Lubango – The deputy director-general of the Foundation for Technological Development (FUNDECT), Rosa Maurício, on Monday in Lubango City, Huíla Province, said that it is necessary to build a network that involves higher education, productive sector, investigation and the community to boost local development.
She was speaking on behalf of the Angolan minister of Higher Education, Technology and Innovation, Paula de Oliveira at the opening of the Scientific Conference of the Mandume ya Ndemufayo University (UMN), which takes place under the motto “Integration, Local Development and Sustainability”, as part of the institution's 15th anniversary celebrations, marked on the 19th of the current year.
The official said that for this to happen it is necessary that knowledge and innovation are used to respond to the real needs of the population, taking into account that local development involves transforming communities based on their own reality and needs.
Rosa Maurício informed that integration is not just about the creation of connection with different institutions or sectors, but to create synergies that enhance local development, in addition to economic growth to guarantee a sustainable and equitable environment for all.
“When addressing these issues, it is important not to disconnect the challenges we face in our local context from the guidelines that shape the future of higher education and scientific and technological research in our country, especially in light of the National Development Plan (PND) 2023-2027 ”, she asserted.
During three days, participants will discuss with different local development actors the integration paradigms of UMN, as a Public Higher Education Institution, its contribution to the sustainability of the social, cultural, economic, historical, innovation and productivity ecosystems that make up the provinces of Huíla and Cunene.
Financial inclusion and microcredit, the importance of quality management for the competitiveness of companies, case study, Economic potential of the provinces of Huíla and Cunene, Spatial and temporal distribution of the drought regime in southern Africa, Environmental crimes: the Threat sustainability are other topics under discussion.
UMN is an Angolan public institution, multi-campus, based in the city of Lubango, born from the 2008 reform, descending from the Agostinho Neto University and its activities are limited to the provinces of Huíla, with five organic units, and Cunene with one, where 10,000 students studied.
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