The Pan African University (PAU) is the culmination of continental initiatives of the Commission of the African Union to revitalize higher education and research in Africa, under the Second Decade of Education for Africa and the consolidated Plan of Action of Science and Technology for Africa. It will exemplify excellence, enhance the attractiveness and global competitiveness of African higher education and research and establish the African University at the core of Africa’s development.

The PAU will greatly boost the population and retention of high-level human resources and quality knowledge outputs and be able to attract the best intellectual capacity from all over the world. Africa acknowledges the fact that social and economic development is not possible without substantive investment in higher education and research. The PAU was launched as the African Union (AU) undertook the evaluation of the Second Decade of Education for Africa.

Mission:
The strategic mission of the PAU is to develop institutions of excellence in science, technology, innovation, social sciences and governance, which would constitute the bedrock for an African pool of higher education and research. This would usher in a new generation of leaders properly trained to take the best advantage of African human and material resources, imbued with the common vision of a peaceful, prosperous and integrated Africa.

 

Objectives:
The training and research activities of the PAU focus on the following priorities and objectives:

1. To develop continent-wide and world-class graduate and postgraduate programs in science, technology, innovation, humanities, social sciences and governance.
2. To stimulate collaborative, internationally competitive, cutting-edge, fundamental- and economic- growth-oriented research, in areas having a direct bearing on the scientific, economic and social development of Africa.
3. To enhance the mobility of students and academic staff among African universities to improve on teaching and collaborative research.
4. To contribute to the capacity building needs of present and future stakeholders of the African Union.
5. To improve the attractiveness of African higher education and research institutions to attract and retain talented young professionals on the African continent.
6. To initiate and invigorate mutually beneficial partnerships with public and private sectors within Africa and the Diaspora as well as internationally. 
7. To facilitate the emergence and strengthening of an African higher education and research platform.