BUJUMBURA December 15th (ABP) – The representative of the Minister of National Education and Scientific Research and permanent executive secretary of the National Commission for Science, Technology and Innovation, Mr. Tatien Masharabu, opened Thursday the December 14, 2023, the third edition of the regional conference, organized by the Ecole Normale Supérieure (ENS), on the popularization of research results, under the theme: “research-innovation for education in the service of an emerging country and developed.”
In his speech, Mr. Masharabu indicated that the objective of the national vision, Burundi, emerging country 2040 and developed in 2060, focuses on the development of competitive higher education in science and technology, contributing to the development of Burundi.
He stressed that that objective involves reliable training supported by fundamental and applied research, enabling innovation in the fields of science and technology.
Indeed, he indicated that research is the source both of knowledge in its fundamental activity, and of societal development in its application side.
The results of academic research, added Mr. Masharabu, are more than ever an indispensable element of the economic engine and the competitiveness of businesses.
That is why higher education and research institutions in Burundi, with the support of the public and private sectors, should play a key role in becoming leading players in the promotion of research-innovation.
According to the representative of the minister responsible for education, for companies to be able to develop or absorb innovations, a qualified workforce is needed, including managers, technicians, engineers and competent workers. Therefore, knowledge infrastructure is important for the national innovation system. He pointed out that the ministry in charge of education, through the national commission for science, technology and innovation, is in the process of developing legal frameworks and strategy documents on science, technology and innovation. innovation to boost the sector.
To that end, he invited researchers to be part of the logic of academic, public and private partnership, whether on a national, regional, continental and international scale, specifying that that could promote the pooling of resources and mobilization of funds at all levels.
The Director General of the ENS, Mrs. Nusura Hasani, in her welcome address, indicated that that regional conference constitutes a regional framework for the exchange of experiences and research results on issues relating to education in continental level. She added that it will be an opportunity to propose appropriate solutions to advance science in education and sustainable development.
According to her, the ENS has reached a milestone in terms of research, thanks to funding from the government and multilateral and bilateral partners of the country and the institution, for the support they have provided in the research projects.
She also indicated to the Minister in charge of Education that the ENS will always need financial support from the government, for the revitalization of research and the carrying out of prospective activities, particularly with a view to promoting innovation in education and contribute significantly to the emergence of Burundi and its sustainable development, through the creation of a research center in design, manufacturing and handling techniques for teaching materials using local materials, the creation of a research center on educational techniques, establishment of an automobile garage serving as teaching equipment for the department of applied sciences and so.
The director of research at ENS, Mrs. Agnès Nakimana, during her presentation, affirmed that that conference will allow researchers in the region to share with a scientific world, the results of research carried out by teacher-researchers while pointing out that They will offer the region’s scientific community a framework for reflection and exchange on social, environmental and ethnic problems. She added that they will also revitalize the activities of research centers and the scientific journal Iga, without forgetting the popularization of research results. Ms. Nakimana thus pointed out that research at the ENS level is facing challenges, namely the problem of high-speed internet connectivity, the insufficient budget allocated to cover teachers’ research projects. As an outlook, the research director indicated that the management has given itself some priorities to promote quality research, including subscription to internationally renowned journals, the multiplication of workshops to promote research work, digitalization of the library and integration into online library networks.