Author: ACE Comms Team

Call for Proposals for the Unit of Competence in Digital Education (U-CoDE) Initiative

Objectives and Action Plan

The Africa Higher Education Centers of Excellence for Development Impact (ACE Impact) Projects in collaboration with the EPFL – École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (Switzerland) are launching the Call for Proposals for the Center of Competence in Digital Education (C-CoDE) Initiative (Deadline for submission of proposals 25 June 2021). This Pilot initiative aims to promote the sustainable integration of digital education in the teaching process in selected ACE Impact host universities, as a means to strengthen the quality of teaching as well as the competencies of graduates.

The participating institutions will be provided with the necessary training and coaching to transform their educational curricula by integrating modern digital education methods. As a Pilot, the initiative will launch in six (6) ACE Impact host institutions in 2021. The key element at each institution will be the creation and the development of a C-CoDE (see the attached Powerpoint for further details on the initiative).

By encouraging the use of innovative digital technologies in educational practices, the aim is to strengthen the techno-pedagogical skills of lecturers and to train them in the production of digital content and its use in university courses.

The initiative will proceed in two steps, to:

  1. Enable the participating university to acquire the necessary skills, infrastructure, capacity and quality standards to operate a C-CoDE serving the institution. Such a Center will contribute to the design, production and dissemination of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) and Open Educational Resources (OER). The faculty of the institution will also be trained in the integration of ICT-enabled teaching methods.
  2. Extend the Center’s sphere of activity to serve other African institutions (using a training-the-trainers model), for example within the broader ACE Impact project portfolio and beyond – across the Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) region.

AAU, as the regional facilitation unit, through its grant under ACE Impact is bearing the delivery, coaching and out-of pocket costs of the experts providing the training to the more than 200 participants from the 6 ACE Impact host institutions for the entire pilot period. EPFL, through its Center of Excellence in Africa (EXAF), is providing the content and training methodology.

For this initiative to have long-term institutional impact and to be transformative, the institutions participating in the Pilot, will commit to:

  • Deploy digital education capabilities in its institution (a C-CoDE) and integrate the use of the resources produced by the C-CoDE in their educational programmes
  • Encourage the pooling and sharing of digital educational resources – at the institution, within the ACE Impact project portfolio, and across the SSA region and beyond
  • Boost the development of new teaching practices by motivating and supporting the lecturers engaged in this initiative, at first within the participating institution and then more broadly.
  • The following additional conditions:
  • Appoint a C-CoDE Project Leader, an Academic Coordinator and a Technical Coordinator (see the Local Coordination Team template for a description of the profile of each of these appointees)
  • Appoint 1 Techno-pedagogical Engineer to serve as the point of reference for digital education projects
  • Appoint 2 Technicians – one specialized in multimedia acquisition and post-production, and one specialized in IT and LMS
  • Nominate 3 Techno-pedagogical Specialists – faculty members who will receive extensive training as part of the initiative and will support subsequent training activities on campus
  • Nominate 30 faculty members who will participate in the training and appoint 3 of them who will be trained to coach their peers (15% of their time)
  • Building space to install the C-CoDE (min. 100m2)
  • Financial investment of approximately $100,000 to cover travel; accommodation; multimedia and IT equipment; refurbishment and adaptation of premises to install the C-CoDE

Please note that beyond a strong commitment from the university management and a strong technical proposal, preference will be given to universities that prioritize female and junior faculty members when nominating the 30 faculty members to be trained. The performance of the related Centers within the ACE Impact Project will also be highly considered.

 

Podcast on Leveraging Blockchain in Education: The Africa Centers of Excellence Projects

World Bank Education Specialist Ekua Bentil speaks about leveraging blockchain in higher education, specifically within the Africa Centers of Excellence Projects, with project partners Yaz El Hakim (VerifyEd), Saleh Iliyasu Maitala (IBM), and Jerry Kponyo (Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology-KNUST).

