Activities

COVID Response

The Association of African Universities was very instrumental in helping African Universities to adjust to the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Most African universities did not have academic continuity plans when faced with such a major pandemic, and had to close down. The Association of African Universities, partnered with its sister organizations in Africa to provide capacity-building workshops in the areas of online teaching and learning methods. It conducted weekly training sessions over a three-month period. About three hundred faculty were trained on a weekly basis.

The Association also conducted online training in Research methods for African faculty and graduate students. Over five hundred faculty underwent this training.

The Association also partnered with Wiley Education Services and E-Learn Africa to provide learning management systems for higher education institutions in Africa

Mobilizing African Academic Diaspora - Academic Diaspora Homecoming

Mobilizing African Academic Diaspora – Academic Diaspora Homecoming

Africa’s diaspora include all persons of African descent living outside the continent of Africa. The Association of African Universities organized the first virtual Africa’s Academic Homecoming in September of 2020. The conference witnessed participation of over one thousand academic diaspora. Key organizers were the Association of African Universities in collaboration with the African Union and the Government of Ghana. There were also over fifty collaborating partners.

Please see link for Conference proceedings.

Participating in USAID Working Group Development of Learning Agenda

The Association of African Universities was invited by the USAID to participate in the development of their Higher Education Learning Agenda.

Support for African Private Sector Summit March 2021 (APSS)

The Association of African Universities partnered with the Pan African Chamber of Commerce, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, Coalition for Dialogue on Africa, European Union, and other private sector partners, to organize the APSS to deliberate on the new landscape for doing business in Africa (Africa Continental Free Trade Area). This five-day summit deliberated on the following thematic areas:

Africa’s new Landscape for Doing Business with ease
Investment Paradigm Shifts for Sustainable Transformation and Development
Strategic Opportunities for Doing Business in Africa for Maximum Impact – Economic Empowerment & Development
Africa’s Innovators: frontiers for Business diversification
Unifying the Continental Implementation Approaches and Strategies

The Summit hosted three African Heads of State and various resource persons from the private sector, academia and governments. The daily participation was about four hundred.
See link to APSS site

Survey of Academic Diaspora Engagement

Questionnaire on Diaspora Engagement For HEI (It includes the questions on guidelines on Engagement of Academic Diaspora): https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/2VMV7ZN
Questionnaire on Diaspora Engagement For Regional and National Bodies: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/2WB38MF