Outline of Presentation

1. Association of Catalan Public UniversitiesUNIVERSITY DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION PLAN FOR CATALAN PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES (2011 – 2015)UDC PLAN LAUNCHBarcelona, 20 January 2011 Strengthening African Higher Education Institutions to Empower them to Better Assist in National Development By Goolam Mohamedbhai

2. Outline of Presentation • Need for Strengthening African Higher Education • Views on ACUP’s UDC Plan • Strategies for Africa in Implementing UDC Plan • Thrust Activities for UDC Plan in Africa

3. 1. Need for Strengthening African HE • Great disparity in development between North and African countries (education, health, poverty, life expectancy) • For global Sustainable Development, there must be reasonable parity in development in all world regions • Widely acknowledged that HE, through teaching, research & community engagement, plays a key role in promoting economic & social development in countries in South • Importance of HE not fully recognised a couple of decades ago; HE believed to provide lower economic & social return than basic education; recognition now that HE specially supports lower levels of education

4. 1. Need for Strengthening African HE (Cont’d) • But to be effective, HE must be of quality & relevance • HEIs in Africa are weak – very low student enrolment ratio (6%); low completion rates; insufficient academic staff; overcrowded campuses; poor infrastructure; very low research output • They are a reflection of the society in which they are located • An important strategy to promote development in African countries is therefore to strengthen their HEIs • Revitalisation of HE in Africa has started but much remains to be done • ACUP’s University Development Cooperation (UDC) Plan comes at an opportune moment

5. 2. Views on ACUP’s UDC Plan • Very comprehensive Plan, remarkable in the way it was produced with close leadership involvement of ACUP HEIs • Approach of using HEIs to assist in Development Cooperation is right one • HEIs in North & South share same ethos and values & understand each other • Commendable that Spanish HEIs look at UDC as separate from internationalization • Commendable that ACUP considers UDC as ‘social responsibility’ • Commendable that ACUP is getting its members to cooperate in their UDC activities to ensure maximum relevant support to HEIs in South

6. 3. Strategies for Africa in Implementing UDC Plan • All programmes to help in alleviating poverty & promoting sustainable development • Ensure long-term sustainability of programmes in Africa • In capacity building, strengthen not only individuals but departments & institutions • Encourage South-South networking, within Africa but also outside it • Allow African partners to determine their own priorities • Fully involve African partners in developing programmes – capacity building • Ensure shared ACUP-African HEIs management of programmes – especially in fund management

7. 3. Strategies for Africa in Implementing UDC Plan (Cont’d) • Ensure that no brain-drain takes place • Involve & work with African university associations (AAU, SARUA, IUCEA, CAMES) e.g.: - EUA/AAU on Access to Success funded by EC - AUCC/AAU on University-Industry Linkages funded by CIDA - GUNI/IAU/AAU on SD in African HEIs funded by AECID • Coordinate activities with ongoing ones supported by other development agencies • Some dilemmas: - build relations as equals with African HEIs – not always easy - partner with strong African HEIs for mutual benefit: it is the weak African HEIs that need strengthening - to be clear about implication of ‘mutually beneficial’

8. 4. Thrust Activities for UDC Plan in Africa • Development of PG programmes – very few in Africa. Helps in improving professionals & in training future academics • PhD training, especially for academics. Ensure topic of local relevance & bulk of work done locally. Encourage split-site PhD and joint supervision – capacity building • Promote research – very poor research output in Africa. Preference for developmental & multidisciplinary research • Ensure communication of research findings to relevant stakeholders e.g. policy briefs for ministries, handbooks for rural communities, seminars for professionals. Objective of research not just for publication in refereed journals

9. 4. Thrust Activities for UDC Plan in Africa (Cont’d) • Help in introducing new methods and approaches to teaching & learning • Assist in ensuring relevance of curricula & programmes to Africa’s needs • Promote internal Quality Assurance system • Promote effective use of ICT • Provide leadership & management training in various areas • Assist in strengthening linkages between African HEIs and the external stakeholders

10. THANK YOU