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2019 Annual African Universities Week University of Mauritius Contributions “Towards a Peaceful and Secure Africa through Quality Higher Education”

2019 Annual African Universities Week University of ...Mauritius endeavours to develop a knowledge-based economy. The establishment of Poles of Research Excellence and Poles of Innovation

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Page 1: 2019 Annual African Universities Week University of ...Mauritius endeavours to develop a knowledge-based economy. The establishment of Poles of Research Excellence and Poles of Innovation

2019 Annual African Universities Week

University of Mauritius Contributions

“Towards a Peaceful and Secure Africa through Quality Higher Education”

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2019 Annual African Universities Week“Towards a Peaceful and Secure Africa through Quality Higher Education”

The University of Mauritius (UoM) has the great pleasure to join AAU in celebrating the 2019 African Universities Week. This is also an occasion to commemorate the creation of the Association of African Universities (AAU) on 12th of November 1967 by 34 African Universities. The theme for this year’s celebration is “Towards a Peaceful and Secure Africa through Quality Higher Education”.

It seeks to bring together all the entire higher education community and other major stakeholders in Africa to map out strategies and methodologies as well as situate the place of higher education in the promotion of peace and security towards Africa’s unity and renaissance in line with the 4th Aspiration of Agenda 2063: A peaceful and secure Africa.

To mark this week, we are organising a half-day workshop to showcase the accomplishments and work underway at the UoM, to promote quality education and research in partnership with the African continent.

Maintaining and promoting quality higher education has been and remains the foremost priority of the UoM. We have constantly endeavoured to uphold the highest standards of quality in all our programmes of studies, benchmarking and aligning our programmes and quality assurance standards

with international norms, while remaining relevant to the changing needs of the labour market. Our recent endeavours, namely the shift to the Learner Centred Credit System, which is aligned with the ECTS, and the introduction of the Teaching Standards Framework are examples of our continued commitment. Our new vision to position the UoM as a research-engaged and entrepreneurial university is to better impact on innovation as Mauritius endeavours to develop a knowledge-based economy. The establishment of Poles of Research Excellence and Poles of Innovation has helped focus research on national priority areas such as agriculture and marine, energy, health, IT and digital technologies as well as socio-economic issues and tourism. The development of an Agri-Tech Park and our association with RUFORUM, our high-tech

research in regenerative and nanomedicine, our strong engagement with the Western Indian Ocean Marine Scientists Association (WIOMSA), the accreditation of our engineering programmes, the organisation of training workshops for Africans in collaboration with regional and international organisations, the hosting of a few AAU workshops at the UoM are all examples of our commitment to engage with mainland Africa.

Another one of our priorities is the internationalisation of the UoM. We offer dual degree programmes with prestigious Universities such as University of Arizona (USA) and University Paris-Seine (France) and these are open to African students. It is important for me to highlight here that, in an endeavour to open access to higher education not only to local students but also to international

Message from the Vice-Chancellor

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2019 Annual African Universities Week“Towards a Peaceful and Secure Africa through Quality Higher Education”

students, the University of Mauritius has drastically reduced its fees for international students. Foreign postgraduate students now pay the same fees as local students. We also host many African students from the SADC/COMESA/AU countries on full scholarship. The diversity of the Mauritian population and the harmony and peace that prevails amongst the different ethnic groups is one of the key pillars of strength both for the UoM and Mauritius as a whole.

Resolution 2250 of the United Nations Security Council states that: “Youth are vital to establish peace and security in Africa”. Who better than University students and graduates to take up this challenge. If we are to

achieve SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions), youth commitment and engagement are vital as key agents for change. SDG 16 also reminds us of the importance of sharing between institutions and the public and that trust and transparency are key for achieving this goal.

During this half-day workshop, Mr Kiran Bhujun, Director Tertiary Education from the Ministry of Education, Tertiary Education, Science and Technology, presented the Mauritius Africa Scholarship Scheme and Mrs Gajjaluxmi Mootoosamy, Head of the Bilateral Directorate, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade, gave an overview of Mauritius’s endeavours to

promote African partnerships incuding higher education, peace and security. Highlights of their presentation and speeches can be accessed at the University of Mauritius website: www.uom.ac.mu

To mark the 2019 celebrations, we have unveiled a sculpture that symbolises holistic education and epitomises the concepts of eternity, perpetual movement and improvement in life.