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/leveraging-blockchain-in-education-africa-centers-excellence/id1523333192?i=1000518359091  OR

https://anchor.fm/world-bank-edutech/episodes/Leveraging-Blockchain-in-Education-the-Africa-Centers-of-Excellence-Project-evglva/a-a1pvrl

 

https://twitter.com/wbedutech/status/1386723892517957634

Press Release – 5th ACE Impact Regional Workshop to hold virtually from May 24th -28th, 2021

For immediate release

PRESS RELEASE

Africa Higher Education Centers of Excellence for Development Impact (ACE Impact) Project ensures sustainable growth and competitiveness by improving the quality, quantity and access of postgraduate education

5th ACE Impact Regional Workshop to hold virtually from May 24th -28th, 2021

Accra, Ghana (May 5th, 2021) – The Africa Higher Education Centres of Excellence for Development Impact (ACE Impact) will be organizing its 5th biannual Regional Workshop from May 24th – 28th, 2021. Fifty-three (53) Centres of Excellence and key stakeholders, including government representatives from participating countries, Vice Chancellors, representatives from the higher education sector, the private sector, policy think tanks, and partners such as the World Bank, the French Development Agency and the Association of African Universities are expected to participate in this meeting.

As an engine for producing quality postgraduate training and applied research to ensure inclusive growth and sustainable development in Africa, the ACE Impact project is convening its stakeholders to review activities and progress made towards achieving its overarching goal – improving the quality, quantity, and development impact of postgraduate education in Africa.

The meeting will also afford the Centers of Excellence the opportunity to share experiences, build networks, and forge partnerships to ensure the successful implementation and sustainability of the project.

Broadly, the workshop’s programme will feature:
1. Overall progress registered in the implementation of ACE Impact and key priority areas.
2. Highlights on the digital education network project, which seeks to exploit the advances in digital technologies for education towards the transformation of teaching practices for the benefit of students.
3. Inter ACE Impact networking initiatives.
4. ACE Impact project’s engagement with the Partnership for skills in Applied Sciences, Engineering and Technology (PASET), an initiative launched by African governments (with facilitation by the World Bank).
5. Parallel sessions on monitoring and evaluation, financial management, procurement and safeguards, as well as a special session for Vice-Chancellors whose institutions are involved in the project.
6. Learning and research outputs presentations by students undertaking innovative and transformational research at ACE Impact Centers.

The meeting will also focus on the key next steps for each country, institution, and center in implementing the project plans, and provide guidance to the centers to better meet the requirement and targets for disbursement, fiduciary, and safeguards.

The ACE impact project invites all key stakeholders to actively participate in this workshop and support the project, as it remains committed to pursuing its broad target of strengthening postgraduate training and applied research for Africa’s economic transformation.

– END –

Note to Editors
For further information, kindly contact Mrs. Felicia Kuagbedzi via email fnkrumah@aau.org

Background information:
The Africa Higher Education Centres of Excellence (ACE) Project is a World Bank initiative in collaboration with governments of participating countries to support Higher Education institutions in specializing in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), Agriculture, and Health. It is the first World Bank project aimed at the capacity building of higher education institutions in Africa. The first phase (ACE I) was launched in 2014 with 22 Centres of Excellence in Nine (9) West and Central African countries; Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal and Togo. The Project aims to promote regional specialization among participating universities in areas that address specific common regional development challenges. It also aims to strengthen the capacities of these universities to deliver high quality training and applied research as well as meet the demand for skills required for Africa’s development. The second phase (ACE II) was launched in East and Southern Africa with 24 centers across Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.

Based on the initial successes, the World Bank and the French Development Agency (AFD) in collaboration with the African governments, launched the ACE Impact Project in 2018 to strengthen post-graduate training and applied research in existing fields and support new fields that are essential for Africa’s economic growth. There are 43 ACEs (25 new ones and 18 from ACE I); 5 Emerging Centers;1 “top up” center in Social Risk Management; and 5 Colleges and
Schools of Engineering. The new areas include sustainable cities; sustainable power and energy; social sciences and education; transport; population health and policy; herbal medicine development and regulatory sciences; public health; applied informatics and communication; and pastoral production.

INFORMATION ABOUT THE ORGANISERS
• About the Association of African Universities (AAU). The Association of African Universities is an international non-profit, non-governmental organization created by African Universities to promote cooperation among them on the one hand, and between them and the international academic community on the other. Created in 1967, the AAU is the voice of higher education in Africa. AAU aims to improve the quality of African higher education, and to strengthen its contribution to Africa’s development by supporting the core functions of higher education institutions and facilitating critical reflection and consensus building on issues affecting higher education in Africa. The AAU is the Regional Facilitation Unit of the Africa Centres of Excellence project.

