Ibadan, Nigeria: Following his assumption of duties at the end of January 2022, the Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology and Innovation (ESTI), H.E. Prof. Mohammed Belhocine, is touring the various institutes of the Pan African University (PAU), one of the flagship programmes of the African Union Commission, as part of the priorities set for the Department.

 The first leg of the mission started at the Pan African University Institute of Life and Earth Sciences, including Health and Agriculture (PAULESI), the West African hub of the Pan African University, located in Ibadan, Nigeria. Several activities marked the Commissioner's visit to PAULESI. These included meetings and a guided tour.

On 4 April, the Commissioner held a meeting with the management of PAULESI during which the Director of the Institute, Prof. Esther T. Akinlabi, gave him an overview of the overall management of the Institute. In her presentation, she addressed issues related to teaching and learning, enrolment and graduation, entrepreneurship, the innovation incubation centre, collaborative efforts, and quality assurance. 

 Regarding the admission of new students, 110 students with a ratio of 49% female students have been admitted to PAULESI for the academic year 2021-2022. She revealed that 76 were already present and an orientation programme had been put in place for them from 31 March to 1 April 2022. She added that since its inception, PAULESI has trained 605 students and has 420 graduates.

On collaborative efforts, she said she was working with the Pan African Veterinary Vaccine Centre (PANVAC) in Ethiopia and some institutions such as the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in Nigeria.

 This brief meeting was followed by the meeting with the new students. During this open session, after the usual introductions, two first year students, one male and one female, acting as student representatives, were given the floor. They expressed their gratitude to the PAU and the AU for the opportunity granted to them, especially as the selection procedure aims to choose the best African students. They felt proud to have been selected and to be part of such an elite institute.

 One representative emphasized African integration exemplified by PAULESI as a melting pot of African cultures. He said that he felt comfortable with people from various African countries, feeling like he had already travelled to these countries, by simply meeting and living with fellow students from these countries. This cultural mix and diversity is one of the main advantages of this institute, which promotes the pan-African dimension articulated in the AU's Agenda 2063.

After the open session with students, the Commissioner and the President of the PAUCouncil, Professor Kenneth Matengu, held another meeting with programme coordinators. Acknowledging the great relevance of PAU and its philosophy, they raised some issues relating to the absorption of students into the administration of their home countries, and expressed the wish that the AU Commission would focus on this issue. They also discussed ways of combating brain drain.

With regard to the peculiarities of the Pan-African University, which was another issue raised, the Chairperson of the PAU Council enlightened programme coordinators on the paradigm shift that is being implemented in all PAU institutes, where entrepreneurship is given major importance in order to train job creators and not just job seekers.

In addition to the meetings, the Commissioner visited the facilities of the new PAULESI building which was inaugurated on 4 March 2022 during a reception ceremony in which the ESTI Department was represented. He also visited the old building and expressed great satisfaction, while wishing PAULESI all the best.

The meeting at PAULESI provided an opportunity to measure the significant progress made since the launch of the Institute. Several challenges were also discussed and solutions were proposed to overcome them.

The following day, the Commissioner met with the management of the University of Ibadan, which hosts PAULESI. The Commissioner expressed the Commission's appreciation for the support given by the University of Ibadan for the construction of the new PAULESI administrative building. The discussion then turned to how to strengthen cooperation between the University of Ibadan and PAULESI and both parties agreed to continue the dialogue and deepen collaboration for mutual satisfaction.

For further information please contact:

1. Mrs. Esther Azaa Tankou | Head of Information Division | Information and Communication Directorate, African Union Commission | Mobile: +251911361185 | E-mail: yamboue@africa-union.org
2. Ms. Claudette Chancelle BILAMPASSI MOUTSATSI| ESTI Department, African Union Commission | Tel: +251 115 517 700 | E-mail:BilampassiC@africa-union.org
3. Mr. Gamal Eldin Ahmed A. Karrar | Senior Communication Officer | Information and Communications Directorate | E-mail:GamalK@africa-union.org

Information and Communication Directorate, African Union Commission I E-mail:DIC@africa-union.org
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