About the Symposium

The Building Bridges Initiative: Africa & EU (BBI-AEU) is an international collaboration platform bringing together researchers, universities, industry leaders, government representatives and policy makers from Africa and Europe.

More than a traditional conference, the symposium is designed to foster meaningful partnerships, encourage knowledge exchange and support the development of future collaborative projects that address global challenges in sustainability, innovation and responsible resource management.

Three Missions – One Shared Goal

The symposium is built around three interconnected missions:

Scientific Mission (SCIMI)
Advancing research collaboration, knowledge exchange and joint project development.

Governance Mission (GOMI)
Strengthening international partnerships through dialogue between universities, governments and policy makers.

Economic Mission (WIMI)
Connecting academia with industry to promote innovation, technology transfer and sustainable economic development.

Together, these missions create a platform where ideas evolve into lasting partnerships and collaborative initiatives.

Project Building & Collaboration

A key feature of the symposium is the dedicated Project Building & Collaboration Phase, where participants work together to identify common interests, explore funding opportunities and develop future collaborative project ideas.

The objective is to create strong international partnerships that continue well beyond the symposium.

Participants

Participants will include representatives of Montanuniversität Leoben, the University of the Witwatersrand, AfriSMAT, EURECA-PRO, and other African and European universities and research institutions.

The delegation will be complemented by representatives from ministries, industry, and nongovernmental organisations.

Expected Outcomes

The symposium aims to strengthen long-term Africa–Europe partnerships by fostering new research collaborations, institutional networks and industry engagement. Participants will explore funding opportunities, develop collaborative project ideas and help shape future Africa–Europe cooperation.