• About the World Bank Group. The World Bank Group is a multilateral development institution that works to reduce poverty. Its subsidiary IDA (International Development Association) finances the Africa Centres of Excellence series of projects. Established in 1960, IDA helps the world’s poorest countries by providing grants and low to zero-interest loans for projects and programs that boost economic growth, reduce poverty, and improve poor people’s lives. IDA is one of the largest sources of assistance for the world’s 75 poorest countries, 39 of which are in Africa. Resources from IDA bring positive change to the 1.5 billion people who live in IDA countries. Since 1960, IDA has supported development work in 113 countries. Annual commitments have averaged about $18 billion over the last three years, with about 54 percent going to Africa.

• About the French Development Agency. For more than 75 years, the French Development Agency (AFD) has been fighting global poverty by supporting policies and investments that benefit the poorest populations. Strengthening the social link between individuals, groups and territories is now at the heart of its actions in education, health, employment, urban planning, climate or biodiversity. For AFD, balanced development requires a real reduction in inequalities.

REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST CONSULTING SERVICES – FIRMS SELECTION

Country:                    Ghana

Name of Project:       Second Africa Higher Education Centers of Excellence for Development Impact Project (2nd ACE Impact)

Grant No.:                  D5330

Assignment Title:     External Evaluation of the Development Impact of the Africa Centres of Excellence Impact Project 

Reference No.:           GH-AAU-GHANA-229175-CS-QCBS

 

The Association of African Universities has received financing from the World Bank toward the cost of the Second Africa Higher Education Centers of Excellence for Development Impact Project (2nd ACE Impact Project) and intends to apply part of the proceeds for consulting services.

 

The consulting services (“the Services”) include an independent external evaluation of the extent to which the ACEs have contributed towards development Impact as per the agreed indicators. Secondly the evaluation will make an overall independent assessment about the past performance of the project, paying particular attention to the impact of the project activities against its objectives. Finally, the consultancy will identify key lessons and propose practical recommendations for follow-up actions.

 

The assignment will be undertaken for a maximum period of four (4) months effective the time of signing the contract until the submission of the final report. The services are expected to commence in May 2021.

 

The detailed Terms of Reference (TOR) for the assignment are attached to this request for expressions of interest. Click here to download it.

 

The Association of African Universities now invites eligible consulting firms (“Consultants”) to indicate their interest in providing the Services. Interested Consultants should provide information demonstrating that they have the required qualifications and relevant experience to perform the Services.

 

The shortlisting criteria are:

  1. Demonstrated experience in conducting evaluations of higher education projects that span across various countries.
  2. Broad experience with universities, international and regional research, and development projects in Africa will be a requirement.
  3. Demonstrated practical field level support for regional / international organizations in Africa on the development and use of monitoring and reporting tools.
  4. Experience in and knowledge of capacity development and higher education in Africa
  5. Demonstrated and internationally recognized consultancy service delivery.
  6. Full working knowledge of English and of French languages.

Key Experts will not be evaluated at the shortlisting stage.

 

The attention of interested Consultants is drawn to Section III, paragraphs, 3.14, 3.16, and 3.17 of the World Bank’s “Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers” July 2016, revised in November 2017, and in August 2018 (“Procurement Regulations”), setting forth the World Bank’s policy on conflict of interest.

 

In addition, please refer to the following specific information on conflict of interest related to this assignment: The attention of interested Consultants is drawn to Section III, paragraphs, 3.14, 3.16, and 3.17 of the World Bank’s “Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers” July 2016 and revised in November 2017, and August 2018 (“Procurement Regulations”), setting forth the World Bank’s policy on conflict of interest available on this link http://pubdocs.worldbank.org/en/178331533065871195/Procurement-Regulations.pdf

 

Consultants may associate with other firms to enhance their qualifications but should indicate clearly whether the association is in the form of a joint venture and/or a sub-consultancy. In the case of a joint venture, all the partners in the joint venture shall be jointly and severally liable for the entire contract, if selected.

 

A Consultant will be selected in accordance with the Consultant’s Qualification-based Selection method set out in the Procurement Regulations.

 

Further information can be obtained at the address below during office hours i.e., 0900 to 1700 hours GMT.

 

Expressions of interest must be delivered in a written form to the address below (in person mail or by e-mail) by 1700 hours GMT on 07 May 2021 and specifically mentioning Consultancy Services for the External Evaluation of the Development Impact of the Africa Centres of Excellence Impact Project for the attention of:

 

Sylvia Mkandawire (Dr.)

