UNIVERSITE GASTON BERGER DE SAINT LOUIS

Their core work

Université Gaston Berger (UGB) is a public university in Saint Louis, Senegal, that serves as a key African academic partner in EU-funded research. Their H2020 involvement spans two distinct domains: IoT and Big Data platforms adapted for Sub-Saharan African contexts (WAZIUP, WAZIHUB), and social science research on migration narratives and public discourse in Europe. They bring a valuable non-European perspective to consortia addressing both digital infrastructure challenges in developing regions and cross-cultural understanding of migration.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

UGB's H2020 journey began with a clear technical focus: deploying IoT and Big Data platforms in Sub-Saharan Africa through WAZIUP (2016) and WAZIHUB (2018). By 2021, their involvement shifted sharply toward social sciences with the OPPORTUNITIES project on migration narratives and media discourse. This pivot suggests the university is broadening its EU research engagement beyond technology transfer into humanities and social policy research.

UGB appears to be diversifying from purely technical digital projects toward social science and migration research, potentially positioning itself as a bridge between African and European perspectives on societal challenges.

How they like to work

UGB participates exclusively as a partner — never as coordinator — which is typical for non-EU institutions in Horizon 2020. Despite only three projects, they have worked with 34 unique partners across 15 countries, indicating they join large, geographically diverse consortia. This pattern suggests they are sought after for the specific value of an African academic perspective rather than for project management capacity.

With 34 partners across 15 countries from just 3 projects, UGB operates within large international consortia that span Europe and Africa. Their network reflects their role as a bridge institution connecting EU research programs with West African implementation contexts.

What sets them apart

UGB is one of very few West African universities active in H2020, making it a rare and valuable partner for projects requiring African field deployment, local knowledge, or non-European perspectives. For IoT projects targeting developing regions, they offer real-world testing environments and local academic networks. For migration and social research, they provide an origin-country viewpoint that most EU-only consortia lack.

Highlights from their portfolio

• WAZIUP
  Largest funded project (EUR 208K) — built an open IoT platform specifically designed for Sub-Saharan African conditions and constraints.
• OPPORTUNITIES
  Marks a significant thematic pivot into migration research, bringing an African origin-country perspective to European public discourse analysis.