The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) has announced 2 new academic centers in West and East Africa, respectively in the fields of agriculture and logistics. 4.5 million euros have been invested by the DAAD to cover the needs of the centers until 2025.

DAAD has to its credit 12 academic centers of excellence in Africa. The new specialized centres focus on resource management. "We are strengthening the education systems of African partner countries by supporting excellent master's and doctoral programs. The projects contribute to the development of better training opportunities, more jobs and new opportunities to stay put. The two new centres also aim to encourage responsible societal use of scarce resources," said Joybrato Mukherjee, President of DAAD.

Located in Burkina Faso, Benin and Niger, the first centre focuses on the challenges of climate change and the need for sustainable use of the region's scarce resources. It aims to promote academic capacities for the sustainable use of agricultural resources in West Africa (Pro-RUWA). This centre will be run by the Department of Organic Agricultural Sciences at the University of Kassel in Germany, with the aim of contributing to the provision of master's and doctoral levels of training in agricultural sciences.

The second centre will focus on the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines with partners in Kenya and Tanzania. Its objective is to apply innovative management processes to control the production, distribution and processing of food and other health-related resources and goods. It is under the coordination of the logistics department of the Kühne University of Logistics in Hamburg.