H2020 Workshop in Bujumbura, 24 November

28 November 2014

IST-Africa organised a series of Horizon 2020 Workshops in Malawi, Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda and Burundi during November 2014, specifically focused on raising awareness of opportunities under the ICT-39 Call "International partnership building in low and middle-income countries" with a deadline of 14 April 2015.

Ministere de l'Enseignement Superieur et de la Recherche Scientifique (MESRS) as the IST-Africa partner in Burundi organised the IST-Africa Horizon 2020 Workshop in Bujumbura on 24 November 2014. All relevant stakeholders for Government and Research Institutions were invited to participate to raise awareness of the opportunity for research cooperation at international level.

The workshop was well attended with 22 participants from Ministries responsible for Higher Education and Scientific Research, Trade and Industry, Transport and Equipment, Defence, ICT, Ministry of East African Community Affairs, senior officials from Higher Education and Research Institutions, and NGOs.

Each organisation presented their current research capacity and areas of most interest for International Cooperation. This provided all participants with more insight into research that is ongoing at national level.

Areas of thematic interest identified based on the organisational presentations included: eHealth; eAgriculture; Climate action; Environment and Energy.

Dr. Fulgence Nahayo, Deputy Director in charge of Academic Affairs and Research at the National School for Administration (ENA), University of Burundi, welcomed and thanked all the participants for attending this training workshop focused on Horizon 2020 and specifically the ICT-39 Call, which closes on 14 April 2015.

Dr. Tatien Masharabu,Director General for Science, Technology and Research, Ministere de l'Enseignement Superieur et de la Recherche Scientifique read the Opening Remarks on behalf of Hon. Dr. Joseph Butore, Minister for Higher Education and Scientific Research, Burundi. Dr Tatien outlined that it was a great honour for the Ministry to host this IST-Africa Horizon 2020 Workshop within the University of Burundi. He thanked IIMC (IST-Africa coordinator) for its commitment to supporting research and innovation in Africa.

Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) are critical for socio-economic transformation in spite of limited research and development capacity in many sectors. The Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Burundi is highly committed to promote STI as it recognized worldwide to be the pillar of any integrated socio-economic development. The National Policy on Scientific Research and Technological Innovation and its implementation framework was launched in August 2014. The key focus areas of focus include: Agro-processing technologies; Health Sciences; Energy, mines and Transport; Water and Environment; Bio technology and indigenous knowledge; Materials sciences, engineering and industry; Information and Communication Technology as well as Human and Social sciences.

In the context of the ICT legal framework and enabling Environment, the National ICT Development Policy 2011-2015 was adopted in 2007 and reviewed in 2011, the eGovernment Strategy 2011-2015 was adopted in August 2009, and the National Policy for Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) in 2011 and its implementation framework for 2014 -2018 in 2014 . In terms of ICT Infrastructure, the Fibre-optic project is currently running to provide ICT infrastructure across the country alongside development of the Burundi Backbone System (BBS).

Dr Masharabu reinforced that everyone knows the importance of international collaborative in research. Dr Masharabu outlined that the Ministry highly appreciated the participants contribution to this workshop, as preparing projects to be submitted requires expertise from a wide range of expertise from a variety of disciplines and institutions. On behalf of Hon. Dr. Joseph Butore, Minister for Higher Education and Scientific Research, Burundi, Dr Masharabu declared the IST-Africa Horizon 2020 Workshop to be open and wishes the participants a successful day, exchanging knowledge and learning more about Horizon 2020 and the ICT-39 Call.

Paul Cunningham (IIMC/IST-Africa) provided an overview of the IST-Africa Initiative and the significant resources that are available to support research cooperation.

Dr Masharabu (Director General for Science, Technology and Research, Ministere de l'Enseignement Superieur et de la Recherche Scientifique) provided a comprehensive overview of Horizon 2020 and the main differences between FP7 and H2020.

Paul Cunningham presented the ICT-39 call followed by interactive brainstorming and group work. Following an interactive discussion, important thematic areas identified in the context of ICT-39 for Uganda include eHealth; eAgriculture; Climate Change, Environment and Energy. It was noted that the focus areas under the National Policy on Scientific Research and Technological Innovation (2014) is well aligned with Societal Challenges under Horizon 2020.

The participants discussed how they would go about identify key stakeholders to consult with in different thematic areas, how to address end-user engagement and build an implementation team for inclusion with a wider consortia for international cooperation.

Augustin Nsabiyumva (MESRS) presented the participation rules and instruments under H2020 to provide a clear framework. Paul Cunningham (IIMC/ IST-Africa) presented the steps to consider when preparing a proposal and associated budget. Miriam also outlined the evaluation process and basic IPR rules.

The participants felt that they learned a lot about H2020 and opportunities under ICT-39.

Dr Tatien Masharabu closed the workshop on behalf of Hon. Dr. Joseph Butore. He thanked the distinguished guest and participants on behalf of the Ministry, and expressed gratitude towards IIMC Ireland for its involvement in the advancement of research and innovation. He extended appreciation for bringing on board the Ministry as a partner of IST-Africa. He also thanked University of Burundi for hosting the event.

Click here to download the full workshop report.

ICT-39 Focus

Scope: The aim is to launch a set of targeted collaborative research projects addressing the requirements of end-user communities in developing countries. Specific technological targets could include for example co-design, adaptation, demonstration and validation (e.g. pilots) of ICT related research and innovation in relevant thematic areas addressed by Horizon 2020 including Content Technologies and Societal Challenges.

Activities under this objective should be led by a clearly defined user need/market opportunity for the technology being adapted; they should in particular include requirements of developing countries, and where possible, have the potential for wider impact by involving a number of countries from the same region. Proposals should be submitted by a complementary partnership with a particular focus on the participation of relevant developing country innovation stakeholders and end-user community representatives (e.g. relevant public, private, education and research, and societal sector organisations, Innovation Spaces and Living Labs).

Expected impact

- Development of relevant technology responding to specific needs and conditions of the target country.

- Reinforced international dimension of the ICT and Innovation aspects of Horizon 2020 and a higher level of international cooperation with low and middle income countries in ICT R&D and Innovation, focusing on areas that are beneficial to the target countries/region.