Symposium Goal:

The goal is to facilitate the process of evidence-based policy making in favour of policies that create an enabling environment for the education sector, and for HE particularly to increase its relevance by meeting the needs of society in addressing the S&T skills and knowledge agendas.  The symposium will address the role, needs and opportunities of African businesses, and the changes required in [tertiary] education institutions if they are to develop effective synergies with the science and technology sector.

Purpose:

The symposium provides a forum to examine the centrality of S&T to economic development through:

• Articulation of the need for HE reform and engagement between academia and enterprise; 
• Careful assessment of the relationship with the AU and NEPAD agenda and S&T,  HE, and S&T processes
• Examining the impact of science and technology on social and economic transformation,
• Continued debate on the disarticulation between supply and demand of scientific skills and knowledge by bringing together, under a single roof, senior Ugandan and regional speakers from academia, industry, government,  and civil society. 

For the host country, Uganda, the symposium is well timed: 

• Coming shortly ahead of CHOGM, the symposium provides an excellent platform for Uganda to showcase its engagement and achievements in S&T to the region and to Commonwealth Heads of State. 
• Close alignment between the objectives of Uganda’s MSI project and those of the symposium presents an opportunity for synergy and close cooperation with local and international stakeholders. 
• Timed to immediately precede Uganda’s National Science Week (NSW), a significant component of the MSI project, the symposium and NSW organisers have agreed to collaborate to use the symposium as a mechanism for promoting NSW activities. 
• Coming shortly after this years’ G8 meeting in Heiligendamm at which the world will be looking to leaders to fulfil their promises made at the 2005 summit in Gleneagles, the symposium is well timed to allow delegates to reflect on the outcomes of that summit. 

Specific objectives:

• To provide a launch platform for Uganda’s National Science Week and promote the objectives of Uganda’s Millennium Science Initiative project
• To raise the profile of science and technology in Uganda. 
• To identify and discuss areas where Universities and other tertiary institutions can enhance the role of Science and Technology for social transformation & development;
• To share and exchange experiences of success stories / models and devise strategies for replication 
• To suggest innovative approaches of linking scientific research with technological advancement to support industry, commerce and improve service delivery;
• To facilitate partnerships and stimulate evidence-based project proposals to respond to the increasing availability of competitive research grants for S&T.

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