Côte d'Ivoire/ Bondoukou and Cocody Universities join forces to strengthen training and research in urban planning and architecture

The University of Bondoukou (North-East), through its Ecole nationale supérieure d'architecture et d'urbanisme (ENSAU), and the University of Cocody, through the Centre de recherches architecturales et urbaines (CRAU), signed a partnership agreement in Abidjan on Tuesday, February 11, 2025, to strengthen student training, research and innovation in the epistemic fields of urban planning, architecture and art.

The 12-article, renewable five-year agreement will enable the sharing of knowledge and expertise, support for students, young researchers and teacher-researchers in their research work, and the setting up of specialized training courses and joint research projects to meet the contemporary challenges of urbanization and sustainable construction.and joint research projects designed to meet the contemporary challenges of urbanization and sustainable construction, explained CRAU Director Pr Porna Idriss Traoré.

The President of the University of Bondoukou, Pr Ouattara Djakallia, for his part, indicated that to ensure the pedagogical and scientific management of training at ENSAU, it was necessary to have high-quality human resources. With this in mind, his institution turned to CRAU, renowned for its expertise and skills in architecture and urban planning.

He went on to say that this approach had led them to approach the President of the University of Cocody in order to benefit from expertise and qualified human resources to support training and research at ENSAU.

Mr. Ouattara expressed his institution's vision of emergency architecture and urban planning. Aware of the periods of instability with which African countries are often confronted, he stressed the importance of developing appropriate solutions to prevent disaster-stricken populations from falling prey to the effects of natural disasters.to prevent disaster-stricken populations from being displaced to primary and secondary schools, thus disrupting the functioning of these establishments.

He affirmed that ENSAU's ambition is to become a school capable of responding effectively to such emergencies by designing habitats and urbanization adapted to accommodate the victims of natural disasters.

"To develop this specific expertise, we need to be accompanied by architects with great experience, and at CRAU we can find some. We're going to draw up an action plan to develop this aspect of our thinking with the expertise of CRAU", he said.

For the President of the Université de Cocody, Zié Ballo, this specific agreement is very important insofar as it will enable the implementation of training and research activities in the two universities.s of training and research in the fields of architecture, urban planning and art, vital sectors for the development of Côte d'Ivoire. The partnership agreement will provide a framework for the sharing of experience and exchanges that will have a significant impact on the performance of both academic institutions.

"Thanks to the implementation of the agreement that brings us together today, we can proudly say that we have contributed to the development of our country by providing quality training that enhances the skills of our learners and their employability", he said.

The signing ceremony took place on Tuesday, thanks to a framework cooperation agreement already in place between the two universities since January 2024, demonstrating the vision of the two presidents for partnership training as a lever for the sustainable development of both universities.

CRAU is an institute created by decree in April 1973. Attached to the Université Félix Houphouët Boigny, its vocation is research and publication in the disciplines of physical space planning, in particular urban planning, the environment, architecture and construction. It coordinates all research in these fields in Côte d'Ivoire.

Source: www.aip.ci/