Project description
Empowering Africa’s digital future
Africa’s socio-economic development faces significant challenges, including the need for enhanced research infrastructure, professional competencies and innovation. The African Union’s (AU) Science, Technology, and Innovation Strategy for Africa, or STISA-2024, highlights ICT as a critical priority, underscoring the potential of digital technologies to drive growth and address pressing issues. In this context, the EU-funded DIGITAfrica project aims to establish a pan-African research infrastructure in digital sciences. By leveraging expertise from five African nations and EU partners, DIGITAfrica fosters collaboration and strategic dialogue to enhance education and innovation. This initiative is poised to transform AU-EU partnerships, catalysing a digital revolution that promotes inclusivity and propels Africa toward a sustainable, green digital future.
Objective
The African Union's Science, Technology, and Innovation Strategy for Africa (STISA-2024) positions science, technology, and innovation as fundamental drivers of Africa’s socio-economic development and growth. It emphasizes the need to strengthen three main pillars: 1) Building/upgrading Research Infrastructures (RI), 2) Enhancing professional and technical competencies, and 3) Promoting entrepreneurship and innovation. It also highlights the importance of fostering collaboration among African countries and establishing partnerships with international stakeholders.
ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) is identified as a critical priority sector. Areas such as computer science, telecommunications, cloud computing, big data, artificial intelligence, machine learning, security, and IoT offer potential for creating new knowledge, research capacities, and industries that address African and global challenges.
DIGITAfrica aims to lay the foundations of a pan-African comprehensive RI in Digital Sciences, which will have a transformative impact on AU-EU shared R&I, as well as innovative education and training. DIGITAfrica will prepare the transformation of this partnership into a sustained research initiative in common strategic fields.
Drawing from the expertise of partners across five AU countries, each with a strong background and representing diverse African contexts, alongside EU partners who coordinate the first two ESFRI DIGIT RIs dedicated to Digital Sciences, DIGITAfrica aims to exchange experiences, consult stakeholders, and foster dialogue to collaboratively develop a strategic approach.
DIGITAfrica will serve as a catalyst for realizing the vision of a pan-African Digital RI and should become a cornerstone of Euro-African cooperation in R&I. The impact of DIGITAfrica will contribute to digitally transforming the African continent for prosperity and inclusivity, and to move with Europe towards a shared twin green and digital transition agenda.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences computer and information sciences internet internet of things
- social sciences economics and business business and management entrepreneurship
- natural sciences computer and information sciences data science big data
- natural sciences chemical sciences catalysis
- natural sciences computer and information sciences artificial intelligence machine learning
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.3 - Research infrastructures
MAIN PROGRAMME
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HORIZON.1.3.1 - Consolidating and Developing the Landscape of European Research Infrastructures
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HORIZON.1.3.4 - Reinforcing European Research Infrastructure policy and International Cooperation
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-CSA - HORIZON Coordination and Support Actions
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-INFRA-2024-DEV-01
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
75006 Paris
France
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.