The second Africa-UniNet call was open from 1 August to 30 September 2021. Within the deadline 29 project proposals were submitted to the Africa-UniNet office. Out of the 29 submissions, 18 projects are coordinated by African institutions whereas 11 projects are coordinated by Austrian institutions.
All current Africa-UniNet member institutions were eligible to take part in the 2nd call. 23 out of 34 African member institutions and 14 out of 21 Austrian member institutions are involved in the project proposals. In total, Africa-UniNet currently consists of 55 members. The African institutions come from 12 different African countries from all regions, with a majority from East Africa. The proposed projects cover a wide range of scientific disciplines from education sciences, biology, chemistry, renewable energy, medicine, law and to anthropology and gender studies.
Africa-UniNet promotes excellent research based on mutual knowledge exchange. It creates a space for international cooperation between researchers and with other actors by financing cooperative research projects. While the thematic scope of the projects is not restricted, they set out to contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). At the same time they enhance the scientific foundation of the involved institutions and reinforce the formation of the network itself by promoting new partnerships between Austrian and African universities and research institutions and by strengthening existing ties. Overall, they form the basis of a strong and profound Austrian-African Research Network – the Africa-UniNet.