By Badylon Kawanda Bakiman
A multidisciplinary team of professors and researchers from the University of Liège (ULiège) in Belgium has arrived in the Democratic Republic of Congo for a working visit to the University of Kikwit (UNIKIK) in Kwilu province. The mission, which includes academics from the University of Kinshasa (UNIKIN) and the National Pedagogical University (UPN), is led by Professor Bienvenu Kambashi, General Secretary for Research at UNIKIK.
The visit marks an important step toward preparing a major research and development project to be submitted to the Academy for Higher Education Research—a Belgian institution that funds collaborative scientific projects.
Professor Kambashi explained that the team’s presence in Kikwit is essential for shaping a proposal that reflects both international standards and the on-the-ground realities in rural Congo.
“We are here to formulate a project. The Academy for Higher Education Research provides funding when a research and development initiative is submitted and accepted. This first phase involves drafting the project, which will be reviewed by an ad hoc committee. The committee assigns a coach to help with the formulation. That is why we have partners from the North here—to support the drafting process and to understand the realities on the ground,” he said.
He added that site visits and interactions with local actors will strengthen the project proposal by highlighting the context in which it will be implemented, the ecosystem surrounding it, and the challenges that researchers and communities face.
A Partnership Focused on Impactful, Farmer-Centered Research
The ULiège delegation, represented by Professor Colinet Gille, expressed appreciation to UNIKIK’s academic authorities for their hospitality and commitment to strengthening international academic partnerships.
Professor Gille emphasized that the collaboration aligns with the Academy’s mission to support emerging universities and to promote applied research that directly benefits communities.
“The Academy of Higher Education Research is happy to support UNIKIK, which is still very young and developing, and which I hope will truly become a center of excellence for Kwilu,” he said.
“It should become a pioneering, innovative university in terms of the relationship researchers can have with farmers. Too often, much knowledge is produced at universities but is not available or accessible to farmers. We want to strengthen this bridge between research and agricultural practice.”
The team’s work in Kikwit is expected to reinforce UNIKIK’s ambitions of becoming a regional hub for scientific innovation, agricultural research, and farmer-focused development.
Strengthening Congo–Belgium Academic Cooperation
The visit is part of broader efforts to deepen collaboration between Congolese and Belgian universities, with a focus on agronomy, food systems, and rural development. If approved, the new project will support knowledge transfer, scientific capacity-building, and innovations that can improve productivity and livelihoods for farming communities in Kwilu and beyond.
The mission will continue with field assessments, stakeholder consultations, and drafting sessions before the project is formally submitted for evaluation.
