GLOBAL: French-speaking universities collaborate

The French language has become a common driver for technological innovation among French-speaking technology universities. Developed world universities have teamed up with Francophone universities, mostly in Africa, in a network for excellence in engineering sciences that officially starts operating this month.

The Network for Excellence in Engineering Sciences de la Francophonie, also known as RESCIF, has linked 14 French-speaking universities from across the world. The initiative was launched at the 13th conference of heads of state of French-speaking countries in Switzerland last October.

"The 14 institutions will be combining their efforts to resolve issues in fields such as water, nutrition, energy and urban planning from April," said Professor Jean-Claude Bolay (pictured), director of cooperation at Switzerland's Ecole Polytechnique Federale Lausanne, or EPFL.

The institute, which boasts of 40 years experience of North-South scientific partnerships, is in charge of the programme.

"We will put this initiative into effect through two-way student exchanges North-to-South and South-to-North, establishing laboratories in emerging universities, and involving companies that are interested in investing with us in such technological developments," Bolay told University World News.

He added that the joint efforts would include partnerships with the Global University Leaders Forum (GULF) and Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie, the French-speaking university agency.

Bolay said that after a meeting of all RESCIF presidents and rectors this month, the first summer school on water issues was being planned for August 2011.

A first progress report will be delivered in October at an Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie ministers' conference in Paris, and a second report will be presented at a Francophonie summit in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, in October 2012.

RESCIF will initially consist of 14 universities, five of them based in Europe (Switzerland, Belgium and France), one in Canada, and eight in French-speaking countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia.

The European institutions are Switzerland's EPFL, France's Paristech, Ecole Normale Supérieure of Lyon and the Grenoble Polytechnic Institute, and the Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium. Canada's Polytechnic University of Montréal is also involved.

The African universities include: Ecole Mohammadia d'ingénieurs de Rabat in Morocco; Ecole nationale supérieure polytechnique de Yaoundé in Cameroon; Ecole supérieure polytechnique de Dakar in Senegal; and the Institut international d'ingénierie en eau et environnement de Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso. Also involved are universities in Lebanon and Vietnam.

Bolay said all the universities have taken part in preparatory working visits, which were completed last month, aimed at articulating the fields of interest of every RESCIF member.

"In terms of cooperation we want to avoid a situation where we impose programmes. We have to come together share development priorities, listen to what developing universities want and come up with a common programme," Lionel Pousaz, EPFL's communication advisor, told University World News.

"This is a small network with focus. We want it to give answers for future problems while we take advantage of belonging to the same culture, and speaking the same language," he added.

The RESCIF initiative requires a willingness on the part of top European universities to share laboratory facilities and expertise with universities in emerging countries, said Jean-Claude Bolay. He added that a close public-private partnership and willingness to link with the English-speaking world, especially with university initiatives in Africa supported by the Global University Leaders Forum, would come in handy.