Press release

New partnership between African Academy of Sciences and the European Research Council to boost scientific collaboration

23 October 2025

A new initiative to encourage collaboration between leading African researchers and European Research Council (ERC) grantees was signed by the European Commission and the African Academy of Sciences (AAS) in Brussels on 23 October. It opens opportunities for researchers supported by the AAS to temporarily join teams led by ERC grantees in Europe.

The agreement encourages beneficiaries of the ‘African Research Initiative for Scientific Excellence – Pilot Programme’ (ARISE-PP) to pursue research collaborations with ERC-funded researchers. The ARISE-PP is founded on the AU-EU High-Level Policy Dialogue on Science, Technology, and Innovation, and the AU-EU Innovation Agenda. ARISE-PP provides a platform and pathway for R&I exchanges contributing to sustainable and inclusive development, economic growth, and job creation.

The new agreement was signed by Director-General Marc Lemaitre of the European Commission’s Directorate General for Research and Innovation and AAS President Professor Lise Korsten, in the presence of Deputy Director-General Myriam Ferran of DG International Partnerships and ERC President Professor Maria Leptin.

With this new agreement, all partners committed to deepen the cooperation in frontier research between the EU and the African Union.

Background

This initiative, officially called an ‘implementing arrangement’, forms part of the ERC’s global outreach strategy that aims to make Europe a hub for scientific talent. It follows a string of such initiatives that have been launched over the years since 2012.

The new agreement is based on the ‘African Research Initiative for Scientific Excellence – Pilot Programme’ (ARISE-PP) worth €25 million, provided by the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument – Global Europe (NDICI – Global Europe). The ARISE-PP is an innovative research and innovation support programme of the AAS, implemented by the AAS in partnership with the African Union (AU) and the European Union (EU).

The ERC, set up by the European Union in 2007, is the premier EU funding organisation for excellent frontier research. It funds creative researchers of any nationality and age, to run projects based in Europe. The ERC is led by an independent governing body, the Scientific Council, chaired by ERC President Maria Leptin. The overall ERC budget from 2021 to 2027 is more than €16 billion, as part of the Horizon Europe programme, which is under the responsibility of Ekaterina Zaharieva, European Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovat