Policy Corner
Here you can find the latest policy papers published by the AfricaConnect3 project.
Assessing Africa’s readiness for the data science revolution to impact health (2026)
Data Science can revolutionize biomedical sciences, but it relies on computing infrastructure, data science skills, and well-curated contextually relevant data, which are limited in low- and middle-income countries, such as across the African continent. Many big data biomedical projects that have emerged over the last decade have been instrumental in development of datasets, computing infrastructure and skills; yet large disparities remain. Download here
The Role of RRENs and NRENs in the African Union AI Strategy (2024)
The African Union Artificial Intelligence Strategy (2024) aims to catalyse inclusive AI-enabled growth and safeguard sovereignty, individual and organisational rights. NRENs and RRENs in Africa have the potential to transform fragmented AI initiatives, especially those anchored around the R&E sectors, into coherent, layered architectures that support responsible, inclusive, and sustainable AI development and use across the continent. Download here (English)
African Union ECHO Magazine (2024)
The African Union ECHO Magazine 2024 features an article on the role of African Research and Education Networks in leaping barriers to education in the continent. Reflecting on 2024's theme "The Year of Education", the article takes the opportunity to recognise that RENs are and will continue to be fundamental in ensuring equality in access to inclusive educational opportunities for all Africans.
Making the World a Better Place to Live: African Research and Education Networks’ Contributions to the UN SDGs (2023)
In September 2015, 193 countries came together at the United Nations General Assembly and agreed on a blueprint to create a better and more sustainable world. They adopted the Sustainable Development Goals, as ‘an urgent call for action by all countries - developed and developing - in a global partnership’, designed to be realised by 2030.
eduroam in Africa (2023)
eduroam is the secure, world-wide roaming access service developed for the international research and education community to address the increasing need for fast and secure Internet connection everywhere. With over 6.4 billion international authentications to date stretching across 106 countries, eduroam is expanding in Africa where NRENs are going beyond the traditional campus connectivity.
Digital Education Strategy (2023)
In the past year, the AfricaConnect3 project partners – the UbuntuNet Alliance, WACREN, ASREN, and GÉANT have contributed to the Continental Education Strategy for Africa through meetings and by reviewing documents. The strategy establishes a framework for the digitalisation and acceleration of adoption of digital technologies for Education in Africa, including the development, strengthening, and sustainability of 54 NRENs.
AfricaConnect3: Connecting Africa to Unlimited possibilities (2021)
Despite availability of infrastructures having significantly progressed over the recent years, tertiary education and research institutions in Africa are still among the least connected in the academic world, a situation that is particularly critical for landlocked countries. In this context, the AfricaConnect3 project strives to establish secure, adequate, and affordable network infrastructures and offers dedicated services to African NRENs.
Connect all African Higher Education Institutions to High-speed Internet
Connecting African HEIs for improved learning, research collaboration, and access to global scientific resources has been on national and global development agendas for many years but has never achieved top priority policy consideration. The higher education sector in Africa falls far behind the rest of the world in connecting to global research and education networks. The available bandwidth is generally expensive and limited in capacity and therefore cannot meet modern institutions’ research and education requirements. Download here
The Role and Status of NRENs in Africa (2016)
The aim of this 2016 World Bank report is to provide guidance to governments, institutions, and development partners on how to approach the provision of advanced ICT services to the higher education and research community in Africa. The premise of the report that the organisation of ICT services and connectivity is best provided by an NREN is based on international best practice and the current plans of the stakeholders in the region.
Weaving Success: Voices of Change in African Higher Education (2011)
Weaving Success recounts the impact of the Partnership for Higher Education in Africa and provides a detailed look at key issues in African higher education and highlights the transformative processes that are shaping the future of African colleges and universities. The Partnership for Higher Education in Africa was an unprecedented collaboration between seven major U.S. foundations to support African higher education institutions in building capacity and training the next generation of scholars, public servants and entrepreneurs. The ten-year, $440 million initiative was directly and indirectly responsible for improving conditions for over four million students at 379 African colleges and universities in Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda.