On Friday, July 11, 2025, a working meeting was held between a team from CSRS and a team of researchers from the Institut de Recherche en Mathématique (IRMA) at the Université Félix Houphouët Boigny de Cocody.

Presentation of institutions : the session began with a tour de table allowing each participant to introduce themselves. Dr Allassane Ouattara then introduced the framework of this meeting, which was a follow-up to the visit made by the team from the Swiss TPH Biostatistics and Data Management unit and the CSRS biostatistics cell to IRMA on June 24, 2025.

Dr. Allassane Ouattara presented the CSRS, its history, research areas and infrastructure. Dr. Kanga then presented IRMA, noting that, although historically focused on training, the institute is now more actively oriented towards scientific research.

Exchanges on projects and opportunities for collaboration: the researchers present took it in turns to present the current projects in which they are involved, as well as other initiatives likely to be of interest to IRMA. On the IRMA side, the team expressed particular interest in probabilistic modeling. However, they pointed to a lack of access to real data, which forces them to rely on sometimes limited assumptions to validate their models. This constraint opens up an opportunity for collaboration with CSRS, which has a large volume of data from field projects. IRMA has expressed interest in establishing a formal collaboration framework, such as an agreement to be initiated by CSRS.

Various: It was proposed that IRMA review its agenda to participate in a CSRS Scientific Seminar. This participation will help raise awareness of their mathematical modeling expertise among CSRS researchers and stimulate possible joint projects. 

Conclusion: The meeting ended on a positive note, with a shared desire to strengthen ties between the two institutions through structured collaboration. CSRS is committed to proposing a draft agreement, and IRMA to planning a forthcoming intervention as part of CSRS scientific seminars.

Dr Allassane Ouattara/Epidémiologue - Entomologue