Prof Dhanjay Jhurry, CSK, GOSKVice-ChancellorUniversity of [email protected]: +230 403 7415

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This free standing figure sculpture is emblematic of Education.

Draped in an academic gown and wearing a hat, it symbolises the respect that graduate students are deemed to have with regards to others.

The student proudly holds a circular plaque embossed with letters of the alphabet. The circle symbolises wholeness; it represents a sense of completion, epitomising the concepts of eternity, perpetual movement and improvement in life. The circle is also a symbol of unity; it projects a positive message of harmony, peace and protection. It hints at the security and the dignity of the life ahead of the student.

The materiality and physicality of the artwork has been used as a metaphor to create a rich, sensory environment that allows for meaning to emerge through experience and exploration.

Nalini Gopaul, Sculptor.

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AgriTECH Park• Developed on 15 acres of land

on UoM campus.

• Offers a distinctive structure by providing a platform for collaboration between Academia, the Industry, Corporate sector/SMEs, Start-ups and Incubators, and supportive of entrepreneurs in the development of innovative products and services for the Agri-Food sector in the Republic of Mauritius and in the region.

• Alignment of Teaching, Research and Community/Service Portfolio with the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations (SDGs), namely: SDG 1 – No poverty; SDG 2 – Zero Hunger; SDG 3 – Good Health and

Well-Being; SDG 4 – Quality Education; SDG 8 - Decent Work and Economic Growth; SDG 9 - Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure; SDG 13 – Climate Action; SDG 17 – Partnerships to achieve the Goals.

• A multi-disciplinary and trans-disciplinary UoM research teams are currently working on three (3) main projects, with our priorities focused on enhanced Sustainable Development and Food and Nutrition Security in the context of climate change.

The AgriTECH Park aims to support and enhance productivity, efficiency and sustainability in agriculture and food, through quality education, research, technology and innovation.

Currently three projects are being

implemented on the AgriTECH Park:

a. Small commercial dairy farm using green technologies for safe, clean and marketable milk production aligned with the Food Act (1998), with potential for value-addition.

b. Agro-processing incubator for creation of innovative, local and economically-sustainable enterprises in the Agri-Food Sector, with potential for sustainable job creation and economic growth.

c. Setting up of AGRO-Artificial Intelligence Laboratory for Smart Agriculture for real-time capture of data as well as big data analysis, with impact on efficient management and monitoring of farm practices, and improved productivity.

Role of AgriTECH ParkFaculty of Agriculture

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Teaching & Learning involving African Partners

Programmes successfully run:

(1) MSc Agribusiness Manage-ment - as part of the «Harmonisation et Amélioration des Programmes de Master et de Doctorat en Agribusiness par la Mobilité entre l’Afrique de l’Ouest, de l’Est et du Centre pour un Développement Socio-économique Durable (HAAGRIM)». It involved mobility exchanges of staff and students from 8 African universities

(2) MSc Bioinformatics with Mo-lecular Biology – programme developed & run in collabora-tion with Southern Africa Net-work for Biosciences (SANBio).

• 16 students graduated - 13 from Mauritius, one (1) from Botswana & two (2) from Zimbabwe

Training - Regional Training Course on Fruit Fly Management in collaboration with the International Atomic Energy Agency and the MoAIFS from 07 to 11 October 2019. There were 20 participants from different countries in Africa including Botswana, Kenya, Ghana, Tunisia, Swaziland, Mozambique,

Seychelles, among others.

Research involving African PartnersMPhil/PhD Co-supervision /Fund-ed Projects Co-investigators:

• Prof Elna Buys - Department of Consumer and Food Sciences, University of Pretoria

• Assoc Prof Dr Van der Waals - Department of Microbiology and Plant Pathology, Universi-ty of Pretoria

• Prof Teresa Coutinho - Depart-ment of Microbiology and Plant Pathology, University  of Preto-ria

• Prof N Emmambux, Depart-ment of Consumer and Food Sciences, University of Pretoria

Conferences/workshops/ involv-ing African partners (last 3 years)

• Project ‘Cultivating Africa champions for biennial review report - African agriculture transformation scorecard and heads of state dashboard’ - Au-gust 2018

• National Dialogue organized by the Mauritius Node of FANR-PAN

• Validation workshop on Cli-mate Smart Agriculture Policy Scoping Study

• Action Planning workshop - Au-gust 2018 - to develop an Ac-tion Plan aimed at improving

the country’s Biennial Review Report.

