University of Parma’s CUCI Spearheads Cooperation with Africa: ACHIEVE-IT Project Reaches Full Operational Phase as First PhD Researchers Arrive

Parma, January 29, 2026 – With the arrival in Parma of 10 out of the 11 expected PhD candidates from partner universities in Rwanda, Ethiopia, Kenya, Congo, Tunisia, and Cape Verde, the operational phase of CUCI (University Center for International Cooperation) within the ACHIEVE-IT project (Academic Collaboration through Higher International Education for a Viable and Equitable Africa with ITaly) is now in full swing. The hosting of these outstanding researchers represents the core of the University's internationalization strategy, aimed at building an equitable and integrated educational and scientific system between Italy and Africa.

Under the auspices of CUCI, the researchers hosted across various University departments are developing projects with high technological and social impact. In the field of environmental management and climate resilience, Temesgen Desta Tirkaso (Hawassa University, Ethiopia) and Cyrus King’ori Mbui (University of Nairobi, Kenya) are currently active. The team will soon be joined by the winning PhD candidate Ataklti Gezae Tewelde (Hawassa University, Ethiopia), who will focus on studying climate change and hydrological scenarios. In the area of energy and sustainability, Jean de Dieu Munyaneza and Fabrice Dukuzumuremyi (University of Rwanda) are also conducting research, with the latter focusing on the Operational Performance Analysis and Evaluation of Improvement Methods for Power Plants in Rwanda.

Infrastructural safety and technological innovation are at the heart of studies by Jean Bosco Nizeyimana (University of Rwanda) and Janerose Kimuma (Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology, Kenya) in the field of risk management, while Eden Leka Lencha (Hawassa University, Ethiopia) is engaged in the study of food systems. The social sciences and education sector is represented by Maysa Jwebli Ep Jlassi (Sousse University, Tunisia), analyzing migration flows; Alexandre Ngoyi Kapenga (UNILO Université Notre Dame de Lomami, Congo), studying academic motivation; and Maria Odete Carvalho Andrade (Lusophone University of Cape Verde, Cape Verde), who is following educational processes.

The arrival of these PhD candidates represents only one of the pillars of ACHIEVE-IT, a project aimed at the progress of a global academic community without borders.

University of Parma’s CUCI Spearheads Cooperation with Africa: ACHIEVE-IT Project Reaches Full Operational Phase as First PhD Researchers Arrive

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