A delegation led by Dr Hugues KOUADIO is on a mission to Marrakech in Morocco.

ENSEA of Abidjan, like the 53 African Centres of Excellence for the development of Higher Education in Africa, has been taking part since 29 May 2023 in the 9th biannual regional workshop of the “ACE Impact” project in Marrakech, Morocco.

On the initiative of the World Bank Group, the Association of African Universities (AAU) and the French Development Agency (AFD), in collaboration with the Ministry of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Innovation, Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P) and OCP Africa, the 9th biannual regional workshop of the ACE Impact project and the Higher Education Partnership Forum of the ACE Impact-Morocco project are being held from 29 May to 2 June.

For the very first time, the event has been organised outside the eleven participating countries and brings together stakeholders from the African Higher Education Centres of Excellence for Development Impact (ACE Impact) with a view to fostering Partnerships with Moroccan universities and the private sector.

This is a great opportunity for the Centres to share their experiences, assess the state of implementation of the projects, develop partnerships with Moroccan institutions and discuss prospects for the sustainability of the projects. This workshop is one of a number of preparatory events for the annual meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund, which will be held in Marrakech from 9 to 15 October.

The Centres of Excellence for Higher Education in Africa (ACE) project is an initiative of the World Bank in collaboration with the governments of participating countries to support higher education institutions specialising in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. It is the first World Bank project to build the capacity of higher education institutions in Africa. It aims to promote the regional specialisation of participating universities in areas that respond to specific common regional development challenges. It also aims to build the capacity of these universities to deliver high-quality training and applied research, and meet the demand for the skills needed for Africa’s development.

ENSEA of Abidjan has been labelled as an African Centre of Excellence since 2015 as well as a Centre of Excellence with Regional Impact since 2020.