Academics4Impact - Revealing knowledge and talent through academic cooperation
Organised alongside the first strategic dialogue, this event was also the first academic meeting organised by the three members of the thematic Joint Strategic Framework (JSF) Higher Education and Science for Sustainable Development (HES4SD) to showcase collaborative research, education and international mobility initiatives, and to demonstrate the contribution of the academic world to the Sustainable Development Goals. Through reflection, debate, personal accounts and the sharing of experiences, Academics4Impact sought to give a voice to partners from the Andean region – the majority of whom were women – in order to get as close as possible to the realities they face, both academically as well as personally.
The first part of the event was dedicated to the alumni of the ARES, VLIRUOS and ITM cooperation programmes. What was for them the added value of participating in these scholarship programmes? What recommendations could they share? Three alumnae spoke about their experiences.
Veronica Taco Taco, a chemistry graduate from the Central University of Ecuador (UCE), spoke about her doctorate at the University of Mons in Belgium. Susan Paredes shared her experience as an alumna of the international training programme in Epidemiology at the University of Antwerp and as a doctoral student in a VLIRUOS TEAMS project. Finally, Dionicia B. Gamboa Vilela talked about her mobility as part of her PhD in Biomedical Sciences at the University of Maastricht (Netherlands), in collaboration with ITM.
Through their personal stories, these three alumnae highlighted the richness of their experience in terms of networks and their academic careers, but also the difficulties linked to parenthood, isolation in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the difficulty of maintaining research activities upon returning to environments where the resources and time devoted to research are scarce.
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A networking evening organised at the Belgian Embassy showcased the alumni network of the Belgian academic cooperation: APEBELGA. During the evening, an activity involved identifying the connections between participants on a large board, resulting in a fine illustration of the academic cooperation network. The Belgian Embassy plays a major role in supporting this academic network, placing great importance on convening scholarship holders before they leave for Belgium and when they return, or on mobilising them for scientific or diplomatic events.
The second day addressed the opportunities and challenges shared by the academic world in three areas.
Sustainable development
The Sustainable Development Goals are at the heart of the concerns and actions of higher education institutions, who are increasingly involving civil society and the private and public sectors to optimise results. Three testimonies provided an insight into the opportunities and common challenges of academic cooperation on sustainable development and the added value of Andean partnerships on rural development. During this session, the impact of research on policies and target populations was discussed, as well as the importance of multidisciplinary approaches and the tension between knowledge generation and having a real impact at community level.
Panelists
Marcela Losantos Velasco – Doctor in Psychology at VUB and UCB, Marcela is a professor of the undergraduate and postgraduate programmes of family therapy at UCB and coordinates the Research Institute in the Behavioral Sciences at the same university.
Stéphane Leyens is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Namur. His main fields of interest are development ethics and social justice issues.
Eric Capoen is an agronomist engineer from University of Liège AgroBioTech with 20 years of experience in Central and South America, working on sustainable rural development, including research projects. He is currently coordinator of Eclosio’s Lima office for Peru-Bolivia. He is also the lead of the geographic JSF Peru, which brings together 10 Belgian NGOs present in Peru.
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- Watch the recording of this session here
Institutional partnerships
This session looked at the changing nature of long-term institutional partnerships, capacity-sharing approaches, equity, and the mutual benefits derived from cooperation interventions. The testimonies highlighted the stability of collaborations with academic cooperation actors, the importance of the institutional environment and the role of networks. Achieving sustainable results requires a relationship of trust.
Panelists
Paul Herrera (ESPOL, Ecuador) is an international expert in educational management, with a fervent commitment to research and teaching in agricultural and natural resource economics, and marketing analysis.
Fabian Leon Tamariz holds a PhD from KU Leuven and is an expert in pharmacological applications with medicinal plants. He is the former IUC coordinator at UCuenca, currently Dean at UCuenca, and also team member in the Network biodiscovery and natural sciences.
Dr Silvestre Nicasio Quispe Suni (UNSAAC) is Doctor in Health Sciences and Professor of the Faculty of Nursing of the National University of San Antonio Aba del Cusco. He is the current Academic Coordinator of the Institutional Support Programme ARES UNSAAC and Director of Academic Management of UNSAAC.
Prof Dr Faustino Torrico is Professor of Parasitic Diseases and Infectious Diseases at the Faculty of Medicine of the Universidad Mayor de San Simon (UMSS), in Cochabamba, Bolivia. His main research areas focus on prevalent infectious diseases (Chagas, tuberculosis, leishmaniasis and HIV). Furthermore, he has coordinated cooperation programmes between UMSS and ITM, as well as with French-speaking Belgian
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Global health
Finally, if there is one common global issue on which academic expertise must have an influence, it is health. During this working session, three partners who have been involved in the VLIRUOS, ITM and ARES cooperation programmes discussed the challenges of supporting scientific research and strengthening collaboration on a global scale. More than ever, the systemic nature of future crises and challenges requires an interdisciplinary and intersectional approach.
Panelists
Coralith García Apac is a specialist in Tropical Medicine and Infectious Diseases from the Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia (UPCH). She obtained her PhD in Biomedical Sciences from the Université Libre de Bruxelles, and is currently a professor at UPCH and an attending physician at the Hospital Nacional Cayetano Heredia.
Viviana Pinedo is promotor of the TEAM project CeroMalaria and Laura 2.0 with Universidad de la Amazonia Peruana (UNAP), complemented by experience of PhD student Susan Paredes (CeroMalaria-project UA-UNAP, Peru).
Patricia Rodriguez studied biology at the Universidad Mayor de San Simón (UMSS). Thanks to a grant from a training programme between the UMSS’s Faculty of Biochemistry and the Belgian Cooperation Agency, she was able to complete her master’s degree. Her ongoing participation in projects on the same subject and with the same group of collaborators enabled her to do a traineeship at the ULB Parasitology Laboratory. This was an important step in continuing her research career and completing a PhD in the same laboratory.
- Download the one-pager with the main recommendations from this session
- Watch the recording of this session here
Academics4Impact ended with a reception for the representatives of local and Belgian NGOs and associations present in the area. They were given the floor to present their activities and identify the potential for collaboration with the academic world.
Through personal testimonies and the sharing of experiences, this first academic event reviewed the main objectives of the joint strategy implemented by VLIRUOS, ITM and ARES, which focuses on individual and institutional capacity-sharing, the co-creation of knowledge and the convergence of actions between all actors in society. This complementarity of expertise and the trust it generates between actors are essential factors in promoting networking at national, regional and international level.
Last but not least, this event demonstrated the academic roots of ARES, VLIRUOS and ITM in the Andean region and the excellent dynamic that exists between these three Belgian institutions and their respective partners. This academic community provides the public and partners with useful information on cooperation projects on this brand new website!
