University of Limoges Signs Masters Degree MOU With The University of The Gambia. 

According to a release obtained by The Gambia Echo, two academics, France’s University of Limoges president, Professor Jacques Fontanille and the Vice Chancellor of the University of The Gambia, Professor Andreas Steigen jointly signed a Memorandum of Understanding officially agreeing to work together towards the establishment of a joint-Master of Arts degree beginning September 2009. The signing ceremony was on Wednesday, 25^th June 2008 in Professor Fontanille’s faculty offices in Limoges, France.

The release quotes the French academic as saying “This agreement is long overdue,” bringing to maturation what our correspondent calls Professor Jacques Fontanille’s long time commitment to promote the advancement of scholarship among French and Gambian students.

According to the release, dispatched to this paper, the two institutions started a bilateral cooperation in 1999 when Dr. Jean Dominique Penel, erstwhile French Technical Assistant responsible for education at the French Cooperation in Banjul, contacted Professor Jean-Marie Grassin, then Head of Comparative Literature at the University of Limoges, to create an extension Master of Arts programme in The Gambia so as to boost human resources in tertiary institutions such as the University and The Gambia College. The intention was to equip the University of The Gambia’s French Department  with the requisite human capacity to run the programme, particularly considering the impressive performance of Gambian graduates from Limoges. This programme has always been under the direct supervision of the French Cooperation in The Gambia and once effective, the agreement guarantees the following:

A joint Masters degree directly conducted and supervised by the Universities of The Gambia and Limoges. It would be conducted adopting the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS), decided at the Bologna Convention. This system would assure harmony in the transfer of credits, the conduct of courses and more importantly, gives international value to the degree awarded as well as set the standard for the courses to be provided.

A properly coordinated exchange programme where some students and lecturers in each institution would travel to the partner institution. This will ensure a closer collaboration and provide the necessary training particularly for the Gambian students.

Gambian students would graduate with a dual diploma from the two institutions thus giving them the wider opportunity to apply for Ph.D. in any university with little or no difficulty.

The package is a part of a framework agreement that defines other areas of cooperation as well as the possibility to conduct Masters professional degrees in areas of interest to be defined by the two institutions.

According to Limoges’ Professor Fontanille, they “have had a long standing collaboration with The Gambia and have, with time, provided training for several Gambians some of whom are serving in high positions and in different capacities. We have now moved a step further by signing an international agreement that will solidify, expand and strengthen the already existing collaboration. We hope to provide more assistance particularly in the area of professional degrees. I also believe it is due now to seal this collaboration with an official visit to The Gambia which is scheduled for the next convocation in January, 2009” the French academic said.

University of The Gambia’s Vice Chancellor, Professor Steigen gave tacit approval to the proposition saying that it is an added opportunity to expand to other professional degrees in areas very pertinent to The Gambia. Argues Vice Chancellor Steigen “I believe getting few agreements and collaborations which would be constantly and effectively supervised and strengthen would be better than getting too many but which could be poorly handled as we do have a problem with following-up on established running projects.”

Several other academics and ancillary staff attended what our correspondent described as both a colourful and moving ceremony. Among them were Mr. Michel Thera, (Delegated Vice President for International Cooperation, UNILIM), Ms. Hélène Dejoux, (Director of International Cooperation, UNILIM), Dean Jacques Migozzi, (Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities of the University of Limoges), Professor Michel Beniamino (Senior Lecturer and Coordinator of The Gambia-Limoges agreement, UNILIM), Dr. Momodou Tangara (Coordinator of The Gambia-EC projects in The Gambia and an alumnus of the University of Limoges) and Mr. Cherno Omar Barry (a Lecturer of the University of The Gambia and a PhD. student of the University of Limoges).

The Memorandum of Understanding has been prepared under the close supervision of Dr. Pierre Gomez, Head of the French Unit at the University of The Gambia and Professor Beniamino of the University of Limoges. Cherno Omar Barry who also served as interpreter during the signing ceremony translated the final documents.

This is one of many other agreements already signed by the University of The Gambia. Some of the partners of the UTG are Saint Mary’s College of Maryland, USA, a university in Sweden, Leeds Metropolitan University, Saint Mary’s University of Halifax, Canada among others.