University of Port Harcourt Team at the RUFORUM 2nd Triennial Conference. Photo credit: TAGDev 2.0 UniPort
The University of Port Harcourt is gearing up to participate in the upcoming Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM), scheduled to take place in Botswana from December 1–5, 2025.
With the Theme “Positioning Africa’s Universities and the Higher Education Sector to effectively impact development processes on the continent“, the AGM will bring together over 500 participants including university leaders, policymakers, development partners, private sector actors, young innovators, students and researchers from across Africa and around the world.
The AGM will be hosted in partnership with the Government of Botswana, and Botswana University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (BUAN).
As Africa grapples with pressing development challenges, particularly in agriculture, science, innovation, and youth employment, African universities are being called upon to play a pivotal role in addressing these issues. The AGM will provide a platform for universities to share knowledge, expertise, and best practices in agricultural development.
Key Sub-Themes of the 2025 RUFORUM AGM
Sub theme 1: Strategic partnerships for growth: Building bridges for the future
This theme focuses on optimizing collaboration to strengthen university missions and development agendas, foster knowledge exchange, and mobilize resources. It will explore both South-South (such as, Africa-Africa, Africa-China) and North-South (such as, Africa-EU, Africa-North America) partnerships through multilateral and bilateral meetings.
Sub theme 2: Science for development: Generating contemporary and relevant solutions at scale
The focus here is on enhancing scientific and innovation capacity within African universities. Activities will include a scientific conference forming strategic research partnerships, and promoting the commercialization of scientific outputs. Events such as hackathons, investor pitch sessions, and showcases of science-driven start-ups will be organized to connect innovation with market opportunities.
Sub-theme 3: Capacity sharing to train the next generation of leaders in agri-food systems transformation
In alignment with the African Union’s Agenda 2063, this sub-theme emphasizes collaborative capacity-building across institutions. Topics will include digital learning platforms, regional centres of excellence, academic mobility, and joint research initiatives. A Vice Chancellors’ Forum will discuss ways to enhance knowledge sharing and resource distribution within and across countries.
Sub theme 4: RUFORUM Governance Meetings
As part of its annual statutory requirements, RUFORUM will hold key governance sessions, including the Annual General Assembly and Principals and Deans Committee meetings, to assess progress and shape future programming.
Prior to the AGM, Prof. Patrick Okori (Executive Secretary of RUFORUM), remarked that “Our universities are central to Africa’s development. By focusing on collaboration, science, and skills, this AGM will help shape the future of higher education in Africa to be more responsive, inclusive, and impactful. We are honoured to work with the Government of Botswana in advancing this vision.”
The University of Port Harcourt’s participation in the AGM reaffirms its commitment to advancing agricultural education, research, and innovation in Nigeria. By engaging with other universities and stakeholders from across the region, the University of Port Harcourt’s aims to strengthen its capacity to address the complex challenges facing the agricultural sector in Nigeria by leveraging on its TAGDev 2.0 Programme (a collaborative between the Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM), Mastercard Foundation and the University of Port Harcourt).
By Chinyelu Irene Nwokolo
Communication Officer, TAGDev 2.0 University of Port Harcourt,
Email: chinyelu.nwokolo@uniport.edu.ng
