UniBRAIN

Program Director (For ATPS): Dr. Kevin Urama, Fmr. Executive Director

Coordinator: Dr. Nicholas Ozor, Executive Director, ATPS Email Contact: executivedirector@atpsnet.org or nozor@atpsnet.org

Realising the Potential of Africa’s Youth: Linking university education, research and business in sustainable agriculture

Program Background:

UniBRAIN (Universities, Business and Research in Agricultural Innovation) is addressing one of the five core initiatives identified by through 15 comprehensive consultations held by the Africa Commission in 2008, which found that: “African universities are not sufficiently geared to meet the needs of industry. Graduates often cannot find employment, while many small businesses lack staff with the education and skills needed to drive innovation. Essentially, the relationship between the demands of the private sector and what universities teach is too weak.”

UniBRAIN is pioneering a new approach to promoting agricultural innovation and improving ter tiary agribusiness education in Africa. UniBRAIN will step away from the mainstream to bring African Universities into agricultural innovation through increased and strengthened collaboration between universities, research institutions and the private sector, improved teaching and learning and knowledge sharing.

UniBRAIN is being implemented by a consortium led by Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA), with the African Network for Agriculture, Agro-forestry and Natural Resources Education (ANAFE), the African Technology Policy Studies Network (ATPS) and the Pan African Agribusiness Consortium (PanAAC) and the Sub-Regional Organisations (SROs); the Association for Strengthening Agricultural research in East and Central Africa (ASARECA), West and Central African Council for Agricultural Research and Development (CORAF/WECARD) and the Centre for Coordination of Agricultural Research and Development for Southern Africa (CCARDESA).

UniBRAIN will promote agricultural innovation and produce graduates with entrepreneurial and business skills and research-based knowledge that is relevant to the development of African agriculture and agribusiness.

Call for concept papers:

Concept notes are sought for the formation of Agribusiness Innovation Incubator Consortia (AIIC) comprised of universities, incubatees, research institutions and private sectors to be based in any of the following Danida priority countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Mozambique Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia.

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