The challenges facing Africa, including climate change, high inflation rates, and depreciating currencies, have profound implications for essential aspects of society such as food security, health, and overall well-being. Addressing these challenges necessitates the adoption of sustainable approaches that target key areas of economic diversification, agricultural productivity enhancement, increased use of digital learning, sustainable energy practices and enhancing climate resilience, attracting foreign direct investment, governance improvement, bolstering institutional capacity, fostering regional integration, and implementing effective monetary and fiscal policies. Amid the Fourth Industrial Revolution, which is characterized by rapid technological advancement and digital transformation, innovation has emerged as a crucial driver of progress. African nations must embrace innovation and sustainable strategies to overcome developmental hurdles and ensure the welfare of all citizens. It is against this backdrop that the theme of the conference is set: “The Africa We Want: Leveraging Innovation and Digital Transformation.” By harnessing the power of innovation and leveraging digital technologies, Africa can forge a path toward sustainable development, enabling prosperity and opportunities for its people. This conference serves as a platform for collaborative discourse and action-oriented initiatives aimed at charting a course for Africa’s future growth and prosperity.

Background

The African Network of Researchers in Learning, Innovation, and Competence Building Systems (AfricaLics) has organized research conferences every second year since its inception in 2012. The conferences focus on research on Innovation and Development studies in Africa and target mainly the academic community, but also policymakers and the business community. Conferences aim to bring together Ph.D. students and early career academics with leading scholars working on innovation and development in Africa, as well as policymakers and business communities interested in this field.

Conference location and objectives

The Sixth AfricaLics Conference will be hosted by the University of Ilorin in Nigeria. The conference intends to bring together 100 – 150 PhD students, early career scholars, and established researchers and scholars from different disciplines with the overall aim of providing a platform for discussing research on and enhancing the quality of innovation studies related to development and growth in Africa.

The conference specifically aims to provide space for the presentation and discussion of research findings and for networking between researchers working in the field of innovation and development. It constitutes part of the AfricaLics efforts to build research capacity in Africa with strong links to users, including policymakers and the private sector.

The main objectives of this conference are as follows:

• To present and discuss state-of-the-art research in the field of innovation and development in Africa with a focus on the promotion of sustainable industrialization and climate resilient development.
• To provide a much-needed arena for researchers in Africa, particularly early career researchers, to build capacity in presenting and networking skills as well as learning about new methods and theories.
• To promote networking and create space for new collaborations among researchers in the field of innovation and development, focusing on Africa.
• To build capacity to teach high-quality, fit for purpose, and curricula in the field of innovation and development in Africa. The conference will be held for three days from 13th to 15th November 2024. The programme will involve keynote addresses, plenary sessions, and the presentation of research papers in parallel tracks combined with panel discussions (thematic sessions). A draft programme will be posted on the conference website in early September 2024.

The conference will be held for three days from 13^th to 15^th November 2024. The programme will involve keynote addresses, plenary sessions, and the presentation of research papers in parallel tracks combined with panel discussions (thematic sessions). A draft programme will be posted on the conference website in early September 2024.