Convinced that scientific research is necessary to advance sustainable development, the Institute for Research for Development (IRD), a major French player on mission in Haiti, supports the strengthening of Geosciences at the State University of Haiti (UEH) and worked during his stay (25 February to 4 March 2018) to set up new bilateral scientific partnerships.

The IRD delegation wad composed of Mrs. Sarah Marniesse, Director of the Department of Knowledge Mobilization for Development, as well as MM. Henri-Luc Thibaut, Director of the Department of International Relations, Christian Valentin, representative of the Department of Ecosystems and Biodiversity, and Philippe Charvis, Director of the Department of Geosciences and Bernard de Lepinay, researcher at the CNRS of GéoAzur.

During his stay, the IRD worked on setting up new scientific partnerships with the Haitian Doctoral College and the various higher education institutions in the country in fields such as agronomy, water resources and health. or else urbanism.

Recall that the action of the IRD in Haiti has already allowed the development of cooperation with the UEH in Geoscience (seismology, landslides etc ...). The Geoscience Research Unit (URGéo) of the UEH Faculty of Sciences has been selected to participate in the IRD Young Associate Program (JEAI) program in order to enable it to become a recognized center in its field, closely associated with national and international scientific networks.

On the other hand, this partnership has enabled the establishment of the first university related to Geosciences in Haiti through the creation in 2016 of a Master in Geosciences at the Faculty of Sciences of the UEH led by Haitian teachers trained abroad as well as by French teachers. Currently attended by 14 Haitian students, this Master has also benefited from the support of the Conference of University Presidents of the French Embassy and the Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF). Ultimately, it should be co-authored by the University of the West Indies.

Learn more about IRD :

The Institute for Research for Development (IRD) is a major French public institution whose objective is to foster the development of scientific partnerships with developing countries in order to put science at the service of development to design solutions adapted to contemporary challenges.

HL/ HaitiLibre