41 out of 68 Africa-UniNet member institutions are involved in the project proposals, which will now undergo a formality and eligibility check and then will be assessed by international reviewers. The final funding decision will take place in May 2023. The third Africa-UniNet call was open from 1 September to 30 November 2022. Within the deadline 30 project proposals were submitted to the Africa-UniNet office. Out of the 30 submissions, 16 projects are coordinated by African institutions whereas 14 projects are coordinated by Austrian institutions.
Africa-UniNet currently comprises 68 member institutions. 26 out of 42 African member institutions and 15 out of 26 Austrian member institutions are involved in the project proposals. The partnerships include institutions from 12 different African countries: Burkina Faso, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Morocco, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, and Uganda. The proposed projects target all 17 SDGs and cover a wide range of science sectors including Political Science, Machine Learning, Psychology, Mathematics, Water Quality, Sustainable Agriculture, Animal Breeding, Fisheries, Art Education and many others.
Africa-UniNet promotes excellent research based on mutual knowledge exchange. It creates a space for international cooperation between researchers and with other actors by financing cooperative research projects. While the thematic scope of the projects is not restricted, they set out to contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). At the same time they enhance the scientific foundation of the involved institutions and reinforce the formation of the network itself by promoting new partnerships between Austrian and African universities and research institutions and by strengthening existing ties. Overall, they form the basis of a strong and profound Austrian-African Research Network – the Africa-UniNet.
