The 2nd ENRICH International Conference “Promoting partnerships between Government, Industry and Higher Education Institutions in energy access and efficiency within East Africa” has taken place at Hotel Africana in Kampala, Uganda last 8th September 2016. The conference has been organized by Makerere University in collaboration with the Uganda National Council for Science and Technology (UNCST), with the support of the University of Alicante.

The main aim of the conference is to bring together top management and researchers from Higher Education Institutions, research & project managers, managers from energy industries and the main stakeholders in the energy field to exchange ideas and promote an effective collaboration in the East African region.

Following the morning presentations, a round table focused on strengthening partnerships in the energy sector was conducted. The objectives of the round table were:

• to discuss the importance of STI support services for an operational and effective management of research and innovation on energy access and efficiency in East Africa.
• to discuss potential synergies and possible actions to facilitate regional co-operation in the energy sector among academia, researchers, industries and policy makers in East Africa.

The Conference was attended by representatives from the ENRICH and Succeed Network Higher Education Institution partners from Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Burundi, the Directorate of Research Management and Development (DRMD) of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology of Kenya, Ministry of Education, Higher Education and Scientific Research of Burundi, Université du Burundi, the Tanzanian Commission for Science and Technology (COSTECH), the Uganda National Council for Science and Technology (UNCST), as well as external experts in the energy and environment sectors.

Following the conference, on the 9th September, a coordination meeting, took place in which the up-to-date workplan of the ENRICH project was presented.