05.12.202217:00

AMBITION: new joint scheme for PhD mobility between Africa and Europe

E+ grant to train PhD students in Africa and Europe to be ambassadors of a global approach to sustainable transition


Politecnico di Milano has received an Erasmus+ grant within the EU action “Cooperation partnerships in higher education”, aimed at allowing universities to operate jointly at transnational level, exchanging practices and developing new methods.

AMBITION - AMBassadors for sustainable transITION promotes the education of qualified professionals trained at PhD level across Africa and Europe, responding to priorities identified within the AU-EU Innovation Agenda and related frameworks.

Over the next three years, doctoral students of partner universities will take part in a Joint Honours Programme in technical disciplines where they will be exposed to an enabling international and highly innovative environment, in order to become science ambassadors to boost sustainable development. Participants will be equipped with tools to promote a culture of sustainable transition and activate research in this field. AMBITION aims at increasing the capacity of students, universities and countries to leverage on evidence-based knowledge in the sector of sustainable development and green technology and contribute to evidence-based policymaking with the specific tools obtained during the program.

AMBITION consolidates PhD education as a strategic asset for countries by supporting the role of science diplomacy to create an added value for society and policymakers when dealing with global and just transition. AMBITION is therefore an asset for international cooperation to boost the contribution of science in both Africa and Europe.

The project is the first joint initiative developed by the IDEA League Expert Working Group “Partnerships with African Universities and Institutions”, that aims to expand IDEA League’s collaborations with African HEIs by promoting and addressing the global challenges to attain the SDGs.

The partners in the project are: Politecnico di Milano (coordinator), RWTH Aachen University (Germany), Chalmers University of Technology (Sweden), TU Delft (Netherlands), Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (Ghana), Strathmore University (Kenya). Associate partners: ETH Zurich (Switzerland) and Green Growth Africa NGO (Nigeria).

The project will last until mid-2025 and has been funded with 400.000 euros.

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