• Regional Research Seminar on Legume Research: Adaptation of Legumes to Climate Change in collaboration and funding from University of Western Cape.

• Participation in Workshop on Roadmap for the promotion of the MauriGAP standard

Network(1) Southern Africa Network for

Biosciences (SANBio/NEPAD)

(2) H3ABioNet - University of Cape Town

(3) African Economic Research Consortium (AERC)

(4) African Network for Agriculture, Agroforestry and Natural Re-sources Education (ANAFE)

(5) Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Net-work (FANRPAN)

(6) Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM)

(7) Reseau des Etablissements Agricoles Professionnels Afrique Australe – Océan In-dien (REAP-AAOI Network).

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Dean: Associate Professor Daneshwar PUCHOOAPhone : +230 403 7655 - Email : [email protected]

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The Faculty of Engineering is the leading engineering institution in Mauritius and has been offering engineering programmes recog-nized by the Council of Registered Professional Engineers (Mauri-tius) for the practice of engineer-ing, since 1976.

On average, the Faculty produces some 200 engineering graduates per year. Graduates from the Faculty today practice engineer-ing in all spheres of the economy and significantly contribute to the economic, social and sustainable development of the island. Alumni from the Faculty are also active in various parts of the world includ-ing South Africa, Australia, the UK, the US and Canada among others.

Faculty ObjectivesThe objectives set out by the Faculty of Engineering to meet the University Strategic Directions are interalia as follows:

• To consolidate and strength-en undergraduate pro-grammes by providing the necessary human and learning resources.

• To continually review existing courses and devise new ones in order to meet the changing needs of industry and of the country at large.

• To ensure national and inter-national recognition of our courses through an accred-itation scheme with the relevant certifying bodies.

• To promote professionalism and entrepreneurial skills among graduating students with a view to enhance employment opportunities.

• To diversify linkages with overseas universities

The above are necessary condi-tions for international recogni-tion of engineering qualifications. However, the ambition of the Faculty is to pave the way for its engineering graduates to practice the profession beyond the borders of Mauritius without having to go through the hassles of addition-al assessments from local engi-neering councils overseas. Fortu-nately the mechanism for same already exists and is prescribed by the Washington Accord.

Engineering and Accreditation: Towards Regional/International Mobility

Faculty of Engineering

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Accreditation ProcessThe process involves among others, accreditation of engineering programmes offered by tertiary institutions in Mauritius, by the IEM. In this context, IEM is working under the mentorship of Engineering Council of South Africa for putting in place the processes and procedures for undertaking accreditation.

The Faculty on the other hand, has been proactive in this process by offering engineering programmes which are aligned to the competency Standards prescribed by members of the Washington Accord since 2014.

Accreditation of the engineering programmes by ECSA/IEM is ongoing and the final accreditation visit is planned for late 2020.

The Washington Accord mem-bership project, on completion towards 2022, will be a milestone achievement for the University of Mauritius, and Mauritius will be the second African state to be part of the Washington Accord after South Africa. We hope to be able to share this experience to other member states in Africa, in order to create the conditions for producing international professional engineers.

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Washington Accord“The Washington Accord, is a multi-lateral agreement between bodies responsible for accreditation or recognition of tertiary-level engineering qualifications within their jurisdictions who have chosen to work collectively to assist the mobility of professional engineers. The signatories are committed to development and recognition of good practice in engineering education. The activities of the Accord signatories are intended to assist growing globalization of mutual recognition of engineering qualifications.

The Washington Accord is specifically focused on academic programmes which deal with the practice of engineering at the professional level. The Accord outlines the mutual recognition, between the participating bodies, of accredited engineering degree programmes. It also establishes and benchmarks

the standard for professional engineering education across those bodies.” Source: https://www.ieagreements.org/accords/washington/ accessed on 6 November 2019 at 19.00 hrs

The signatory to the accord includes countries like the US, UK, Ireland, Russia, Turkey, Canada, Singapore, Japan, China, Chinese Taipei, Malaysia, Korea, Hong Kong, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Australia, New Zealand, Peru, and South Africa. There are also eight provisional members to the accord. The ambition is for Mauritius to be among the signatory members. In this context, the Government of Mauritius through a Cabinet decision has endorsed the proposal from the Institution of Engineers Mauritius (IEM) to put an application for Mauritius to be a member of the Washington Accord