 Program Manager, ACE Impact

Association of African Universities

African Universities House, Trinity Avenue, East Legon, Accra, Ghana

P. O. Box AN 5744, Accra-North, Ghana

smkandawire@aau.org     

https://ace.aau.org/  |  https://www.aau.org /

 

Innovative research produces patented breakthrough product improving the economic status of women in Burkina Faso

Innovative research produces patented breakthrough product improving the economic status of women in Burkina Faso

Safiatou TRAORE, a national of Burkina Faso, is enrolled for her PhD studies at the Center for Training, Research and Expertise in Medicine Sciences (CFOREM) hosted by Joseph KI-ZERBO University.  She is currently in her 1st year of doctoral study in ‘Development of Phytomedicines’ and expects to graduate in 2023. She specifically chose to study with CEFOREM because of the high-quality teaching methods and the personal inspiration and guidance from Professor Rasmané SEMDE, who gave her the zeal and courage to not give up after successfully completing her Master’s. She appreciates the fact that she could balance her family life with her research work and studies.

 

Ms TRAORE PhD research is a continuation of her research at Masters level. Her research title is “research and development of creams based on honey, shea butter and Burkinabè plant extracts for the treatment of burns”. She indicated that in Burkina Faso, 13.7% of children under the age of 5 are admitted in hospitals for burns (2015). The local treatment of burns is currently based on expensive imported products which are financially inaccessible to the majority of the population.

Safiatou aims to develop a stable honey-shea-butter cream for the local treatment of burns to help support those most vulnerable who cannot afford to purchased imported burn treatment creams. The two raw materials are proven to have healing properties and most importantly, are locally produced, readily available, and at a low cost. “This research will not only produce an affordable local treatment for burns, but will also create new outlets and commercial opportunities for the honey and shea butter producers, who are mainly women’s associations in Burkina Faso.”

 

The patent of this innovative and problem-solving research product has been registered with the African Intellectual Property Organization, an intellectual property organization headquartered in Yaoundé, Cameroon. The shea-butter-honey cream is already on high demand by Burkinabè clinicians and pediatric surgeons. The Joseph KI-ZERBO University incubation office has invested in this product, including it within their framework as a university start up business. A business plan has been developed for its commercial exploitation and expansion.

 

The African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO) defines a patent as “a set of exclusive rights granted by law to applicants for inventions that are new, non-obvious and commercially applicable”. Patents are important because they allow holders to commercially exploit their inventions on an exclusive basis. The global patent system is intended to inspire innovation by giving creators time-limited exclusive legal rights, thus assisting them to appropriate the returns from their innovation.

 

In the short term Ms TRAORE wishes to participate in the valorization of local Burkinabe natural resources. Medium to long term, she hopes to become a seasoned academic, continuing to share and pass on knowledge and experience to build the next generation of female scientists. Safiatou’s academic journey has made her a strong believer in developing research capabilities of Africa. “There is no need to aim to only enroll in PhD programs in western universities.” Many women find it challenging to leave their families for studies – thus eventually not pursuing PhDs. Ms TRAORE advises that opportunities do exist in Burkina Faso for quality doctoral training and research programs. As a special plea to women, she states “sometimes family conditions hold back the ambitions of women to pursue their doctorate studies. Through centers in Africa like CEFOREM, which create conducive conditions for their female candidates – it is now possible for female scientists to enroll for their PhDs.”

 

Safiatou tells us that “studying at CEFOREM has proved to be rewarding because of the availability of the supervision team, the accessibility of reagents and consumables, the excellent support provided to each student and the presence of foreign students that allows exchange of experiences.” The ACE for development impact centers are demonstrating that through student-led research it is possible to foster creativity and innovation for economic growth and development in Africa.

Expanding opportunities for young African female scientists to reimagine their dreams

Expanding opportunities for young African female scientists to reimagine their dreams

Jessica Nnenna Uwanibe is one of many young female scientists enrolled in a PHD/Master’s program at one of the ACE Impact II centers. Jessica is scheduled to complete her PhD studies in Molecular Biology and Genomics at the African Centre of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases (ACEGID) hosted by Redeemer’s University in Nigeria. Her research work is focused on identifying and comprehending drug resistant patterns of Salmonella species in South West Nigeria, research she hopes will help treat thousands of people, reduce suffering, and save lives. Salmonella are types of bacteria that can cause diarrheal illness in humans, typhoid fever, gastroenteritis and other related illnesses. “This research will work to inform the proper diagnosis of Salmonella related diseases and suggest improved monitoring policies in Nigeria.”

