Research Open to the World
The two research centres of the Institute of Applied Pedagogy do not work in isolation. Their work is part of research projects with their own funding and of scientific collaborations with Burundian and European institutions. These projects bring the Institute resources, equipment, expertise and mobility opportunities that its operating budget alone could not fund.
This openness follows a clear logic. The projects the Institute takes on are not funding opportunities seized at random: they address issues that overlap with the IPA's missions, namely teacher training, curriculum modernisation and the production of scientific knowledge useful to Burundi's development. A research project with no benefit for the training provided by the Institute would not fit its purpose.
This page presents current research projects and the scientific collaborations that accompany them. The Institute's full institutional network of partners, including ministries, international organisations and specialised organisations, is presented on the dedicated partners page.
BRIGHTER — Renewable Energy and Higher Education
The BRIGHTER project, whose full title is Burundi Renewable Innovation Growth and Higher Education for Renewable energy systems, is a four-year project funded by the European Union under the Erasmus+ programme. The project's focal point is Professor Emile Nibona, Dean of the Institute of Applied Pedagogy.
The project responds to an energy situation that has a direct impact on education in Burundi. Access to electricity remains limited to a small share of the population, and energy consumption relies very heavily on biomass, mainly firewood. This dependence has concrete educational consequences: fewer hours of study for lack of lighting, limited access to digital tools, poorly equipped schools. It also has a high environmental cost, through the pressure it puts on forest cover. Yet the country has considerable potential in hydropower, solar and wind energy, largely untapped for lack of sufficient technical skills and local expertise.
BRIGHTER tackles this skills gap through higher education. The project aims to modernise university curricula, train teacher-researchers in renewable energy and innovation management, develop a programme of study adapted to the Burundian context rather than imported as is, and strengthen the institutional capacity of partner universities.
The consortium brings together Burundian and European institutions, under international coordination by ENTER Network. The European partners include the Instituto Superior de Engenharia de Lisboa, part of the Instituto Politécnico de Lisboa.
International Scientific Collaborations
Beyond funded projects, the Institute maintains regular scientific collaborations with several institutions, whose research dimension is presented here.
The Instituto Politécnico de Lisboa in Portugal is a European partner of the Institute in applied sciences and technological innovation. It takes part in the BRIGHTER project through its engineering school, ISEL.
In November 2025, Chicago State University in the United States signed a memorandum of understanding with the University of Burundi, providing for academic exchanges, joint research projects and professional development workshops.
The Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie includes the Institute in a French-speaking university network that opens access to calls for collaborative research projects, such as the APPRENDRE programme, under which the IPA carried out a 2020 study on the assessment of learning and classroom practice in Burundi.
The Institute also works with the other institutions of the University of Burundi and with the Burundian universities that are partners in current projects, which helps build national scientific communities around shared themes.
Taking Part in Research Activities
The Institute's research activities are open to several categories of participants, in different ways.
Teacher-researchers from the Institute and partner institutions can join the laboratories' work, take part in the training workshops and seminars organised as part of the projects, and get involved in developing curricula and teaching resources based on research.
Master's students carry out their research thesis in the laboratories of the two centres, under the supervision of teacher-researchers. Current projects also open up fields of inquiry and, depending on the scheme, opportunities for academic mobility.
Academic institutions interested in collaborating, as well as public bodies and companies wishing to help identify skills needs or host fieldwork, can contact the Institute's management.
For any request about research projects, scientific collaborations or opportunities to take part, please contact the management of the Institute of Applied Pedagogy.