A French-speaking catalyst for technological innovation

Making French-speaking culture a vehicle for technological innovation in the context of international scientific competition by bringing together universities in developed and developing countries: such is the ambition of RESCIF, which will link – starting January 2011 – 14 French-speaking universities from developed and developing countries. This approach is unique in its philosophy, scope and linguistic aspects. The aim of the project is to promote collaborative scientific programmes, especially in the areas of water, nutrition and energy management. These domains are crucial, in particular for some countries in the southern hemisphere, subjected to extremely difficult climatic conditions and food safety issues. RESCIF is one of three official initiatives supported by the Swiss government on the occasion of the 13th Conference of Heads of State of French-speaking countries in Montreux.

The best French-speaking technology universities
Started by EPFL, with its 40-year-long experience of North–South scientific partnerships, RESCIF brings together five other French-speaking technology universities from developed countries: Paristech (France), the Catholic University of Louvain (Belgium), the Polytechnic University of Montréal (Canada), the Ecole Normale Supérieure of Lyon (France) and the Grenoble Polytechnic Institute (France) – and eight French-speaking universities in emerging countries, among the most renowned of the international scientific community, have given their agreement in principle to be finalized by the beginning of 2011: the Ecole Mohammadia d’ingénieurs de Rabat (Marocco), the Ecole Nationale Supérieure Polytechnique de Yaoundé (Cameroon), the Ecole supérieure polytechnique de Dakar (Senegal), the Institut international d’ingéniérie en Eau et Environnement 2IE d’Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso), l’Université St-Joseph de Beyrouth (Lebanon) et l’Institut polytechnique d’Ho-Chi-Minh-Ville (Vietnam). RESCIF is also planning to support the rebuilding in Haiti of the State University and the Quisqueya University, which were destroyed during this year’s earthquake. These two universities join the network with a perspective of long-term cooperation.

The first projects bearing the mark of RESCIF will begin during 2011. Three objectives have been defined:
- student exchanges around common trainings
- establishing of research teams and collaborative laboratories in the developing countries, and
- development of partnerships with companies

RESCIF will work in partnership with the Agence universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF) – the University Agency for French-speaking countries – and to develop a guide to best practices for technological partnerships, intended for all the developing universities of the French-speaking world.

Water, food, and energy: concrete issues
The scientific programs will examine areas such as the management of water, food and energy. These areas are important for the Northern countries, but even more crucial for Southern countries, which see their economic growth and food safety threatened by climate changes. Those are priority topics, debated at the Montreux Sommet de la Francophonie.

A vehicle for scientific and technological innovation
Common programs will aim in particular to respond quickly to practical concerns. Along these lines, and as an example, cooperation already exists between Swiss universities and those from Burkina-Faso in the area of hydrology. The scientific data is useful for the authorities, who can focus their strategy, and also enables the local populations to adapt their farming practices. Other research projects aim to develop solar technologies for water treatment, or to better manage the links between city planning and pollution. RESCIF sees itself as a catalyst in such projects, by formalizing large-scale technological partnerships, and relying on the French language as a common culture.

Curbing the brain drain
For the developing countries, penalized by a significant brain drain, it will also be a question of curbing the phenomenon by increasing the attractiveness of their research institutes. With the creation of RESCIF it is, for the second wave of developing countries, about seizing the opportunity of the scientific and technological co-development on offer, and creating a lasting partnership between “developed” and “developing” universities.

Turning the French language into a cultural and technological asset
Although the scientific world is durably affected by the dominance of English, French-speaking universities have an opportunity to position themselves on the international scientific and technological stage if they strengthen their cooperation. Present on all the continents, with 200 million mother-tongue speakers (96 million in Africa) of whom 60 percent are under thirty years of age, French is also one of the languages the most taught in the world. RESCIF represents a unique opportunity to take advantage of this common property, and to turn it into an asset in the areas of scientific research, technological development and international cooperation, including of course with the English-speaking world.