 

As a young and upcoming African Scientist, Miss Uwanibe has always wanted to solve global health challenges through her research. Her career goal is to achieve this by enrolling for a Postdoctoral fellowship to focus on translational infectious diseases research. She aspires to lead large research projects to unravel the mechanisms by which pathogens cause diseases and develop novel therapeutics and vaccines to fight them.

 

Jessica chose to study her PhD at the Redeemer’s University African Center of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases as she found the field of Molecular Biology and Genomics to be “new, exciting, and innovative.” She tells us how science and engineering centered subjects always had low female participation rates and she wanted to see this change, inspiring the next generation of young women. “ACEGIDs vision really resonates with my own personal vision for using science and research to improve everyday people’s lives.”

 

As a PhD fellow at ACEGID, Jessica says the aspect she enjoyed the most was being exposed to innovative research and cutting edge molecular tools. This access afforded her the ability to serve Nigeria during this time of crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic, which has been “such a life changing opportunity and experience.” She is looking forward to her graduation in September 2021 after four years of intense, but fulfilling research.

 

Knowledge and resource sharing are at the core of all ACE Impact centers. Miss Uwanibe has benefited from the expertise of her mentors whilst participating as a member of the ACEGID team involved in the pioneering and innovative COVID19 research, led by Professor Christian Happi. “I am so proud to be part of the first team in Africa to successfully sequence the genome of SARS-CoV-2 and share it with the international science community.”

 

ACEGID has proceeded to identify 10 distinct lineages of SARS-CoV-2 in circulation within Nigeria through genome sequencing and this work has been helpful in steering Nigeria’s public health response. The experiences of being part of the ACEGID team handling the COVID-19 diagnosis and sequencing have given Miss Uwanibe the confidence to reimagine what is possible in the field of health research in Africa moving forward.

 

Miss Uwanibe’s advice to young people and particularly young women aspiring to do their PhDs is that they must “persevere, be patient, tenacious and be mentally prepared.” Jessica is just one example of the high-quality postgraduate students being trained under the Africa Centers of Excellence for Development Impact Project. The project is positively improving the quality, quantity, and development impact of postgraduate education in sub-Saharan Africa by supporting regional specialization in thematic areas that address regional challenges.

Building capacities in Francophone Africa

Building capacities in Francophone Africa

A closer look at Guinea

A total of 26 francophone Africa Centers of Excellence are involved in the ACE Impact project and have been working to improve the quality, quantity, and development impact of postgraduate education in francophone Africa.  We focus our lenses on the African Center of Excellence for the Prevention and Control of Communicable Diseases (CEA -PCMT). Hosted by the Gamal Abdel Nasser University of Conakry (UGANC) in Guinea, CEA-PCMT aims to sustainably improve the prevention and control of communicable diseases in sub-Saharan Africa. Its objective is to establish at UGANC, a regional program of excellence in training and research on communicable diseases. The center was created in 2019 as part of the ACE Impact project and is offering world class training geared towards innovation and impacting society. This process involves public and private development actors at national, regional, and international levels to achieve its goals.

 

Programmes Offered

Broadly, the center offers short courses, masters, and doctoral programs on community health, global health and emerging diseases, primary health, quality assurance and research methodology among several other key programmes. In positioning itself as a regional reference center in the prevention and control of communicable diseases in West Africa, the center conducts applied research in partnership with national and international institutions. This applied research is in the following three main areas: Implementation science research, communicable disease surveillance and monitoring of antimicrobial resistance to drugs and products used in the fight against communicable diseases.

 

Regional and Global Partners

The African Center of Excellence for the Prevention and Control of Communicable Diseases prioritises building strong mutually beneficial partnerships in achieving its key targets.  It has partnerships with individuals and units from various higher education institutions including the following: the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine; University of Montpellier; University of Sherbrooke; University of Ghana, Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp; and University of Sciences, Techniques and Technologies of Bamako (USTTB), Mali.