Dean: Associate Professor (Dr) D K HURREERAMPhone: +230 403 7805 - Email [email protected]

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The Faculty of Information Communication & Digital Technologies (FoICDT) was created in March 2017 by upgrading the Computer Science and Engineering Department of Faculty of Engineering, to respond to the ever growing human resource needs of the country by providing tertiary education and training in the field of ICT. Besides the existing programmes, the FoICDT now also focuses on Applied Research, Community Engagement, Emerging Technologies and through Training Need Analysis offers new programmes as from 2017/2018. The Faculty produces some 250 graduates per year and this figure will rise to above 300 graduates per year, in the coming years. Till now UoM has already graduated over 3000 IT professional. Graduates from the Faculty are actively contributing to all spheres of the economy in Mauritius and are also active in various parts of the

world including Australia, France, Germany, the UK, the US and Canada among others.

The FoICDT currently has three departments, namely Department of Software & Information Systems (SIS), Department of Information & Communication Technology (ICT) and Department of Digital Technologies (DT). Each department focus on specific areas of research and deliver programmes in such fields. Besides traditional Undergraduate and Postgraduate programmes, the faculty also delivers tailor made programmes (commissioned programmes) to meet the needs of industries for qualified graduates having certain specific training.

Due to high demand of graduates in new emerging fields, the FoICDT has joined force with reputed Universities from US and France to offer dual degree programmes which can attract students not only from Mauritius but the

regional islands and continents (Africa and Asia).

Degree Programmes and training at FoICDT

The SAP training Programme: The FoICDT staff is involved with the Enterprise Systems Education for Africa (ESEFA) programme since 2014. With more organizations using IT to manage their day to day work, the need for graduates trained in Enterprise Systems ever growing. The ESEFA programme provides Short courses in Enterprise Systems (namely SAP) to tertiary students at a nominal cost (below 10% of actual cost if taken in private).

The contents of the SAP course have now been integrated as part of the BSc (Hons) IS and BSc (Hons) AC. Staff of the faculty actively participate in SAP African Academic Conference and are

Building Bridges:Connecting Knowledge Hubs for Quality Education

Faculty of Information Communication & Digital Technologies

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member of SAP academic board. Details about the programme can be found from the link : http://www.esefa.ac.za/esefa/about/the-programme

Research at FoICDT with African NetworksH3ABioNetThe H3ABioNet (https://www.h3abionet.org/) was established to develop bioinformatics ca-pacity in Africa and specifically to enable genomics data analy-sis by researchers from H3Afri-ca (Human Health & Heredity in Africa). The H3Africa (https://h3africa.org/) has three interre-lated, interdependent objectives, namely to support human ge-nomics and genetics research, to expand expertise and experi-ence in genomics-based biomed-ical research and environmental epidemiology in Africa and to improve infrastructure including bioinformatics & biorepository

capacity needed to support ge-nomics-based and environmental research and associated data and sample sharing.

The first round of the H3ABioNet (2012-2017) concentrated on setting up a Pan African Bioinformatics Infrastructure, through capacity building in the area of bioinformatics and establishing the necessary computing infrastructure for conducting genomics data analysis. The second round of the H3ABioNet project (2017-2022) is building on the achievements of first round to continue to develop an innovative bioinformatics infrastructure for H3Africa that will not only provide for the basic informatics needs of the consortium, but will also enable & drive cutting edge research to make African science internationally competitive. H3ABioNet is a core component of the H3Africa ecosystem, contributing to policy making

and other consortium activities, as well as binding the projects through shared commitment to develop the capacity for complex data management and analysis. It also aims at continuing to develop the next generation of bioinformaticians and data scientists, which are desperately needed to exploit the valuable genomics data being generated on the continent.

MADCaP NetworkThe Men of African Descent and Carcinoma of the Prostate (MADCaP) Consortium (https://www.madcapnetwork.org/) is collaborating on epidemiologic studies to address the high burden of prostate cancer among the African population. The main objectives of MADCaP are to study the specific mutations responsible for prostate cancer in different populations (addressing the diversity gap) as well as find genes and mutations that can be used as biomarkers for diagnostic purposes, for different populations. Finally, MADCaP also aims at finding genes and mutations that can be used as targets for drugs, improve the overall treatment and survival of prostate cancer patients.

