RESEARCH AND INNOVATION - Expert’s interview of the month: Laurent Bochereau

What does the future hold for AU-EU Research and Innovation? How can Africa’s scientific potential be unleashed? Laurent Bochereau, the newly appointed EU Science Counsellor to the African Union, provides his insights on Research and Innovation cooperation between Africa and Europe in an exclusive interview.

date: 03/11/2023

1. What are your main duties and responsibilities as Science Counsellor to the African Union?

My role as Science Counsellor to the African Union is to strengthen the importance of science cooperation - from higher education, and research to innovation - as a cornerstone of our broader partnership between the European Union and the African Union. It relates to what one calls science diplomacy at the interface between the scientific and diplomatic worlds.

It requires the analysis of strategies and programmes developed by the African Union, the promotion and monitoring of EU Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) programmes in a team European spirit and the identification of opportunities for actions of common interests and mutual benefits. It involves the strengthening of linkages between policymakers, researchers and innovators as well as universities and research institutes from Europe and Africa.

The long-term goal is to help the African Union attain its pan-African vision towards an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa, driven by its own citizens, representing a dynamic force in the international arena (Agenda 2063 - https://au.int/en/agenda2063/). I work closely with the African Union Commission to assess the results of the STI Strategy for Africa (STISA) 2024 and prepare the set of next 10-year objectives and actions in line with Africa’s challenges and needs and AU-EU partnership opportunities.

2. Looking ahead, what do you believe are the key opportunities and challenges for Research and Innovation cooperation between Africa and Europe, and how can you, as Science Counsellor play a role in advancing this partnership?

Today, Africa is not only a neighbour but a vital partner in addressing global challenges. This was demonstrated by President Ursula Von der Leyen’s first visit abroad to Addis Ababa and recent participation in the Africa Climate Summit in Nairobi.

Global challenges require global solutions that may differ locally but must always rely on robust scientific evidence. Both continents boast distinctive strengths and perspectives. When combined, these can drive substantial progress across various sectors, spanning from sustainable agriculture, climate adaptation and healthcare. The development of STI for SDGs roadmaps by individual African countries with the support of the Joint Research Center is an important building block in that direction.

This is why Global Gateway, our ambitious initiative aimed at fostering collaboration and connectivity between Europe and Africa, dedicates significant funding to promote research innovation cooperation complementing the Horizon Europe and Erasmus+ programmes. This also involves investing in human capital by providing training for essential skills and lifelong learning.

As science counsellor, my role is to support the development of these STI programmes and initiatives, to facilitate synergies between them in a Team Europe spirit and to monitor their implementation to ensure maximum visibility and impact.

3. How can science cooperation between AU-EU higher education institutions and research centres be strengthened?

Political leaders on both sides recognize the importance of STI cooperation for addressing the SDGs. Due to previous and current EU, EU Member States and African STI programmes, there is already a solid basis for science cooperation and exchange between Europe and Africa.

The Erasmus+ and Horizon Europe are targeting additional financial resources to increase STI cooperation and exchanges between European and African actors, both through bottom-up and top-down funding opportunities. In addition, Global Gateway is supporting a number of structuring programmes such as the Global Monitoring for Environment and Security and Africa, the Africa-Europe Digital Innovation Bridge and the Regional Centers of Excellence.

The STI High-Level Policy Dialogue established in 2010 between the African Union and the European Union has created a trustworthy long-term partnership between policymakers and contributed to the development and facilitation of joint research and innovation activities between higher education institutions, research centers and innovation hubs from both sides. Euraxess Africa (https://euraxess.ec.europa.eu/worldwide/africa) is one of programmes funded by the EU to raise awareness about these opportunities among the research and innovation communities.

4. Africa's scientific potential is increasingly recognised globally. Could you share your perspective on how this potential can be leveraged to address common challenges, such as climate change and health pandemics, through collaborative R&I activities between Africa and Europe?

According to the Brookings Africa Forecast 2022 (Foresight Africa 2022 | Brookings), Africa contributes just 2 percent of world research output, accounts for only 1.3 percent of research spending, and produces 0.1 percent of all patents. African resources, however, represent a huge potential with the youth representing 60% of the current total population at 1.3 billion expected to rise to 2.5 billion people by 2050, 60 percent of the world’s arable lands and 30 percent of the world’s reserve of minerals.Climate change and health pandemics are examples of global societal challenges that both have a strong S&T component and affect disproportionally the African continent. This is why Europe needs to continue engaging through ambitious and sustainable STI partnerships built on equal footing. We have several existing initiatives and programmes that attest to how Europe and Africa are working together to address common challenges.For instance, the EDCTP partnership (https://www.edctp.org/) is a brilliant example of how European and African countries have been able to pull financial resources to tackle infectious diseases. Europe is also a big supporter of the African Vaccines Manufacturing Initiative by investing both financially and through capacity building in order to achieve health security, capacity and skills development and stimulate economic growth.

5. Innovation may be one of the key drivers for sustainable and socially inclusive growth in Africa in the coming years. How do you see the new AU-EU Innovation Agenda adopted in July 2023 contributing to this process, particularly to help bring the outcomes of research towards marketable products and services and contribute to the creation of companies/jobs by and for Africa’s young population?

Innovation is certainly one of the key drivers for sustainable and socially inclusive growth in Africa. This will happen through accelerating the uptake of research outcomes and advanced technologies into marketable products and services and establishing more innovation-friendly frameworks and regulations.In that context, the AU-EU Innovation Agenda adopted on 19 July 2023 provides a new platform to exchange best practices, mobilise innovation communities on both sides and strengthen innovation cooperation between the two continents. The AU-EU Innovation Agenda will build on the many on-going innovation-relevant cooperation programmes and initiatives including those focusing on the youth, start-up companies and other agents of change. We will need to continually reassess and update this innovation agenda with the active participation of all interested stakeholders in order to enable the delivery of tangible results matching the ambitions and targets set out by the political leaders.

Laurent Bochereau gained a Laureate from the Ecole Polytechnique and ENGREF in Paris, a Master's degree from the University of California and a PhD from the University of Paris VI. After spending several years working as a research project leader at INRAE, he served two years in the French Ministry for Research. He joined the European Commission in 1995, where he worked as Assistant to the Director for Life Sciences and then Head of Unit with responsibilities for agriculture and food safety research. Subsequently, he took up research cooperation positions on behalf of the European Commission in the USA and China and held other middle management positions within the Directorate General for Research and Innovation. For the past three years, Laurent was head of the "Science and Technology and Other EU Policies" section at the Delegation of the European Union in Moscow. Now he is turning his expertise to supporting R&I cooperation between Africa and Europe.