Universities must lead in reclaiming scientific sovereignty

Africa’s limited control over its own research priorities, publishing platforms, and funding streams has left the continent vulnerable to external influence and intellectual exploitation.

To address this imbalance, African universities must step into a leadership role – setting their own research agendas, challenging harmful narratives imposed from outside, and affirming the value of indigenous knowledge systems.

This is one of the key insights from the 16th Quadrennial General Conference of the Association of African Universities (AAU) that was held from 21-25 July in Rabat, Morocco. The event brought together vice-chancellors, university presidents, researchers, policymakers, and other development partners from across the continent.

There was broad consensus at the conference that African institutions’ scientific relationships beyond the continent should not be centred on funding, and that cooperative construction, validation, and the impact of African knowledge systems should be emphasised.

Research charter

Despite colonial legacies, there has always been value in cross-cultural scientific collaboration, but it must be equitable, jointly developed, and centred on Africa’s priorities, regardless of who funds the research.

A key focus of the discussion was the Africa Charter for Transformative Research Collaborations, introduced during the 2023 Conference of Rectors, Vice-Chancellors and Presidents of African Universities, or COREVIP, in Windhoek, Namibia.

The charter seeks to strengthen Africa’s role in global scientific knowledge production by promoting equitable research partnerships between Africa and the Global North. It calls for a fundamental rebalancing of the international research ecosystem and encourages transformative collaborations that recognise and support Africa’s priorities, perspectives, and contributions.

The charter was co-developed by leading African higher education institutions and networks, including the University of South Africa Chief Albert Luthuli Research Chair, the University of Cape Town’s (UCT’s) Institute for Humanities in Africa (HUMA), the AAU, the African Research Universities Alliance, or ARUA, the African Academy of Sciences, the International Network for Higher Education in Africa, and the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa, or CODESRIA.

Beyond funding

Presenters at the Morocco conference emphasised that scientific sovereignty goes beyond questions of funding – it is also about ethics, dignity and survival. They highlighted the importance of African leadership in shaping the ethical direction and long-term vision of research on the continent.

As rising global powers, including China, India and Russia, engage with Africa, the charter must guide how the continent should form partnerships, not as underdogs, but as equal co-creators, with African institutions that assert their voices in shaping the engagement terms, the conference heard. Likewise, ongoing dialogue with African Union bodies such as the Commission for Education, Science, Technology and Innovation, is crucial so that the charter is institutionalised within continental frameworks and national policies.

Professor Kenneth Matengu, newly elected president of the AAU governing board and also vice-chancellor of the University of Namibia, highlighted colonial legacies in knowledge production while noting that the flow, validation, and financing of knowledge creation remain shaped by colonial ties. African knowledge systems are often marginalised or invalidated by dominant global structures, Matengu added.

He said Africa’s limited control over what is researched and published makes the continent vulnerable to exploitation. He cited as an example that more than 300 pesticides banned in the Global North are still promoted and used in Africa, which raises serious health and ethical concerns. Because Africa often lacks the ability to question, validate and fund its own knowledge systems, it risks becoming a passive recipient of externally imposed ‘truths’.

Professor Shose Kessi from the University of Cape Town, a co-facilitator of the charter, spoke on the progress made since the launch of the blueprint in 2023. Kessi, who was representing UCT Vice-Chancellor Professor Mosa Moshabela at the conference, noted that a steering committee to assist in the engagement of stakeholders was established, as well as a coordinating committee of key institutions.

These committees include representatives of the UCT, the University of South Africa, and the University of Bristol.

Delegates agreed on several steps to be taken by vice-chancellors and institutions on the implementation of the charter.

These included:

• Policy Alignment, including reviewing and revising internal research policies to reflect charter principles;

• Funding and funder engagement to ensure that collaboration aligns with the charter;

• Monitoring and evaluation, including the development of metrics to track the progress and impact of charter-aligned collaborations; and

• Creating platforms for universities to share experiences, challenges, and innovations.

At the close of the conference, delegates committed to a number of resolutions that included professionalising research systems, strengthening pan-African collaborations through shared infrastructures, mobility schemes, and joint research.

The conference also resolved to work towards the ethical integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and digital learning.

Delegates noted that, while 87% of African students are already using generative AI tools, gaps remain in faculty preparedness and infrastructure. To fill these gaps, the conference resolved to develop ethical AI policies, expand digital micro-credentials, and equip both students and educators with skills for AI critical thinking and creativity.

Delegates also resolved to institutionalise and expand Africa Higher Education Centres of Excellence (ACE) as fully integrated, nationally funded innovation hubs, according to a statement issued after the conference:

The ACE initiative, celebrating 10 years of impact, was also cited as a reference point, having achieved 87% PhD and 83% masters graduate employment rates (out of its more than 100,000 postgraduates), over 10,000 research outputs, and increased university-industry partnerships. The ACE programme was unanimously endorsed as a ‘regional model’ – one that should be consolidated and scaled across countries to mentor emerging institutions.

The conference also noted that persons with disabilities (1% of enrolment at African universities) and displaced youth (3%) are significantly under-represented and called for their urgent inclusion in higher education.

As a result, a resolution was passed to advance inclusive education to achieve 15% enrolment of women, refugees and persons with disabilities by 2030.

The AAU, in partnership with the African Union, UNESCO, the Mastercard Foundation, and other development partners, committed to establishing a continental task force to monitor the implementation of the resolutions reached at the conference.

Actions to achieve this include a pan-African Open Science and AI Summit in 2026, enhancing resource mobilisation for education innovation across Africa. These actions reflect a growing determination by African higher education leaders to reclaim control over knowledge production and shape a research agenda grounded in African realities.