By Landing Ceesay
The Minister of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology (MOHERST) Professor Pierre Gomez said Africa can develop academic and research outputs that can help address youth employability.
“Together as Africans, through such a Project, we are stronger. We can consolidate efforts to develop academic and research outputs that can help address youth employability, food security, and endemic health concerns that have been stifling our respective economies for so long,” Prof. Gomez said.
The Higher Education Minister made these remarks at the opening ceremony of the Ministerial Project Steering Committee Meeting and the 8th Regional Workshop of the ACE Impact- Africa Higher Education Centers of Excellence for Development Impact.
The bi-annual meeting is hosted by the Ministry of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology of the Gambia under the leadership of Professor Pierre Gomez.
Prof. Gomez encourages participants to take advantage of the workshop and establish the right partnerships and networks to help develop Africa’s higher education institutions to compete in the global market in research and innovation.He said the divergent experts from academia and industrial sectors in this meeting symbolize African institutions’ readiness to address our challenges through education and research.
“The event is symbolic as it occurred when our higher education reforms, specifically the STEE establishment at USET, achieved the desired objectives. The Gambia, since it entered into the Africa Centres of Excellence, has benefited tremendously, more so in the human capital formation of crucial development institutions in The Gambia,” he said.The former UTG Acting Vice Chancellor thanked the World Bank, the Association of African Universities, and other partners for their continued support in the higher education sector development.