 

Center Leadership and Contact

Center Leader: Prof. Alexandre DELAMOU

Email address: adelamou@cea-pcmt.org

Deputy Center Leader: Dr. Mariame Sadjo DIALLO

Email address: nenettediallo@yahoo.fr

 

Inspiring the next Generation of Female Leaders – Professor Grace Jokthan

Inspiring the next Generation of Female Leaders – Professor Grace Jokthan

Prof. Grace Jokthan is the center leader of the Africa Centre of Excellence on Technology Enhanced Learning (ACETEL) and a member of the University Governing Council of the National Open University of Nigeria. She obtained her Bachelor of Agriculture degree in 1990 from the Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi, Nigeria and her Masters and Doctorate degrees from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria in 2002 and 2006 respectively. Prof. Jokthan’s key message to younger women in all ACE Impact centers, is “all challenges are surmountable through persistence, hard work and remaining focused.” In an exclusive interview with the ACE Impact communications team, she said that the journey to the top has not been easy, because as a woman, you have to put in almost twice the effort a man does to succeed, especially in the male dominated society that we find ourselves in.  “The roles of parenting, housekeeping, academic/office demands can be daunting and requires a delicate balance. I got married at level 100, so all my academic life was also when I had my three children, but with hard work, reaching your goals and being in a strategic leadership position to contribute to the transformation agenda, is within reach” she said.

 

A glimpse at Prof. Jokthan’s Journey to the Top Leadership Positions Held 

Prof. Jokthan started her career in the Department of Animal Science, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria in 1992 as an Assistant Lecturer and rose to the rank of Associate Professor in 2010. Aside teaching and supervising several students at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels within this period, she also served the University in various capacities, including being the Postgraduate Departmental Coordinator, Member of the University Senate Standing Committee and Head of the Department of Animal Science. She was a Member of the Board of Institute for Agricultural Research (IAR) Multi Links Ltd, as well as a Member of the Governing Board of the National Animal Production Research Institute (NAPRI), Shika-Zaria. She also served as the Head, Department of Animal Science and Fisheries at the National Open University of Nigeria from 2016 to 2018.  “I was a pioneer Council Member of the Nigerian Institute of Animal Science (NIAS) 2007 – 2011.  National Process Facilitator and, National Programme Manager for Research Into Use Nigeria (RIU) – Nigeria; a non-governmental DFID funded project that sort to improve the uptake of innovative agricultural research outputs” She added.  Prof Jokthan was previously a consultant on the Innovation Platforms to the West African Agricultural Productivity Programme (WAAPP).

 

Message to Fellow Senior Colleagues on Mentorship

Having benefitted enormously from the power of mentorship, she is encouraging other senior colleagues involved in the ACE Impact project to mentor the next generation as they strive to attain their potentials.  “Mentorship from my senior colleague who always told me not to give up helped me at my low moments and therefore we need to have more focus on providing such mentors in our institutions”, she said.

 

When asked whether being a female center leader brings any key difference to the project, she intimated that though the Project deliverables (DLI) remain the same, being a woman provides another perspective often not considered that is valuable and has helped in creating a team strong enough to face the task ahead and deliver on the target.

Bridging the Gender Gap – ACE Impact Champions Women, Girls Education, and Leadership

Bridging the Gender Gap – ACE Impact Champions Women, Girls Education, and Leadership

Having more females empowered through the acquisition of higher education degrees and relevant skills has been a key focus of the ACE Impact project. Female enrolment and involvement in the higher education sector, particularly in STEM subjects, has generally been low, with stakeholders being called upon to invest efforts to ensure that the pipeline of women in higher education as students, administrators, researchers, and leaders increases in proportion to the population of women in Africa.

ACE Impact is strategically responding to this call, by highlighting female enrolment as a key disbursement linked indicator in a bid to encourage all centers to prioritise female student enrolment in their centers. Current figures show that the project is making some remarkable progress in closing the gender gap in higher education. For the period January 2019 – December 2020, the number of females enrolled in ACE Impact Centers stood at 3,333, representing 31% of the overall target of enrolling 10,707 females during the project’s life cycle.

The project is advocating and calling on all centers to continue pursuing the set target, strategising new innovative ways to attract more female candidates into their centers until the gender is well and truly closed.

Within higher education, a key area where women are significantly underrepresented is in positions of leadership. With the month of March being dedicated to the celebration of Women (8th March being International Women’s Day), we focus our attention on one of our female center leaders who is serving as a key role model to young female students and faculty across Africa.

Contact: smkandawire@aau.org | Association of African Universities | P. O. Box AN 5744,
Accra-North, Ghana | Tel +233-547-728975 All Rights Reserved © 2022