“This partnership between Korea and the World Bank towards the Africa region will establish a new milestone of tripartite cooperation, helping Africa build human capital and capacity in science and technology, while also contributing to the innovative growth of African countries by setting the foundation for Africa’s industrialization,” said Ko Hyoung-kwon, First Vice Minister of Strategy and Finance, Republic of Korea.
- Scholarship and research support to students and university faculty working on relevant transformative technologies across Sub-Saharan Africa;
- Funding of “sandwich” PhD training programs (programs incorporating international and home-based study) for scholars from African universities; and
- Collaborative research between faculty in Sub-Saharan Africa universities and Korean universities in priority areas such as information and communication technology, solar energy, energy storage, and engineering with a focus on the innovative growth sectors.
Ministers of Finance from four countries that have taken the lead in seeding the RSIF – Rwanda, Ethiopia, Kenya and Cote d’Ivoire – attended the MoU signing ceremony.
About PASET
The Partnership for skills in Applied Sciences, Engineering and Technology (PASET) was launched in 2013 in recognition of the critical need to strengthen science, and technology capability for the socio-economic development of Sub-Saharan Africa. The Partnership functions as a convening platform by bringing together African governments and the private sector as well as new partner countries who have been investing heavily in Africa. To learn more, visit www.worldbank.org/paset.
About RSIF
The Regional Scholarship and Innovation Fund (RSIF) was established in 2015 by African governments to help create a highly skilled, technical-scientific labor force to meet the national development agenda and accelerate Sub-Saharan Africa’s socio-economic transformation. The RSIF aims to create a strong pipeline of researchers in applied sciences, engineering and technology fields who can engage with development challenges and foster greater collaboration between African universities and local and foreign industries. The scholarship program has been designed considering best practices of international programs with technical assistance financed by the World Bank. The five countries that have taken the lead – Cote d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda and Senegal – and several other sub-Saharan African countries have expressed strong interest in contributing to the initiative. The initiative, as part of PASET, is facilitated by the World Bank.
Contacts
Media coverage in the Korean press:
http://news.kbs.co.kr/news/view.do?ncd=3653842&ref=A
http://news.newsway.co.kr/view.php?tp=1&ud=2018052320370798826&md=20180523203720_AO
http://www.yonhapnews.co.kr/bulletin/2018/05/23/0200000000AKR20180523167300002.HTML?input=1195m
http://www.newsis.com/view/?id=NISX20180523_0000316503&cID=10401&pID=10400
http://www.edaily.co.kr/news/news_detail.asp?newsId=04457526619211872&mediaCodeNo=257&OutLnkChk=Y