University of Yaounde II, Technopole of Social Sciences
My vision for the University of Yaoundé II, which, in my opinion, will structure the development of our institution for the next few years, is to make our institution a "Technopole of Social Sciences".
Under the leadership of the President of the Republic, Head of State, His Excellency Mr. Paul BIYA , Cameroon has the firm ambition to become an emerging country by 2035 . In order to achieve this goal, it must meet the requirement to develop and master one of the key variables contained in the Strategy Document for Growth and Employment, in this case, the human capital of a high level. This is fundamentally a mission of Higher Education.
The Cameroonian university is therefore obviously challenged, and the University of Yaoundé II, which plays a leadership role in our higher education, is called to consolidate its position. In order to give ourselves the means to contribute effectively to the accompaniment of Cameroon in the realization of its ambition, it seems to me quite natural and legitimate that our university projects itself as a technopole in social sciences ".
The relevance of the concept of "Technopole des sciences sociales".
Historically, the idea of ​​technopole refers to the notion of epicenter, that is to say pole, this one recalling the polarized development of the years 1950-1960, especially with the growth poles and development poles. The Encyclopedia of Geography defines the technopole as " the meeting in one place of high-tech activities (electronics, chemistry, biology, etc.), research centers, companies, universities, and organizations facilitating personal contacts between these circles ".
Thus, a science park is a group of research and business organizations that focus on scientific development by including a process from the laboratory stage to the manufacturing stage of the product. It is (thus) a structured community dedicated to the development of innovation.
Can the concept of a technopole be extended to the field of social sciences?
Whether it is a large industrial enterprise, a research center, a public administration, an individual, etc., everyone is, one day or another, in front of
whether to find a new solution to a problem, to find new ways to manage, or to improve or discover new products.
Innovation thus appears as the key element in the genesis of the technology park. It (innovation) can be defined as a change in the thought process, with the purpose of carrying out a new action. From this point of view, it differs from an invention, since it is part of an applicative perspective. It should be noted, however, that it is mainly in its technological sense that innovation has generally been understood. And this connection of the concept of innovation to the field of technology seems, a priori , to limit its potential for development in other fields of knowledge, such as that of the social sciences, which are the main field of intervention University of Yaounde II .
However, it is not forbidden to extend the concept to the social field. We can then conceive of social innovation (or inclusive innovation ), which aims to put it into perspective in an entrepreneurial, social, ecological, economic or even simply human environment.
Of course, whether technological, organizational, product-related or market-related, such a form of innovation is collectively thought up, primarily in terms of its impact on a specific environment. And, beyond the competitive advantage it is likely to bring, social innovation provides a measurable benefit to a community as a whole. Therefore, this type of innovation is creator of a well-being, perceived ultimately as the product of a collective work.
In this perspective and considering the personality of the University of Yaoundé II, institution of training and research in social sciences, we can conceive a technopole in social sciences as "the grouping in one place of several activities of " high technology thus including research centers, companies, academic institutions, as well as financial institutions that facilitate personal contacts between these different entities ". In this respect, high-tech social activities seem to correspond to those offering perspectives of innovation in the social field, and which can be of several types: of a political type; legal type;organizational and methodological type in the managerial approach; economic type; communicative type; relational type (international exchanges, diplomacy, etc.) and development planning type.
It is all of the above that the University of Yaounde II proposes to be the anchor of the creation of a social science technopole in the locality of SOA.
To achieve this goal, the University of Yaounde II, while developing tools of internal excellence, will lay the foundations for a lasting partnership with various partners (institutional, economic, public, private), with the aim of facilitating regional and national development.
Pr. Adolphe Minkoa She Rector of the University of Yaounde II