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Louise Fresco Fund for Academic Mobility in Africa IAS UM6P
Academic Mobility in Africa

Mobilizing talent. Connecting futures. Transforming Africa.

The Louise Fresco Fund for Academic Mobility in Africa supports the movement of African students and young researchers across borders to learn, collaborate, and build stronger scientific and institutional ties across the continent.

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For Students Cross-border mobility support

Enabling study, research stays, exchanges, and collaborative work across African institutions.

For Universities Partnerships that endure

Building institutional ties that continue long after a single mobility grant is awarded.

For Africa Knowledge that circulates

Investing in the networks, people, and research cultures that strengthen the continent from within.

Our Mission

To advance Africa's development by enabling academic mobility and cross-border knowledge exchange.

We believe that mobility nurtures leadership, sparks innovation, and forges durable partnerships between people and institutions across the continent and beyond. The Fund is designed to make those movements more possible, more equitable, and more consequential.

54+
African countries

The fund is conceived for broad continental participation and intra-African exchange.

1.4B
People in Africa

With a young population, the need for mobility, learning, and collaboration is urgent.

#1
Shared priority

The fund puts intra-African student mobility at the center of its academic vision.

Open
To institutions worldwide

Universities, foundations, and partners can help expand access and long-term impact.

What the Fund Does

What the Fund does for students

The Louise Fresco Fund removes financial and institutional barriers that prevent students and emerging researchers from moving across borders to learn, collaborate, and lead across Africa.

01

Mobility fellowships

Grants that enable African students and researchers to travel to partner institutions for study, research stays, and collaborative projects across the continent.

02

Research collaboration

Support for joint academic work between universities, helping students and early-career researchers build networks that endure beyond a single visit or exchange.

03

Network building

Creating the conditions for students, faculty, and institutions to exchange ideas, share expertise, and strengthen a truly continental research community.

04

Institutional participation

Any African university can strengthen the Fund through partnership and contribution, expanding both the scale and the durability of mobility support.

Our Priority Fields

Investing in Africa's future

Student fellows supported by the Fund work in fields where African collaboration matters most: agriculture, environment, natural resources, and food security. These are areas where mobility strengthens both scientific excellence and public impact.

01

Agriculture & food systems

Sustainable farming, crop resilience, and food innovation across Africa's diverse ecological zones.

02

Environment & climate

Climate adaptation, ecosystem restoration, and environmental science tailored to African landscapes and communities.

03

Natural resources

Sustainable management of water, land, and minerals as foundations for long-term prosperity.

04

Food security

Research into nutrition, supply chains, and policy frameworks that move Africa toward lasting food sovereignty.

Our Origin Story

From a vision to continent-wide impact

The Louise Fresco Fund was created to open doors for talent, ideas, and collaboration. It is rooted in a gesture of commitment and expanded through institutional partnership.

2024

The Justus von Liebig Award

Professor Louise O. Fresco receives the Justus von Liebig Award for World Nutrition from the Fiat Panis Foundation and donates it entirely to create the Fund.

Founding partnership

UM6P answers the call

University Mohammed VI Polytechnic joins as the founding institutional partner, matching the contribution and committing to administer the initiative through IAS UM6P.

Benguerir

The fund is formally launched

The Letter of Intent is signed by UM6P President Hicham El Habti and Professor Louise O. Fresco, establishing the Fund as a pan-African academic initiative.

For Institutions

Join universities worldwide in investing in African talent

Any university, foundation, or institution can support the Fund. Partnership means helping African students cross borders, deepen research ties, and build the knowledge networks that strengthen a continent.

Strengthen talent & leadership

Support the next generation of researchers, innovators, and change-makers across Africa.

Expand research networks

Build lasting partnerships between institutions across Africa and around the world.

Drive measurable impact

Channel support directly into mobility, exchange, and collaboration with visible academic results.

Advance institutional excellence

Position your institution within a serious, mission-driven initiative for pan-African academic mobility.

How to Get Involved

From interest to lasting partnership

Institutions can enter the initiative gradually, beginning with conversation and moving toward long-term support for student and research mobility.

01

Explore the opportunity

Learn about the Fund, its mission, and the forms of partnership that can strengthen academic mobility.

Learn more →
02

Start the conversation

Reach out to IAS UM6P to discuss shared priorities, contribution models, and potential areas of collaboration.

Discuss fit →
03

Build long-term impact

Support mobility, knowledge exchange, and institutional connection in ways that create enduring value across Africa.

Create impact →
Founding Partner

University Mohammed VI Polytechnic

Benguerir, Morocco
Administrator of the initiative through IAS UM6P

A pan-African initiative with institutional depth

The Fund is administered by IAS UM6P, the Institute for Advanced Studies at University Mohammed VI Polytechnic. It brings together academic ambition, practical support, and a continental vision for mobility-led knowledge exchange.

Open Invitation

Join the next chapter

Universities, foundations, and research institutions can help open new pathways for students and early-career researchers across Africa.

Become a partner →