We are delighted to welcome the Catholic University of Central Africa (UCAC) as the first ORCID member from Cameroon!
Increasing global participation
Universal uptake of ORCID is inherent in our mission, and our current member organizations think that it is very important that ORCID is adopted universally around the world. It is our goal to support the development of local expertise and communities of practice all over the globe, and to partner with organizations that have both the local knowledge and resources to spearhead organizational membership growth in their locations.
Currently, we have more than 1,198 member organizations around the world, of which only four countries in Africa are represented: Botswana, Kenya, Morocco, and South Africa. So we are pleased to welcome Cameroon to that list, with the Catholic University of Central Africa (UCAC) as our first university in French-speaking sub-Saharan Africa to join the ORCID community as a member.
About UCAC
UCAC is a sub-regional institution of higher education, created in 1989 by the Association of the Episcopal Conferences of the Central African Region (ACERAC), which includes the following countries: Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, and Chad. UCAC offers 56 courses to more than 4,000 students on different campuses in Cameroon, Congo, and the Central African Republic (Nkolbisson, Ekounou, Messa, Douala, Pointe-Noire, Bangui). Thanks to its multinational, qualified, and dynamic staff, UCAC has more than 70 partnerships, more than 10,000 graduates trained since its creation, and a graduate employability rate that exceeds 85%.
Enabling scientific research visibility
UCAC’s choice to become an ORCID member—the first in French-speaking sub-Saharan Africa—is motivated by the desire to give its researchers and their scientific work greater visibility. Beyond this visibility, this action is also in line with the institutional strategy of Open Science instilled by its leaders and inspired by the values of openness and sharing, which are also values shared by ORCID.
