The Governing Council of the University of Toronto and the Association of African Universities (AAU) have signed a memorandum of agreement to affirm their wish to develop joint activities to address issues of mutual interest, designed to foster and promote collaboration in education, research, and capacity building through various activities that include fostering joint research collaborations, and joint publication of scientific papers and educational materials resulting from the collaborations within program cooperation.

This agreement was signed by Professor Wisdom Tettey the Vice-President and Principal of the University of Toronto Scarborough (UTSC) and Professor Olusola Bandele Oyewole the Secretary General of the Association of African Universities on Tuesday 11 April 2023 in Accra, Ghana.

The University of Toronto and AAU have committed to working together to foster deeper collaboration between Canada and African countries through this partnership. The two parties dedicated themselves to using various methods of cooperation (subject to availability of funds and the approval of each institution) to engage in research, academic activities or talent development programs that include the following:

• Collaboration in multimedia content design, production, and distribution to targeted African and African diaspora audiences
• Identifying and promoting graduate and undergraduate student mobility programs such as internships, study abroad, and fellowships with designated member institutions
• Cultivating collaborations in entrepreneurship
• Participating, co-hosting, and cross-promoting learning and networking events including lectures, meetings, seminars, symposia, and conferences
• Exchange of materials, publications, and other information, within limits of legal rules and regulations
• Jointly applying for funding for collaborative projects from relevant funding agencies
• Collaboration in other areas that foster research and educational cooperation
• Fostering talent development through graduate training, professional development, and institutional capacity building opportunities

The signing of the MoU is an outcome of the June 2022 meeting that was attended by Professor Olusola Oyewole, the Secretary General of the AAU, in Toronto, Canada where he joined eminent African Higher Education leaders to deliberate on the University of Toronto-Africa partnership initiative. The June 2022 meeting was organized by the University of Toronto Scarborough and the Office of the Vice President International under the guidance of the Presidential International Council for Africa.