Dean: Associate Professor (Dr) Sunilduth BAICHOOPhone : +230 403 7400 Ext: 4003 - Email : [email protected]

H3ABioNet

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The political stability and good governance that exist in Mauritius is reflected in its tertiary education system. Based on this, the Department of Law, Faculty of Law and Management of the University of Mauritius, in joint collaboration with the Center for Human Rights, University of Pretoria, under the patronage of the Office of the Vice-President of the Republic of Mauritius hosted the 26th African Human Rights Moot Court Competition as well as an international conference on Women’s Rights from Monday 18th September 2017 to Saturday 23rd September 2017.

The African Human Rights Moot Court Competition is the largest gathering of students, academics and judges around the theme of human rights in Africa. This annual event brings together Law faculties from African Universities, whose students argue a hypothetical human rights case simulating the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights.

The Competition aims to prepare a new generation of lawyers to argue cases of alleged human rights violations before the African Court. Over 200 participants from over 50 African universities attended the Moot Court Competition held at the University of Mauritius.

The University of Mauritius

also provides for a peaceful and secure atmosphere where students are free to express their views and opinions. The UoM ensures that the fundamental rights of each member of the institution are respected. In line with this, the Department of Law of the University partnered with the Center for Human Rights of the University of Pretoria for the LLM in Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa. Over the years, many Law graduates from the University of Mauritius have enrolled for this LLM Programme and doctoral studies at the Center for Human Rights.

As part of their studies, students from the LLM programme come to Mauritius each year where they undertake internships at various human rights organisations in the country. In addition to the activities of the Department of

Law, the Department of Finance and Accounting collaborates with various African Universities. For two consecutive years, the University of Mauritius hosted the World Trade Organisation Regional Trade Policy Course (WTO RTPC).

WTO RTPCThe WTO RTPC fits within the WTO’s Trade Related Technical Assistance (TRTA) activities which aim at enhancing the human and institutional capacity of members. This enables them to take full advantage of their participation in the rules-based multilateral system and enforce their rights and obligations.

The WTO-RTPC is an eight-week course organised by the WTO in partnership with regional institutions. The courses are co-

Collaboration:Departments of Law and Finance & Accounting (UoM) with the African Universities

Faculty of Law and Management

Moot Court Competition at UoM

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delivered by officials from the WTO Secretariat, trade policy specialists and academic experts from the region.

The participants, selected by the WTO upon recommendation from the governments, are government officials from the region currently dealing with WTO issues.

The objectives of the RTPCs are to:

• deepen the participants’ un-derstanding of the function-ing of the WTO and its rules and procedures;

• enhance participants un-derstanding of regional economic perspectives on trade policy and develop-ment; and

• develop participants’ capacity to find relevant in-formation and documents on WTO-related issues, includ-ing the use of the WTO legal texts.

Due to the social, economic and political stability that prevail in Mauritius, the University of Mauritius was selected to provide for this course for two years.

The RTPC (Mauritius) 2018 was held from Monday 14th May to Friday 06th July 2018, i.e. over a period of 8 consecutive weeks. Thirty one delegates of English speaking African Member States and observers of the WTO, nominated by their respective governments, participated in the first ever RTPC organised in Mauritius. Countries participating in the workshop include Botswana, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mauritius, Namibia, Nigeria, Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The travel, accommodation and catering costs are borne by the WTO. The WTO also provides the resource persons who intervene on the course. The UoM provides the logistics and academic support

needed for the course.

The second edition which was conducted from April to June 2019 attracted 30 participants from several African countries, namely, Botswana, Egypt, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Nigeria, Seychelles, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Mauritius. Twenty resource persons from the WTO and from the African region intervened during those 8 weeks of training.

Dean: Associate Professor (Dr) Geetanee NAPAL Phone: +230 403 7515 - Email : [email protected]

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Centre for Biomedical & Biomaterials Research (CBBR)The CBBR focuses on research and development in the area of: (i) biomaterials in the fabrication of nanoscaffolds for regenerative medicine, (ii) nanocarriers for drug delivery, and (iii) value-added materials from land and marine resources for high-end applications. It has set-up a number of collaborative efforts on the African continent and Indian Ocean region in the use of nano-enabled devices to improve health outcomes in two main areas namely cancer and diabetes. CBBR has as objective to use nanoscaffolds to offer affordable regenerative medicine solution to the African continent particularly targeting wound healing and management. Nanoscaffold was chosen as one of the 5 best inventions by Advancing Healthcare Innovation in Africa (AHIA 2019), Emory University, USA.

