Some time back, I requested the Mauritius Research Council to coordinate and set up five national research groups around five themes of utmost significance to Mauritian society: Water Resources, Traffic Logistics, Positive Energy Buildings, Quality of Food and Human Resources. I wish to thank the MRC for having earnestly materialized this initiative. The main reason behind the setting up of these research groups was to have our local researchers and academics join hands with practitioners and decision makers in their respective fields in order to enable a holistic understanding of the challenges facing each thematic group, identify priority research projects and carry out such research whose findings can ultimately define policy. In a sense therefore, it would be the research community’s contribution in addressing these five topical problematic issues. There are lots to expect from our human resources but also many obstacles to overcome. I am sure today’s workshop will enlighten further. I would like to ask the participants to make the most of the workshop and I wish them fruitful discussions.
