Burkina/ Seminar on open and responsible innovation: The AcceSS project strengthens student capacities

The "Accélérer les dynamiques d'innovation dans l'agriculture par le renforcement des services support à l'innovation (AcceSS)" project organized a seminar on open and responsible innovation in the agricultural sector from November 20 to 22, 2024. The event, supported mainly by the Centre d'études, de documentation et de recherche économiques et sociales (CEDRES) of the Université Thomas Sankara (UTS), the Centre national de la recherche scientifique et technologique (CNRST) and the Centre de coopération internationale en recherche agronomique pour le développement (CIRAD), brought together over thirty master's and doctoral students from the UTS, AGRINOVIA, Université Joseph KI-Zerbo, Institut polytechnique privé Shalom, Université St-Thomas d'Aquin, practitioners and researchers from Burkina Faso and elsewhere. The seminar was held in the conference room of Thomas Sankara University, in the rural commune of Saaba.

"The diversity and richness of the seminar's thematic axes augur well for the plurality of perspectives in which the issue of open and responsible innovations will be discussed. Furthermore, the wide-ranging profile of the seminar's participants will ensure the production of fruitful and useful knowledge from an in-depth investigation of innovation models for the benefit of the agricultural sector", said the representative of the UTS President, Pr. Dominique Kabré.

The aim of this instructive seminar is to share knowledge, research results and experiences in open and responsible innovation in the agricultural sector. Pr. Dominique Kabré expressed his satisfaction at the presence of Master's students among the participants. He emphasized that this type of activity is highly formative, as it enables them to exchange ideas with theorists and practitioners in the field, with a view to deriving maximum benefit from it.

Nadège Gué, a master's student in agronomy at Daniel Ouezzin Coulibaly University and a participant in the event, testifies to its relevance: "I'm getting a lot out of this initiative. Because there are many concepts related to sustainable innovations that I can acquire. This will enable me to reinforce my theme, which is innovations in agro-ecology".

Recalling the importance of the role of universities in agricultural innovation, Dr. Adama Kaboré, institutional coordinator of the AcceSS project and DGAV of CNRST, emphasized the importance of universities as effective channels for developing skills and capacities, and disseminating research results. Thus, the involvement of universities in initial and continuing training geared towards agricultural innovation can build a bridge between agri-food businesses, producers and innovation players on the one hand, and research and development on the other.

Open innovation is innovation carried out by several individuals or legal entities. It is responsible, because it must take into account all concerns, in particular social and economic concerns, but above all environmental concerns.

For information, the AcceSS project is being implemented by a consortium of several players, including CIRAD, CNRST, La Fabrique, CEDRES, Experts Synergy Consulting, Afric'Innov, Icra and the FAO innovation office. It is funded by the European Union as part of the DeSIRA initiative.

Source: lefaso.net/