The aim of this project is for Senegal, Guinea and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to implement national research policies and for universities to set standards for assessing research quality

The Doctoral School of the URV and AQU Catalunya are taking part in an international project to improve the quality of research in three African countries: Senegal, Guinea and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. They bring their experience to the assessment agencies so that they can devise research policies and to universities so that they can apply methods and processes of quality assessment.

The project “Capacitation pour l’évaluation et l’assurance qualité des formations doctorales et de la recherche (QADoc)”, funded by the European Union’s Erasmus+ programme, brings together quality agencies and European and African universities that train the organisations in three African countries to set up their own research agendas and address the social and economic challenges of their regions. They hope to be able to rise to this challenge by being trained by European agencies and universities on issues of doctoral courses and institutional quality.

To this end, next year the URV has invited representatives of African universities and quality agencies to come to learn about the experience the Doctoral School has had in the assessment of doctoral and academic research, internal processes and communication.

In this way, the universities will be able to set standards and criteria for assessing the quality of research and the respective doctoral schools, train the staff who work there and understand how the method used to assess quality can depend on the context. At the same time, the quality agencies and the ministries of Senegal, Guinea and the Democratic Republic of the Congo will be able to develop national policies for research and the professionalization of the agencies.

The initial meeting of the project was held in Dakar (Senegal) between 22 and 24 April, and was attended by all the institutions involved: the international association of universities Obreal, which leads the project in conjunction with Senegal’s National Agency of Quality Assurance and the Cheikh Anta Diop University of Dakar, the Agency of University Quality of Catalonia, the University of Beira Interior and A3ES (Portugal) and the University of Montpellier (France). Until November 2026 they will work together to achieve the goals set.