Insights from Africa-Europe Cooperation in Higher Education Institutions, Sustaining a Wise Use of Geological Resources

Abstract

Currently, Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are expected to play multiple roles, not just for knowledge production and training but also for regional development, innovation systems strengthening, and sustainability. Although these roles are crucial for territories, regions, and economies to be increasingly competitive, HEIs often face a set of constraints that do not allow them to develop all of these dimensions. The present report is part of the Work Package 9 "Sustainability actions" of the project “SUGERE – Sustainable Sustainability and Wise Use of Geological Resources”, an ERASMUS+ project. This WP9, coordinated by the Centre for Social Studies of the University of Coimbra (CES), aims, on one hand, to identify and understand the current situation of the partner universities in the SUGERE network concerning higher education and research barriers, and on the other hand, to identify synergies in solving common problems, particularly within the participant African universities located in Mozambique, Cape Verde, and Angola, in articulation within the partnership. The study developed is inspired by some principles of complexity theory and based on two data collection activities, namely a set of semi-structured interviews with partner representatives and a focus group. The results show that African universities included in this study still face significant internal and external challenges, which hinder their performance as drivers of development. The challenges that stand out the most are the lack of research facilities and equipment, lack of financial and material resources to keep up with the demand of students looking for training and to boost the quality and quantity of research and training, weak relationship with industry and governments, and limited levels of qualification in the faculty members (both in teaching and research). Assuming a key role in socioeconomic development, African governments and enterprises should cooperate more with local HEIs and invest more in value creation based on knowledge.