In 2022, Carnegie Mellon University Africa (CMU-Africa) in Rwanda launched the African Engineering and Technology Network (Afretec), a group for technology-focused African universities to collaborate on research, technology development, and policy change.
Recently, Afretec has secured its ninth university partner: Universidade Agostinho Neto in Angola. Alongside CMU-Africa, the other seven members of Afretec are Al Akhawayn University in Morocco, the American University in Cairo, Université Cheikh Anta Diop in Senegal, University of Lagos in Nigeria, University of Nairobi in Kenya, University of Rwanda, and University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa.
The partnering institutions focus on three goals: producing critical, locally relevant innovations and globally competitive technology talent; developing a digital knowledge creation ecosystem; and fostering a startup technology culture and ecosystem across Africa.
“We are proud to welcome Agostinho Neto University into the Afretec Network,” said Conrad Tucker, director of CMU-Africa and associate dean for international affairs in Africa. “As a network, we are focused on pan-African digital growth, which means that it is crucial that we collaborate across different languages and cultures on the continent.”
