A scientific profile atstate service

A 2004 graduate in medicine from the University of Kinshasa, Professor Marie-Thérèse Sombo Ayanne Safi Mukuna specialized in neuropsychiatry, a discipline at the interface of neurology and psychiatry, allowing for an integrated approach to brain and behavioral disorders. Her scientific career is based on extensive clinical experience with patients, as well as a constant commitment to training future healthcare professionals. As a university lecturer, she teaches courses in neurology, psychiatry, neurophysiology, and medical psychology at several higher education institutions in the country. Through her teaching, she contributes to training a new generation of doctors and researchers better prepared to manage neurological pathologies and mental health disorders, which are still underdiagnosed and undertreated in Central Africa.

Concurrently, she is an associate researcher at the National Institute of Biomedical Research (INRB), where her work focuses on neurodevelopment, epilepsy, neuro-infectious diseases, and mental health. Her research is contextualized, attentive to the epidemiological and social realities of the Democratic Republic of Congo. This dual expertise—scientific and pedagogical—strengthens her legitimacy to lead a strategic ministry. She understands the challenges of university governance, grasps the structural challenges of research, and appreciates the importance of quality higher education as a driver of national transformation.

Reformsstructuring

Since taking office, the minister has undertaken several major actions:

System evaluation LMD in order to improve its quality and alignment with international standards.

Reorganization of doctoral training,with stricter criteria to guarantee academic excellence.

Deployment of distance learning (EAD),particularly in crisis zones.

Promoting digital educationthrough a national EAD platform and the "I am Tech" campaign aimed at promoting digital inclusion.

Positioning universities as incubatorslocal solutions, notably during the international symposium in Mbuji-Mayi.

Research and innovation:a strategic tripod

Under the leadership of Professor Marie-Thérèse Sombo Ayanne Safi Mukuna, the ministry has adopted the abbreviation ESURS-I (Higher and University Education, Scientific Research and Innovation). This new acronym reflects a structured and integrated vision of the sector, conceived as a true three-pronged pillar of national development.

1. Higher and university education (public and private)

This first pillar aims to strengthen academic quality, institutional governance, and the alignment of training programs with the country's socio-economic needs. It seeks to consolidate universities as spaces for knowledge production, professional development for young people, and the promotion of scientific ethics.

2. Scientific research, basic and applied

Research is considered a strategic lever for producing knowledge adapted to Congolese realities. Whether conducted in universities, public institutes or non-state structures, it must address national challenges in areas such as health, agriculture, the environment, social sciences or emerging technologies.

3. Technological and social innovation

This third pillar values ​​Congolese ingenuity, whether it comes from academia, the private sector, or the diaspora. Innovation is not limited to digital technologies: it also encompasses industrial processes, social solutions, local inventions, and know-how adapted to local realities.

This focus is supported by the Congolese Scientific Engineering Incubator, a true platform for the maturation and development of innovative projects. Its mission is to support the transformation of research results into competitive products, services, or processes capable of generating economic value and strengthening the scientific and technological sovereignty of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Through this strategic framework, ESURS-I aims to make Congolese universities not only centers of knowledge, but also drivers of development, industrialization, and sustainable social transformation.

A visionof the future

Professor Marie-Thérèse Sombo Ayanne Safi Mukuna embodies a governance focused on action, ethics, and innovation. By emphasizing modernization, digitization, and the promotion of research, she aims to make Congolese universities drivers of sustainable development and scientific sovereignty.

Professor Marie-Thérèse Sombo Ayanne Safi Mukuna embodies a governance focused on action, ethics and innovation.

A clear message emerges from its renewal: higher education in the Democratic Republic of Congo is entering a phase of structured transformation, where research and innovation become central levers of national progress.