African and European universities have joined forces to tackle major global challenges. The collaboration between the Guild of European Research-Intensive Universities (The Guild) and the African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA) has given rise to the Africa-Europe Clusters of Research Excellence (CoRE): a new model of university partnership that will pave the way for a new era of collaboration between Africa and Europe in the fields of research, innovation and higher education.

One of the newly approved clusters by the joint assembly of The Guild and ARUA will be focused on sustainable food systems. This cluster will be coordinated by the University of Pretoria together with the University of Bologna.

The Africa-Europe Clusters of Research Excellence are based on multilateralism and research excellence. Each partnership brings together at least three African universities and two European universities to work on a thematic area of common interest, addressing the major scientific challenges through research and higher education that leverage the skills and excellence of the participating universities.

These collaborations have a long-term perspective, spanning at least a decade, ensuring a balance between the resources and priorities of African and European universities, while focusing on the scientific education of the next generation of researchers.

“The announcement of a Cluster of Research Excellence in Sustainable Food Systems is a key opportunity for the ARUA Centre of Excellence in Sustainable Food Systems (ARUA-SFS) to join forces with strategic partners and work together on achieving development targets, in particular the elimination of hunger and malnutrition in our lifetime,” said Professor Frans Swanepoel, Interim Director of the ARUA-SFS hosted at the University of Pretoria.

“The University is excited about the possibilities that the Cluster of Research Excellence brings for truly transformative research. The diversity of partners from across the two continents collectively escalates our potential for impact,” said Professor Tawana Kupe, Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of Pretoria.

“Ensuring sustainable and safe food production is a globally prioritised issue that can only be addressed through interdisciplinary and international approaches. In this regard, the new Cluster of Research Excellence represents a game changer in bringing together the strengths of African and European academic institutions and leveraging their expertise and capacities,” said Professor Alberto Credi, Vice-Rector for Research at the University of Bologna.

“The University of Bologna is taking a further step towards a new approach to academic and scientific cooperation between Africa and Europe, based on sustainability, quality, equity, capacity building and scalability.”

The Cluster "Sustainable Food Systems" is proposed by a team of researchers coordinated by Prof Swanepoel along with Luca Fontanesi, Professor at the Department of Agri-Food Sciences and Technologies of the University of Bologna and Rector’s Delegate for Competitive Research Projects.

The collaboration includes 16 other partner universities, eight of which are European (Bologna [Italy], Warwick, Leeds [United Kingdom], Ghent [Belgium], Göttingen, Hohenheim [Germany], Ljubljana [Slovenia], Montpellier [France]) and eight are African (Pretoria, Western Cape, Johannesburg, Mpumalanga, Kwazulu-Natal [from South Africa], Nairobi [Kenya], Ghana, Makerere [Uganda], along with two non-academic partners (the Agricultural Research Council, South Africa and the Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network [FANRPAN]).

The cluster will address challenges that food production systems might face along the transition towards more sustainable food systems. Building on the solid foundations of established partnerships and programmes, extensive collaborative research and capacity building initiatives are envisaged, with a particular focus on early-career researchers involved in joint projects. The goal is to contribute substantially to the innovation of African and European food systems.

The University of Pretoria was also awarded a Cluster of Research Excellence in Health, Gender and Sexualities led by Pierre Brouar, Acting Director of the Centre for Sexualities, AIDS and Gender.