The 16th RUFORUM Annual General Meeting was virtually hosted by the Government of Morocco and Moroccan RUFORUM Member Universities: Mohammed VI Polytechnic University and Institute Agronomique Et Veterinaire Hassan II from 16-20 November, 2020. The 2020 AGM, the first to be held in North Africa provided an opportunity for mobilizing wider participation from North African Universities in several opportunities of the network.

Pre-AGM events, mainly RUFORUM Governance meetings provided in-depth technical and administrative guidance for the smooth operation of RUFORUM Secretariat and for collaborative undertaking by the Member Universities and other partners. The AGM business meeting was convened on 20th November 2020 virtually and hosted by Mohammed VI Polytechnic University in Marrakesh, Morocco.

The overall objective of the 16th RUFORUM AGM was to convene actors and practitioners in Higher Education, Science, Technology and Innovation to deliberate on the needed transformations for inclusive growth and development for a better Africa. The AGM examined key issues with regards to university-private sector engagement under the theme: “Higher Education- Private Sector Partnership: Harnessing Opportunities for Agricultural Transformation in Africa.” The 2020 AGM coincided with the Morocco Higher Education Day held on 19th November, 2020 that provided Member Universities with opportunity to learn about Morocco especially its agricultural and higher education sectors.

The key highlights of the AGM were: expansion of RUFORUM membership from 126 universities to 129 universities in 38 African countries; approval of the financial year 2020/2021 work plan for the Secretariat; approval of the financial year 2019/2020 financial report and budget for the 2020/2021 financial year; the External Auditor issued unqualified audit report for the 2019/2020 Financial period; appointment of PKF as the External Auditor for financial year 2020/2021; commitment to expand the RUFORUM Graduate Teaching Assistantship Programme; commitment to strengthen online teaching and learning and sharing of resources amongst the Member Universities and with knowledge centers; and, re-confirmation of the decision to host 2021 AGM and Triennial Conference in Benin.

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