• Partnership covers research, exchanges, joint projects and funding efforts

• Deal aims to boost training, mobility and African health research

The University of Lomé and Gabon’s University of Health Sciences and Technology have formalized an academic partnership, signing a cooperation agreement in Lomé last week covering scientific research and academic activities.

The framework agreement was signed by Kossivi Hounaké, president of the University of Lomé, and Jérôme Miloundja, rector of the University of Health Sciences and Technology of Gabon. It aims to coordinate academic and research activities, develop joint scientific projects, and facilitate the exchange of information and scientific publications between the two institutions.

The universities also plan to collaborate on international projects and seek funding jointly. Such cooperation should, according to both parties, “increase the chances of success in competitive calls for proposals.”

The agreement also provides for the mobility of faculty members, researchers and students, with the aim of fostering academic exchange and skills development. The two institutions plan to work toward harmonizing and mutually recognizing curricula in order to facilitate graduate mobility and improve the comparability of academic pathways within the African university system.

“This framework agreement with USTS marks an important step in our inter-African cooperation strategy. It reflects our shared commitment to building lasting bridges between our institutions to address the challenges of health training and research on the continent,” Hounaké said.

Miloundja said the agreement “will allow us to pool our strengths to train the health professionals Africa needs and produce high-quality scientific research adapted to the continent’s realities.”

The partnership adds to several agreements the University of Lomé has already signed with foreign institutions as part of its strategy to strengthen international academic cooperation.

Esaïe Edoh, with Togo First