The Pan African University Life and Earth Sciences Institute (PAULESI) held its Research Agenda Workshop on Thursday 26th February, 2026. This workshop, which is the first of its kind since the inception of PAULESI, was organised to provide participants with further, deeper insights into the development of a Research Agenda for PAULESI.

The journey towards a formal Research Agenda began months prior with a directive from the Director's office to all Programme Coordinators, emphasizing the critical need for Research Agenda. In response, the Coordinators’ nominated and engaged external experts from research institutes and industry. They disseminated memos and a Research Agenda Template to these experts, as well as to senior academics and lecturers within their programmes, laying the essential groundwork for the process. The workshop was convened with an expectation that participants would depart with a clearer vision of areas that require strengthening, modification, refinement, or complete re-imagining.

In her opening remarks, the Director of PAULESI, Prof. Mubo Sonibare, warmly welcomed participants and underscored the importance of a Research Agenda for an Institute like PAULESI. She described it as a "roadmap, designed to align institutional resources with pressing societal needs, the pursuit of academic excellence, and the demands of our continent's industries. She explained that such an agenda helps define priorities, ensuring the Institute's research remains focused, coherent, and impactful. Prof. Sonibare stated that the Research Agenda is particularly significant for the Pan African University, which serves as a key academic and research flagship programme, designed to directly support the realization of the Agenda 2063 which is AU’s 50-year development blueprint. She described the workshop not as the beginning, but as a vital step to "further expand our collective horizon, and to refine, strengthen, and harmonize" the initial efforts already undertaken. She also expressed that the ultimate goal of the workshop was to move beyond simply producing a document to fostering new collaborations, harmonizing policy advocacy, strengthening existing partnerships, and generating ground-breaking research ideas that align with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the African Union's Agenda 2063.

The hybrid workshop, which had in attendance distinguished Keynote Speakers, Programme Coordinators, Invited Experts from Research Institutes and Industries, Faculties, and members of staff of PAULESI, had four key presentations delivered by esteemed personalities. These were: Leveraging Partnerships and Funding for Research Excellence delivered by Prof. M. J. O. Oduola, the Director of the University of Ibadan Research Foundation; Navigating the Research Landscape: Effective Strategies for Research Management and Funding Acquisition delivered by Prof. A. S. Jegede, the Director, Research Management Office, University of Ibadan; Continental Research Priorities and the Role of Pan African Collaboration delivered by Dr. Kyari who represented Dr. Eng. A. Hamdy of the African Union Scientific Technical and Research Commission (AU/STRC), Abuja; and Protecting and Commercializing University Intellectual Property delivered by Prof. O. Okare, the Director, Centre for Intellectual Property Protection and Commercialization, University of Ibadan. Their insights were invaluable in shaping the next phases of the PAULESI Research Agenda. Each presentation was followed by an interactive session with questions and contributions from the attendees, fostering a rich dialogue among participants.

In her concluding remarks, Prof. Sonibare thanked the participants and urged them to "get back to the drawing board" to refine their programme-specific research agendas. She emphasized that the insights from the presentations should be used to "dot the I’s and cross the T's" in their drafts. She reiterated that this is the essence of the workshop. The Director then outlined the clear, sequential path forward for the PAULESI Research Agenda. She stated that each academic programme, in collaboration with its resource persons, is expected to produce a draft research agenda by the end of May. These drafts will then undergo internal review and consolidation at the Institute level, after which the consolidated agenda will be submitted to the PAULESI Governance Board for ratification. Following ratification, the agenda will be forwarded to the Pan African University Senate for final approval. Upon approval, a PAULESI Research Agenda brochure will be published, and this document will serve as a guideline for student research and a strategic framework for the Institute's activities. Prof. Sonibare restated that this workshop was the prompt for a sustained effort, adding that follow-up workshops and continuous collaboration are planned to ensure the agenda's successful implementation.