EDULINK in Cape Town talks
Dr. David Rampersad, Director, Business Development Office, The UWI, is preparing for the conference of the International Organisation for Research Management Societies (INORMS) to be held in Cape Town, South Africa, in April.
“My presentation will highlight the EDULINK funded project, Capacity Building for the Financial Sustainability of ACP Higher Education Institutions,” he said, of the UWI-led initiative.
The UWI and other Higher Education Institutions in the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States and the European Union Member States that are signatories to the 9th European Development Fund (EDF) are collaborating on the EDULINK initiative, which funds cooperative projects between its members.
With this EDULINK project, academic and administrative staff of all partner universities will be trained in revenue generation techniques with a focus on philanthropy, grantsmanship, commercialisation of research and business development. The project is also expected to result in the formulation of a professional development programme in resource mobilization and the establishment of a virtual office at which will provide guidance and manage the implementation of this project.
While Small Island Developing States (SIDS) offer considerable potential for research, they have special needs but few have a mature research funding infrastructure, networks of higher education institutions (HEIs) and a cadre of professional staff capable of undertaking revenue generation and research management, said Dr Rampersad.
“The paper will demonstrate how The University of the West Indies, a regional HEI which serves 15 countries and for which research is a strategic priority, is working with its African, Caribbean and Pacific partners with funding provided under the EDULINK programme, to design a programme that will result in the establishment of a more diversified funding base which emphasises third-stream funding coupled with cross-border collaboration,” he said.
The focus will be on training academic and administrative staff in comprehensive revenue-generating skills and in the skills required for all aspects of research management who will serve as trainers for their institutions.
This is the first time that the INORMS conference will be held in Africa, and representation from African universities and institutions should be strong, due to bursaries provided by the Association of Commonwealth Universities and the Wellcome Trust.
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