The case and a model for transformation of higher education in Africa

By Karen MacGregor – Africa Editor. This is my last edition as Africa Editor of University World News. When publication resumes in January 2017, respected education journalist and long-time University World News colleague Sharon Dell will be Africa Editor. I will continue as Director of the not-for-profit University World News – Africa, focusing on implementing priorities set by its board that are aimed at building the publication further and securing its sustainability.
It has been nearly nine years since the bi-monthly Africa Edition launched in March 2008, with readers receiving the weekly Global Edition on alternative weeks. Since then University World News – Africa has published 187 Africa Editions and more than 3,000 original articles, and has built a strong network of some 30 African reporters who produce quality journalism covering African higher education for a large continental and global audience.
This week Phillip L Clay of MIT presents the case and a pilot model for the transformation of African higher education, calling for the creation of clusters of new universities that are “uncompromisingly excellent, independent and globally partnered”. In Africa Features Ahmed Bawa, CEO of Universities South Africa, reports on a re-launched collaboration between South African and Japanese universities aimed at supporting sustainable development in South Africa and across Africa.
Munyaradzi Makoni outlines a report from the Association of African Universities on the growth of National Research and Education Networks promoting internet access for African academics to global educational resources and research partnerships, and also attends a webinar hosted by the AAU in which Paul Omojo Omaji described the role and development of peace education in African universities. Wagdy Sawahel reveals that women researchers in North Africa represent 36.5% of the total number of researchers in six countries, which is above the world, European and developed country averages.
The Transformative Leadership series in which University World News is partnering with The MasterCard Foundation, forms a supplement with a focus on innovation. Among other articles, Sharon Dell reports on a call by Professor Alvaro Romo, secretary general of the International Association of University Presidents, for universities to harness innovation in pursuit of sustainable development, underpinned by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Read more...