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The idea to create continental-wide centers to educate future leaders for African states appeared about a decade ago. Now there are, actually, two vital education providers: the African Leadership Academy (since 2008) and the African Leadership University, ALU (since 2014); the latter has already several campuses – in Kenya and Nigeria, Rwanda and Ethiopia. Already in 2018, Times Higher Education called ALU the “Harvard of Africa”…
Background
Somewhere in the beginning of this century, some world-wide education providers like Fred Swaniker and his team realised the urgent necessity of creating a university with a continental reach; the team has had already a successful project in secondary education, i.e. the African Leadership Academy. The Academy (in action since 2008) seeks to transform Africa by developing a powerful network of young leaders who are ready to accelerate the continent’s growth.
More in: https://www.africanleadershipacademy.org/
About a decade ago the vision of a new African-wide university seemed quite close to an “academy’s approach”, i.e. education providers with an adequate knowledge “to lead the African continent into the future” shall be needed. The university would be pan-African, with 25 sites across the continent, with the entrepreneurial and experiential content, offering perspective and progressive learning in the fields covering African sustainable development.
However, a vital detail: the main aspect of a university will be preparing future leadership for African states: hence, students and graduates would be highly capable of leading transformative changes in about fifty countries on the continent.
Source and citations from: https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20241204091716908&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=COMMNL8015
It might seem that one academy is enough; anyhow the African Leadership University (ALU) campus in Kigali Innovation City in Rwanda has been a reality. The initial plan was to establish some 25 campuses across the continent to educate future leaders, there are presently just a few: several learning hubs in Nairobi, Lagos, Kigali and Addis Ababa; besides, two campuses are in Mauritius and in Rwanda which are managing getting through complex local legislation.
European perspectives
The newly formed European Commission as a focal executive EU-wide institutions has had among its political priorities some efforts and financial support for the African states.
More in: https://www.integrin.dk/2024/11/30/new-european-commissions-college-competences-and-roles-for-next-five-years-part-i/; and in: https://www.integrin.dk/2024/12/02/new-european-commissions-college-competences-and-roles-for-next-five-years-part-ii/.
Among Commission’s leadership, there are at least two who are closely connected to the African issues:
a) Kaja Kallas, as Vice-President and High Representative for Foreign Affairs and European Security Policy who will ensure new impetus in the EU mutual partnership with Africa ahead of the next EU-African Union Summit in 2025; and
b) Stéphane Séjourné, Executive Vice President for Prosperity and Industrial Strategy, who will (among other tasks) lead the work on critical raw materials; he will set up a dedicated EU
Critical Raw Materials Platform, notably to support joint purchasing and manage strategic stockpiles, and to implement the Critical Raw Materials Act. The African continent, which is rich in numerous critical for the EU development resources and minerals, is a “region of priority” for EU-African cooperation. Working with other Commissioners (e.g. for environment, water resilience and competitive circular economy, etc.) the EU will create market demand for secondary materials and a single market for the critical raw materials.
Besides, there are several Commissioners in the new College who might cooperate in the educating contemporary workforce needed for sustainable development in Africa.
More in: https://www.integrin.dk/2024/12/02/new-european-commissions-college-competences-and-roles-for-next-five-years-part-ii/
Education providing
The learning hubs are using onsite and online continuing education modules, as well as the so-called Signature Immersive Experiences, SIEs which are the ALU’s original academic mobility, rooted in the idea that learning can and should be global and immersive at the same time. Students travel from site to site, interacting with local entrepreneurs, artists and industry experts.
However, the approach facing some problems: e.g. the governance model started as recognizably start-up with its flat hierarchies. Thus, CEOs are used (instead of a president) which are more appropriate at different places and university’s localities.
Although there have been efforts to make education providers more diverse, there are still more staff with background from the US higher education facilities.
As Dara Melnyk (a consultant and a writer) underlines, throughout the course of three years, an ALU student must define and clarify their mission: i.e. there are foundational courses and micro courses; there is faculty support and support from very accessible learning coaches; and there are also interviews, events, workshops, talks to attend, group projects, internships, field studies and projects with organisations and “shadowing professionals”.
ALU must align not only with local regulators in Rwanda and Mauritius, but also with the East African Community and national councils to make sure their diplomas are accepted and recognized.
Innovative approaches needed
In recently published book (2023) “Whatever It Is, I’m Against It: Resistance to change in higher education”, Brian Rosenberg, a member of ALU Foundational Council and its senior adviser, looks for education providers around the world “to find possible antidotes in innovative higher education models such as student-centered and experiential learning approaches”.
More in: https://www.adobe.com/solutions/ebook/digital-editions/download.html
Educating and training new African-wide workforce oriented towards progressive growth in the continent, needs both innovative and local-oriented approaches: with about fifty states in Africa (and too many different cultures, traditions, religions, etc.) it is probably too difficult to make a pan-African education system.
But that is generally the utmost role of scientists involved in education policies to formulate the most optimal concepts that “can suite” local communities and progressive socio-economic policies. The way out is clear: more innovation coped with a due attention to local specifics.
Note. Our Institute has published several articles on EU-African issues: see for example:
https://www.integrin.dk/2024/11/20/europe-for-africa-a-package-of-assistance/;
https://www.integrin.dk/2024/04/08/external-aspects-of-european-integration-energy-transition-in-africa/;
https://www.integrin.dk/2023/08/04/the-eus-erasmus-program-additional-efforts-in-global-education/;
https://www.integrin.dk/2022/10/07/boosting-sustainable-investments-the-eu-global-gateway-strategy/, etc.