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By Prof. Qrisstuberg Amua
At the Ministry of Technical and Higher Education of Sierra Leone, a quiet yet consequential engagement unfolded; one in which ideas were tested against policy, and universities were re-imagined as instruments of national renewal. In the distinguished company of the Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the Ernest Bai Koroma University of Science and Technology (EBKUST), Rev. Prof. Edwin J.J. Momoh, and the University’s immediate past Dean of the Postgraduate School and Deputy Vice-Chancellor-Designate for the EBKUST Magburaka Campus, Prof. Enoch Terlumun Iortyom, I was received by the Hon. Minister of Technical and Higher Education, Dr. Haja Ramatulai Wurie, supported by the Deputy Minister, Hon. Sarjoh Aziz-Kamara, alongside senior Directors of the Ministry who made incisive and constructive contributions to the unfolding conversation.
The engagement moved swiftly beyond protocol into purpose. Framed within the human-capital and systems-strengthening agenda of His Excellency President Julius Maada Bio, discussions converged on the imperative of aligning higher education with labour markets, chambers of commerce, and the productive economy. Research, it was unanimously agreed, must no longer terminate at publication; it must translate into policy intelligence, enterprise creation, and measurable social value. Commercialisation of research was thus affirmed not as a market concession, but as an ethical commitment to relevance. 
Drawing from the graduation lecture I delivered, the table explored the redesign of curricula using AI tools and digital platforms, the repositioning of universities as evidence-generating institutions for governance, and the renewal of academic programmes to respond directly to national development priorities. The Hon. Minister reiterated her Ministry’s readiness to support partnerships that are purposeful, future-facing, and globally competitive; deliberately changing narratives from consumption to creation, and from access alone to impact.
In a complementary intervention, Rev. Prof. Edwin J.J. Momoh shared reflections from the recently concluded Association of African Universities (AAU) Conference, from which emerged a compelling idea for an Association of West African Universities (AWAU) – a sub-regional platform for deeper collaboration, harmonisation, mobility, and shared innovation among universities of the West African corridor. This proposition resonated strongly with the vision on the table: universities as collaborative systems rather than isolated silos.
Equally present in spirit and philosophy was the development ethos of His Excellency Rev. Fr. Dr. Hyacinth Iormem Alia, Executive Governor of Benue State, Nigeria: his philosophy of people-centred governance, patient institution-building, and education as a catalyst for livelihoods and dignity. In this convergence, UAST Ihugh and EBKUST Sierra Leone envisioned a living corridor of collaboration: joint research centres; faculty and student mobility; co-designed programmes in agriculture, science, technology, and entrepreneurship; shared policy labs; and innovation pipelines capable of birthing start-ups and scalable solutions. 
What emerged was not merely the promise of agreements, but a continental proposition: that African universities; aligned with national agendas, strengthened by regional cooperation, and animated by youthful genius, can leapfrog development. The openness and intellectual generosity demonstrated by Dr. Haja Ramatulai Wurie, Hon. Sarjoh Aziz-Kamara, and the Directors of the Ministry signalled a future ready to be built.
In that room, resolve was palpable. Africa’s youth are many; their promise is greater still. Our task is to design institutions worthy of them.
Prof. Qrisstuberg Amua is the Pioneer Vice-Chancellor, UAST Ihugh, Benue State, Nigeria
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