By Iminza Keboge
Published November 6, 2019
Players in the higher education sector from Africa and Europe have stressed that cooperation with the private sector be integral to the learning institutions’ strategy and vision, taking into account gender and sustainability.
The more than 400 participants who participated in the Africa-Europe conference on higher education collaboration in Brussels, Belgium, on October 25, 2019, produced sector-specific policy recommendations on how to further develop the chapter, Investing in people by investing in education and skills, of the Africa-Europe Alliance, first announced by Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker in September 2018.
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Among the key recommendations for the future of European-African collaboration in higher education, delegates expressed the need for:
- increased cooperation with the private sector
- continuous professional development for academic staff
- the promotion of a Pan-African Quality Assurance and Accreditation Framework
- stronger linkages between higher education and Technical and Vocational Education and Training
- the strengthening of transnational educational partnerships, and
- a comprehensive approach to refugee integration in tertiary education.
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The conference was jointly organised by the European Commission, the African Union Commission and four higher education stakeholder organisations of EU member states – the German Academic Exchange Service, British Council, Campus France and Nuffic of The Netherlands – this high-level conference highlighted the importance of collaboration in higher education between the two continents.
Adapted from alumniportal-deutschland.org/.
