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October 24, 2008, 12:37 PM ET
Virtual Network Planned to Connect American and African Universities
The U.S. Agency for International Development announced today plans for a virtual network to enable African universities to collaborate with American institutions and share ideas on partnership projects in education, economic development, food security, and health.
The Africa Education Commons, as the network is called, was announced during the Africa Regional Higher Education Summit, held in Rwanda, to promote the formation of strategic partnerships between African and American institutions.
The summit is a follow-up to a meeting in Washington, D.C., earlier this year among U.S. and foreign universities, and hosted by the U.S. Department of State, to discuss working together on development issues.
At that meeting USAID announced that it would provide $1-million for 20 grants to allow African and American universities to plan long-term partnerships — in areas such as health and science — that would speed development on the African continent.
Sarah E. Moten, chief of the education division of the USAID’s Africa bureau, said the network would allow institutions, many of which are isolated from one another, to share teaching techniques and successful approaches to partnerships.
African universities potentially have much to gain from partnerships with American institutions, particularly in building the capacities of their graduate programs, introducing interactive teaching methods, providing training and mentorship opportunities for senior faculty members, and bringing more women into academic ranks, said Silas Lwakabamba, rector of the National University of Rwanda, who is also on the advisory board of the Africa-U.S. Higher Education Initiative. —Megan Lindow
Categories: Teaching
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