Academic exchange in Cote d‘Ivoire (4)
On Nov. 20, 2023, the CAI delegation hosted the 17th China Lecture at Université Félix Houphouët-Boigny (UFHB) in Cote d'Ivoire.
UFHB is a state university located at Abidjan, the economic capital of Cote d'Ivoire. It was previously the Center for Higher Education (Centre d’enseignement supérieur d’Abidjan), and was renamed after the former president of Cote d'Ivoire, Félix Houphouët-Boigny.
Currently, UFHB has two campuses, offering courses in liberal arts, sciences and engineering, and awarding bachelor’s degree, master’s degree and doctoral degree. It has about 70,000 students and a dedicated teaching staff of more than 2250 teachers, consisting of 13 faculties, 125 research institutes, 31 national key laboratories, one economic and biological incubator and one cassava research center. The university focuses on innovation and the combination of industry, universities and research institute, and has won several national patents.
UFHB enjoys a high reputation in Francophone countries in West Africa. In 2015, Cote d'Ivoire’s first Confucius Institution was established at UFHB.
UFHB campus
Professor Ballo Zié, president of UFHB extended a warm welcome to CAI delegation and said that UFHB and Chinese universities and thinks tanks should strengthen cooperation in the future. Professor Wang Xiaoming, vice-president of the CAI made an introduction about the establishment of CAI. She hoped that the 17th China Lecture will help the African friends develop a more complete understanding of Chinese modernization, and China and Africa could strengthen people-to-people exchange and build a high-level China-Africa community with a shared future. Professor Yoboue Veronique, vice president of UFHB presided over the event.
Professor Ballo Zié (left) is making speech
Professor Wang Xiaoming is making speech
Vice president, professor Yoboue Veronique is presiding over the lecture
Professor Wang Yongzhong, research fellow and director of Department of International Commodity, Institute of World Economics and Politics (IWEP), Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) delivered a speech titled “Chinese Experience of Reform and Opening-up, and Economic Modernization and Its Implications for Africa Development”. Huang Juan, associate professor and associate dean of School of Government, University of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences(UCASS) delivered a keynote speech titled "The Modernization of China’s National Governance System and Capacity". Dr. Zhao Yating, assistant research fellow of the CAI delivered a keynote speech titled "Constructing a New Model of South-South Cooperation: Aligning Global Development Initiative(GDI) with Agenda 2063".
Professor Wang Yongzhong is delivering a speech
Professor Huang Juan is delivering a speech
Dr. Zhao Yating is delivering a speech
There are more than 50 people participated the lecture, including three vice presidents of UFHB, 13 deans of the faculties, teachers and students. They spoke highly of the Chinese modernization and expected further cooperation with Chinese universities and think tanks. Dean of the Faculty of Medicine said, UFHB has launched medical plans in support of the African Union's Agenda 2063. They wish to enhance medical cooperation with China, and jointly set up research centers to facilitate data-sharing, medical R & D and genetic study.
Dean of the Faculty of Science and Technology said that the faculty has three national key laboratories, and they wished to strengthen cooperation with Chinese universities and think tanks to build a strong research capability, particularly with its chemistry laboratory. They also spoke of the need to launch exchange student programs with China. The CAI delegation made detailed answers to the questions.
In Q & A session, students at UFHB asked questions about the application of scholarship at Chinese universities as many of them planed to study in China in the future. Professor Wang Xiaoming answered the questions in details.
Deans of the faculties of UFHB
Participants at the lecture
After the lecture, Professor Wang Xiaoming presented a bamboo slip to the president, professor Ballo Zié as a gift from the CAI.
Professor Wang Xiaoming is presenting bamboo slip to professor Ballo Zié
Chinese and African scholars are exchanging ideas
Chinese scholars are answering questions from students
Group photo
Group photo
The delegation also visited the nearby National Institute of Statistics and Applied Economics (ECOLE NATIONALE SUPéRIEURE DE STATISTIQUE ET D’ECONOMIE APPLIQUéE, ENSEA), and had a meeting with Dr. Coulibaly K. Salifou, assistant professor of Economics at ENSEA. The Institute offers double degree of Center for Support of African Statistics Schools (CAOESA) which is in cooperation with the National School for Statistics and Information Analysis, France (ENSAI). It is committed to excellence in teaching and research with teaching staff from universities in Francophone Africa including Nobel Prize winners.
ENSEA campus
CAI delegation is communicating with ENSEA teaching staff
Group photo
