The project "Capacity Building for Energy Transition and Auditing in Madagascar" (TRANGA) led by the University of South Brittany in partnership with the Higher Institute of Technology of Antananarivo (IS-T) and the University of Reunion Island, is one of the 8 winning projects out of the sixty or so projects submitted during the second edition of the "Partnerships with African Higher Education" (PeA) program. With this ambitious 2,5 million euro project funded by the program, the University of Reunion Island joins the network of more than 50 French and African higher education institutions serving the sustainable development of 18 partner countries of the program.

1st seminar of the “Partnership with African Higher Education” (PeA) program

Funded by the French government via the AFD as part of the "Welcome to France" strategy supported by the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation and their operators ANR and Campus France, the PEA program aims to finance ambitious university partnerships in priority sectors for the development of the 18 eligible African countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Comoros, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Gambia, Guinea, Liberia, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Senegal, Chad and Togo. A major challenge for the African continent where 60% of the population is under 24 and where the number of students must double by 2030 to reach 22 million.

Meeting in Cotonou from December 10 to 12 for the first seminar of the program, held within the French Institute, the 13 laureates, including 4 projects deployed in Benin, take stock of the 3 years of experience of this program, which today allows more than 1000 students (42% of whom are women) to follow a Franco-African training and research offer, marked by the sharing of common values ​​(gender equality, diversity, academic freedom) and characterized by the implementation of transformative and innovative actions in connection with industrial partners.

For three days, African and French project leaders, as well as stakeholders in the academic ecosystem, discussed the key issues of the PeA and shared their experience and best practices on the management of a Franco-African academic partnership project, educational innovation for professionalization in training, the involvement of companies and socio-economic partners, and the academic and financial sustainability of partnerships. The University of Reunion Island spoke in particular on the contribution of the TRANGA project to the achievement of the SDGs and the keys to converging institutional strategies in the construction of a sustainable partnership project.

Tranga, an ambitious Franco-Malagasy project

The field of energy constitutes an essential pillar of the development of Madagascar, which began its energy transition with the integration of renewable energy sources.

The TRANGA project aims to strengthen the university offering in this field, bachelor's and master's level training, by focusing on energy management and savings, primarily in two sectors of activity: industry and housing. It seeks to strengthen the employment-training adequacy, in particular by adapting the training offer to the challenges/needs of employers and by ensuring that new graduates can be more versatile.

In addition, the TRANGA project also covers the field of research, continuing education as well as technology transfer and innovation. One of the project's ambitions is, in fact, the development of a technical platform on the IST-T site: open to companies, it will allow the experimentation and technological innovation that is essential for them. For partner companies, the main added value of the project lies in increasing their capacity to develop and follow, or even initiate, technological developments related to the energy transition as well as the availability, on Malagasy territory, of graduates with the same skills as those from European universities.

Launched at the University of La Réunion in October 2023 in the presence of representatives of the consortium's member institutions, the National Research Agency (ANR) and the Réunion Region, the TRANGA project currently has 93 students enrolled in the comprehensive training offer proposed in the field of energy, which includes 4 diplomas including the master's degree in civil engineering, EBENE (Espaces Bâtis ENvironnement et Energie) course supported by the University of La Réunion and IST-T.

Accelerator of the transitions necessary for the construction of a fairer and more resilient world, TRANGA thus contributes to implementing France's policy in terms of sustainable development and international solidarity.

The PeA's objective by 2027 is to welcome 4 students each year in the 000 courses supported by the program.