A joint collaboration between the Biomedical Research and Innovation Platform (BRIP), South

African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) and CBBR is focusing on the use of scaffolds for 3D culture of pancreatic beta cells. This project will have the merit of bringing together regional expertise to address the problem of type II diabetes specifically in the SADC region.

The Government of Mauritius has identified nanotechnology as a potential niche area for economic growth and emerging area with concrete opportunities for society and industry. The EU is funding a project aiming at setting the foundations of a nanotech industry in Mauritius and CBBR is spearheading the project at national level. Nanotechnology opportunities for industrial development in Africa are real. We are happy to join hands with African universities in mounting a Regional Alliance for nanotechnology.

A concept paper has been submitted in January 2019 by CBBR to the Expert Group Meeting on “Exploring an African Nanotechnology Future: Capacity, Policies and Regulation’, United Nations Economic Commission

for Africa. CBBR also contributed to the Connecting Minds Africa Conference September 2019 organised by the African Academy of Sciences to share experience and skills on research capacity strengthening models such as leadership, mentorship, interdisciplinary collaborations, and network building.

11th WIOMSA Scientific SymposiumThe 11th WIOMSA Scientific Symposium was jointly organised by the University of Mauritius, the Nairobi Convention and the Western Indian Ocean Marine Science Association (WIOMSA) from 1st to 6th July 2019 at the University of Mauritius. A wide variety of participants attended including scientists, students, managers, decision makers, community groups and the private sector. Interest and participation in this premier regional event remained at a high level with 157 oral and 468 poster presentations this year, and an attendance of 650 participants from 32 countries around the globe. Seven keynote presentations on

Collaborative Efforts on the African continent

Faculty of Science

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topics of regional and global importance were made during plenary each morning. Topics covered by the keynote speakers ranged from fishery declines and human nutrition to elimination of harmful subsidies to application of natural capital accounting to blue economy. Other topics covered included coral reef devastation, reorganization and recovery; ocean acidification and gender and ocean.

Due to the extraordinary wide range of research activities that are ongoing in the Western Indian Ocean, and the extensive interest in presenting at this event, the guiding themes of the symposium were wide ranging and included 30 separately themed sessions. The inclusion of 23 Special Sessions on Friday indicated the growing importance placed by stakeholders on this event as a meeting place for people to discuss matters of common interest. A pre-symposium National School Art Competition was jointly organised with the Rajiv Gandhi Science Centre in June 2019. The National School Art competition received over 1,000 entries which was record breaking and indicative of the

very keen interest of the kids of Mauritius in ocean matters. A pre-symposium workshop was also arranged on Sunday 31 June by the Women in Marine Science (WiMS) Network. In addition, eleven organisations or projects chose to exhibit their activities in the foyer of the main auditorium at the Symposium. The ocean governance meeting outputs were geared towards contributing to a regional Ocean Governance Strategy currently being developed for the WIO under the Nairobi Convention.

The strategy focus is on the attainment of the objectives of the agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and in particular goal 14. The ocean governance strategy aims at strengthening existing regional oceans governance mechanisms, and frameworks and where necessary, provide options and alternative arrangements to support Blue Economy and marine biodiversity conservation in the region.

The Mauritius Radio Telescope (MRT) and the DARA projectThe Mauritius Radio Telescope (MRT) was inaugurated in 1992 as a joint venture between India and Mauritius.

The MRT is a partner of the international Square Kilometre Array (SKA) project.

MRT also hosts six research students from Mauritius, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique and Madagascar under the UK DARA (Development in Africa with Radio Astronomy) project, led by Prof Melvin Hoare of Leeds University.

The six students are developing an array of small dishes at the MRT site, working with BIG radio data (transients and SETI), developing a satellite ground station and data processing tools, for a better monitoring of Mauritius’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). This co-located facility will be revenue generating in the longer term, serving as a model for the economic sustainability of radio observatories in African SKA partner countries.

Dean: Professor (Dr) Suress BHAGWANTPhone : +230 403 7525 - Email : [email protected]