IUIU to Serve as OIC’s Centre of Science, Technology and Innovation in Africa – Campus Bee

Posted on March 2, 2022 by Design in Design Innovation | 0 Comments

The Islamic University in Uganda (IUIU) has been named as the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC’s) regional centre of excellence for Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI) on the African continent.

This is contained in a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that the Organization of Islamic Cooperation’s (OIC) Standing Committee on Scientific and Technological Cooperation(COMSTECH) and the Islamic University in Uganda (IUIU) have signed in Pakistan.

According to the information that Campus Bee has seen on the university’s website, on Friday 18th February 2022, at the COMSTECH Headquarters in Islamabad, Pakistan, Professor. Dr. Iqbal Chaudhary, the Coordinator-General of COMSTECH, and his invited guest, Professor Dr. Ismail Simbwa Gyagenda the Rector of IUIU signed an MoU that brings OIC’s vast scientific resources to Africa.

Professor Gyagenda has been added to the membership of COMSTECH’s Steering Committee.

In an MoU, IUIU is to serve as a centre for STI in Africa.

“COMSTECH will link IUIU with OIC Universities and Scientific Institutions, Industries, and Innovators. IUIU scientists and those from the regional African Institutions will receive specialized training in critical STI fields,”

“COMSTECH will mobilize special scientists to conduct physical or virtual specialized workshops, seminars, and webinars at IUIU, targeting African scientists,” says the university.

COMSTECH and IUIU are set to kick-start these trainings in June 2022, with a HALAL Certification and Accreditation Workshop.

Recently, the new OIC Secretary-General, His Excellency Ambassador Hissein Brahim Taha had tasked COMSTECH to prioritize Africa and work with OIC institutions like IUIU in building capacity in Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI). The other OIC university in Africa is Islamic University in Niger for Francophone African countries while IUIU is for Anglophone African countries. The aim is to transform the economies of the African OIC member states.