BUJUMBURA, February 8th (ABP) – The Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of National Education and Scientific Research, Mr. Fréderic Bangirinama, opened on Thursday February 1, 2024, the activities of the public-private academic partnership forum, 5th Edition 2024.
This activity was organized by the National Commission for Science, Technology and Innovation (CNSTI), under the auspices of the Ministry of National Education, under the theme “Accelerating the development and dissemination of scientific, technological and innovative ideas for emerging Burundi in 2040”.
On that occasion, Mr. Bangirinama indicated that the overall objective of the forum was to provide a platform for connection between human resources and knowledge produced by higher education institutions in on the one hand, and on the other hand, the dissemination of these to the private sector for their adoption in the fields of production, the social and the service sector.
According to him, objective 16 of the vision Burundi emerging country in 2040 and developed in 2060 concerns the development of competitive higher education in science and technology, and contributing to the development of Burundi. This objective involves reliable training supported by fundamental and applied research enabling innovation in science and technology.
He recalled that the role of Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) in promoting economic growth and sustainable development is increasingly recognized throughout the world. This is why higher education and research institutions in Burundi with the support of the public and private sectors, should play a key role in encouraging STI through research and becoming leading players in their promotion, while aligning with the logic of the Burundi vision 2040-2060.
To that end, he also affirmed that research is a source of both recognition in its fundamental activity and societal evaluations in its application side. The results of academic research are more than ever an indispensable element of the economic and of the competitiveness of businesses. This is why the promotion of scientific research activities is recommended by the 2022-2030 education sector plan.
Mr. Bangirinama indicated that the expected results at the end of the forum are, among other things, the capacity building among actors in the STI sector, the creation of a space for exchanges between researchers and producers, the presentation of relevant results research, the identification of strategies for the commercialization of research products.
For his part, the vice chancellor of the CNSTI, Dr. Joseph Nyandwi recalled that this forum is a partnership platform which was created in 2012 by the Interuniversity Council of East Africa, the East African Affairs Council and the East African Development Bank. He added that the CNSTI has been effective since the year 2017, with the mission of coordinating, regulating and promoting the sector of science, technology and innovation, a transversal area for the socio-economic transformation of the country.
He commended the efforts made by the government to support the growth of the STI sector. This is materialized by the establishment of working instruments, including the national development plan, the national policy for scientific research and technological innovation and the strategy for its implementation.
The vice chancellor of the University of Burundi, Audace Manirambona, for his part, indicated that the University of Burundi, through the graduate school and the research centers within the faculties and institutes, under the coordination of the management of research and innovations, concentrates all its efforts on teaching and research serving the community, without forgetting to touch on innovation, in order to have raw material results for industrialization.
He took the opportunity to call on everyone and especially young researchers to redouble their efforts to devote themselves to work for real research and development for the benefit of themselves, but also of the entire Burundian community, and undoubtedly, the entire East African community.
Participants visited the various trade fair stands and interacted with researchers and entrepreneurs with a view to promoting local products.