The Democratic Republic of the Congo has taken a significant step toward modernising its higher education and research ecosystem with the official launch of a new digital portal dedicated to the Higher Education, University, Scientific Research and Innovation (ESURSI) sub-sector.
The initiative, led by the sector’s supervisory minister, Marie-Thérèse Sombo, is designed to address long-standing structural challenges affecting the system. These include fragmented information management systems, limited access to scientific and academic resources, and persistent inequalities in knowledge access between urban and rural institutions.
The government noted that the sector has also been constrained by low levels of digitalisation in public services, uneven broadband connectivity across the country, and the limited integration of modern technological tools into academic and administrative processes.
The launch aligns with the broader digital transformation agenda promoted under the leadership of Judith Suminwa, positioning the new portal as a strategic instrument for improving governance, strengthening data-driven decision-making, and enhancing the efficiency of public policy implementation in the education sector.
The platform is intended to serve as a centralised and secure digital system for managing academic data in real time. Its core functions include improving traceability of academic pathways, expanding access to learning and research materials, consolidating sector governance through reliable data systems, and supporting a more integrated national higher education ecosystem.
Officials described the initiative as a foundational step toward building a more harmonised, transparent, and digitally enabled education and research environment in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
