The Events
Objectives and results of symposium #1
The Digital Science and Technology Network - DSTN, which brings together 6 African Centers of Excellence (CEA) in the digital field, has organized its first Symposium on the theme "Digital science and technology for sustainable development in Africa", from December 6 to 10, 2021 at the Gaston Berger University in Saint Louis, Senegal.
This symposium provides a framework for multidisciplinary scientific reflection between the major players in Africa's digital transformation (public and private players, socio-economic players such as NGOs, companies, foundations, etc., and international partners) to collectively address the crucial links between research, innovation, entrepreneurship and technology transfer to meet the continent's major sustainable development challenges in health, agriculture, the environment, education, security and smart cities.
This week of meetings was also a great opportunity to introduce the ACE Partner program and the DSTN network to key partners, and to create links conducive to building future and lasting collaborations.
DSTN Symposium #1
Objectives and results of symposium #1
The Digital Science and Technology Network - DSTN, which brings together 6 African Centers of Excellence (CEA) in the digital field, has organized its first Symposium on the theme "Digital science and technology for sustainable development in Africa", from December 6 to 10, 2021 at the Gaston Berger University in Saint Louis, Senegal.
This symposium provides a framework for multidisciplinary scientific reflection between the major players in Africa's digital transformation (public and private players, socio-economic players such as NGOs, companies, foundations, etc., and international partners) to collectively address the crucial links between research, innovation, entrepreneurship and technology transfer to meet the continent's major sustainable development challenges in health, agriculture, the environment, education, security and smart cities.
This week of meetings was also a great opportunity to introduce the ACE Partner program and the DSTN network to key partners, and to create links conducive to building future and lasting collaborations.
To 10/12/2021
"Digital science and technology for sustainable development in Africa".
Location: Gaston Berger University / CEA Mitic / Saint Louis Senegal
The program includes plenary lectures, scientific presentations, round tables, training workshops, hackathons, and convivial moments to create links and collaborations!
- Saturday, December 4 and Sunday, December 5: Hackathon pre-symposium
- Monday December 6, 2021 : ACE Partner in-house seminar
- Tuesday, December 7, 2021: Science & Industry: the challenges of a secure digital world
- Wednesday, December 8, 2021: Digital Science in Agriculture and the Environment
- Thursday, December 9, 2021: Secure management of sensitive data: Health and Education
- Friday, December 10, 2021: Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Africa
Working group conclusions
One of the aims of our Symposium is to produce a set of recommendations on the role of digital science and technology for sustainable development in Africa, aimed at political decision-makers, companies and academic institutions.
The participants on site worked collectively on this objective during two sessions of the Symposium and around 4 themes, each with two moderators:
- T1: Digital transformation as seen by its players with Grégory Giraud and Cheikh Ahmadou Bamba Gueye SENEGAL
- T2: Cybersecurity with Hélène Kirchner and Vivian Nwaocha NIGERIA
- T3: Data Science with Gaoussou Camara and Ratheil Houndji BENIN
- T4: Infrastructures and regulations for research in digital sciences with Maïssa Mbaye and Joke Badejo NIGERIA
Participants worked in small groups, with one reporter per group.
To facilitate exchanges, the moderators of each theme had prepared questions which were distributed prior to the session.
For each theme, the facilitators identified the following elements from the participants' contributions:
- an overview of the current situation and needs
- proposals for research and development collaborations to be handled jointly by academia and industry
- recommendations and requests to decision-makers and institutions at national, African and international level to change or improve the situation.
A joint manifesto from African centers of excellence in digital science and technology and their partners.
Digital tools and services are transforming African societies and economies. Despite the challenges of connectivity, Internet coverage is expanding and offering a range of new services to meet many needs, creating innovations and opportunities.
Meeting in Saint Louis, Senegal, from December 6 to 10, 2021, members of the African Centers of Excellence (ACE) of the Digital Science and Technology Network (DSTN) and their partners discussed this transformation during their first symposium.
The event brought together key players in Africa's current digital transformation to examine how research, innovation, entrepreneurship and technology/knowledge transfer can help address major development challenges (health, agriculture, digital learning, cyber security...).
The symposium featured a multi-stakeholder dialogue bringing together African Centers of Excellence (ACEs) in digital science and technology and their partners, with industrialists, socio-economic players and international collaborators, to share experiences, practices and innovation in digital science and technology for Africa's sustainable development.
In order to capitalize on the richness and diversity of the exchanges at this event, the participants have put forward a series of recommendations that could help to shape our approach to the challenges of digital transformation in Africa.