More than 10,000 PhD holders, researchers, and scientists from across Africa have gathered at Speke Resort Munyonyo for the 20th Technical and Advisory Meeting of the Africa Centers of Excellence (ACE)—one of the continent’s most important annual forums on science, research, and innovation.
The week-long meeting brings together leading scholars, innovators, engineers, medical scientists, university heads, and policymakers to discuss how Africa can strengthen its knowledge economy and use research to solve pressing development challenges.
The discussions are anchored in the ACE II programme, launched in 2016 by the Inter-University Council for East Africa (IUCEA), African governments, and the World Bank. The initiative was created to boost postgraduate training, applied research, and regional collaboration in specialised fields.
According to programme documents shared at the event, ACE II prioritises advanced training and innovation in key sectors critical to Africa’s growth—Agriculture, Industry, Health, Education, and Applied Statistics.
Since its launch, ACE II has established 29 specialised regional centres hosted at 18 universities in eight African countries. These centres have enrolled more than 9,500 postgraduate students, including thousands of women, helping build a new generation of highly skilled professionals driving scientific breakthroughs and socio-economic transformation.
Organisers say the long-term goal is to develop sustainable regional hubs capable of producing world-class research and solutions to Africa’s most urgent development needs.
