The Pan African University Institute for Water and Energy Sciences including Climate Change (PAUWES) held its 10th graduation ceremony on 30 March 2026 at the University of Tlemcen, marking the completion of postgraduate studies for 76 students drawn from 37 African countries.
The graduating cohort completed Masters of Science programmes across six tracks covering Water Sciences, Energy Sciences, and Climate Change, offered through both Engineering and Policy specialisations. Of the 76 graduates, 31 are women, representing 41 percent of the cohort – a reflection of the Pan African University’s ongoing commitment to gender equity in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education across the continent.
The ceremony brought together a distinguished gathering of institutional, academic, and diplomatic representatives. H.E. Mr. Youcef Bechlaoui, Wali of Tlemcen, presided over the occasion alongside a significant diplomatic delegation that travelled from Algiers for the event, comprising the Ambassadors of Cameroon, Mozambique, Tanzania, Chad, and Zimbabwe to Algeria, as well as other members of the diplomatic corps. Also among the delegation was the Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to Algeria, reflecting Germany’s role as a lead thematic partner of PAUWES. The University of Tlemcen was represented by its Vice-Rector, while Algeria’s Ministry of Higher Education, the KfW Development Bank, and PAUWES’ wider network of technical and financial partners were also represented. On behalf of the African Union Commission, Prof. Saidou Madougou, Director of the Department of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation (ESTI), attended in representation of H.E. Prof. Gaspard Banyankimbona, AUC Commissioner for Education, Science, Technology and Innovation, while Prof. Jean Koulidiati attended in his capacity as Rector of the Pan African University.
Speaking at the ceremony, Prof. Koulidiati addressed the graduating students directly, reminding them of the responsibility their degrees carry: “You leave here as ambassadors of this institution and of the African Union’s commitment to education as a driver of development. That is not a ceremonial title. It carries real weight.”
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Prof. Madougou, speaking on behalf of the Commissioner, drew a direct line between the graduates’ training and Africa’s most pressing development challenges: “The knowledge you carry out of this institution is not academic inventory, it is operational capacity for one of Africa’s most pressing developmental challenges.”
He also underscored the urgency of the moment, telling graduates: “Agenda 2063 is no longer in its early chapters. Africa does not need you to be ready someday. It needs you to be ready now.”
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The ceremony carries particular significance in the context of the African Union’s theme for 2026: “Assuring Sustainable Water Availability and Safe Sanitation Systems to Achieve the
Goals of Agenda 2063,” adopted by African Heads of State and Government at the 39th Ordinary Session of the AU Assembly in February 2026. PAUWES, as the continent’s dedicated institute for water and energy sciences, stands at the direct intersection of this continental priority, with its graduates trained to address the very challenges that the AU has identified as defining for Africa’s development trajectory.
PAUWES is hosted by Abou Bekr Belkaïd University of Tlemcen, Algeria, and operates under the auspices of the African Union Commission. Since its establishment, the institute has built a growing network of alumni contributing to water governance, clean energy policy, and climate resilience across the African continent.
The Pan African University, with its Rectorate based in Yaoundé, Cameroon, operates five specialised institutes across Africa, offering fully-funded postgraduate scholarships to students from AU member states.