The project consortium consists of two South African universities (Rhodes University, and University of Cape Town), and two Senegalese universities (Ecole Polytechnique de Thies and Université Cheikh Anta Diop) with three partners in the EU: TÜ Delft (Netherlands), AgroParisTech (France) and Institut National de Recherche Pour L’Agricuture, L’alimentation et L’Environnement (INRAE, France).
The project’s overall objective is to enhance the capability of future professionals (current students) and of current environmental specialists and engineers (through professional development courses) for facilitating climate resilience in Africa. As a first step, the project focuses on promoting NbS in Higher Education Institution (HEI) curricula. NbS is high on the agenda of the EU (Green Deal), Africa (Agenda 2063 for Africa's Development: The Africa We Want) and national (climate) policy documents in Senegal and South Africa. Considering the need to build capacity for these solutions in Africa, the project goes beyond university curricula in HEIs and responds to the need of building capacity of actors who are an intricate part of the design, development and implementation of resilient infrastructure. We will work with civil engineers (the designers) and environmental scientists (the gatekeepers) of infrastructure development.
