ACE Impact Project – ACE – Africa Higher Education Centres of Excellence

A cross section of Cameroonian refugees in Nigeria

March 19, 2024

World Bank, UNHCR, AAU deliberate to deepen support for refugee students through the ACE Impact project

In a joint effort to champion inclusivity, The World Bank Group, the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), and the Association of African Universities (AAU) have come together under the African Higher Education Centers of Excellence for Development Impact (ACE Impact) project, to create the platform for Africa’s higher education stakeholders to discuss the enhancement of the sector’s support to refugee students.

The ACE Impact project, being spearheaded by the World Bank since 2019, operates in collaboration with the governments of 11 African countries. Implemented by the AAU, the project aims to empower African higher education institutions to specialize and enhance capacities in key academic fields—STEM, agriculture, environment, health, and education—identified as pivotal drivers of Africa’s development.

A pivotal moment in this endeavor unfolded during a webinar jointly convened by The World Bank, UNHCR, and AAU on Wednesday, February 7, 2024. The event, attended by over 80 participants from the ACE Impact community, underscored the urgent need to prioritize refugee education and inclusion in Africa’s higher education landscape.

Dr. Sylvia Mkandawire, the Senior Programme Manager for the ACE Impact project, highlighted that this webinar aligns with the project’s proactive partnership drive, previously announced by The World Bank during the 10th ACE Impact stakeholders’ regional workshop in Cote d’Ivoire from October 30 to November 3, 2023. Guided by its objectives, the webinar provided the platform for: (1) Gaining insights into the distinctive capacity needs of refugee students (2) Exploring collaborative opportunities with the UNHCR (3) Learning from direct experiences of ACE Impact Centres that have hosted refugee students (4) Gaining insights from successful models and innovative practices to shape current and future initiatives and create a meaningful impact in the lives of refugee students.

In a compelling presentation, Frankie Randle, Higher Education Specialist at the UNHCR, provided a comprehensive global overview of higher education for refugees. Randle delved into the critical barriers impeding refugees’ access to higher education, shedding light on the perspectives and challenges faced by universities. Offering proactive solutions to address refugee challenges, the presentation also spotlighted inclusive practices implemented by several higher education institutions.

Mr. Randle’s statistics revealed a staggering 36.4 million individuals are currently displaced globally – surpassing the population of Ghana, the second most populous country in West Africa. Highlighting a critical demographic, he pointed out that approximately 13.31% of these refugees, totaling around 4.8 million, fall within the typical age range for university students, which is 18 to 24 years old. Furthermore, Mr. Randle underscored the significant burden on low- and middle-income countries, as a staggering 75% of the 36.4 million refugees, totaling 27.3 million, find refuge in these nations.

Mr. Frankie Randle, UNHCR’s Higher Education Specialist, addressing the webinar

For the UNHCR, even though refugee higher education enrolment rate has since 2019 increased from 1% to 7%, it is still way below even the 42% average higher education enrolment of all youth globally. And thus, more needs to be done to raise the figures much higher. The UNHCR, supported by its research-based data, also presented about a dozen unfavorable factors that, according to it, come together to contribute to these low numbers of refugee enrolment.

Some of the barriers the UNHCR reported are: (1) Pressure on the youth refugees to contribute to household finances (2) Limited scholarship opportunities for refugees (3) Long distance to higher education institutions, compounded by refugees’ movement restrictions, in some cases (4) Limited financial stability for refugee families to fund higher education and (5) Higher international students’ fees. Others included (6) Refugees’ lack of academic certification required for admission in host countries (7) Lack of reliable power and connectivity for connected higher education programs (8) Low numbers of graduating secondary school refugee students, particularly girls and (9) Barriers that disproportionately affect female refugee enrolment.

Expanding on his insights, Mr. Randle clarified that the challenges mentioned earlier are just a fraction of the numerous obstacles that individuals, refugees and non-refugees alike, encounter while striving for higher education, whether within their home countries or abroad. Under a strategy dubbed “15 by 30,” participants were informed that the UNHCR is targeting to achieve a 15% refugee enrolment in global higher education by the year 2030. To achieve this, the refugee agency outlined its five-point strategy – “The 5 Pillars of Refugee Access to Higher Education –, namely (1) assisting refugee enrolment into national universities, (2) giving them relevant technical and vocational education and training, (3) giving them scholarships to study in third-party countries, (4) Working with many partners in many countries to bring higher education to refugees where ever they are hosted, through a Connected Higher Education program, and (5) providing bachelor-level scholarships to refugees, through the UNHCR Tertiary Scholarship program (DAFI), which has been running for over 30 years now.

To enhance its effort even further, the UNHCR highlighted that it will soon launch what it calls, Each One Take One. Under this initiative, the refugee agency has designed a plan to inspire, motivate, and incentivize tertiary education institutions to create at least one scholarship for one refugee.

During the webinar, the ACE Impact project took center stage with the dynamic representation of two pivotal centers among the 53 actively participating centres of the project. The Center for Food Technology and Research (CEFTER), based at Benue State University in Makurdi, Nigeria, and the African Center of Excellence for Innovative Teaching/Learning of Mathematics and the Sciences for sub-Saharan Africa (CEA-IEA-MS4SSA), hosted by Université Abdou Moumouni in Niger, showcased their approaches and significant contribution in supporting the refugees’ trainings.

The CEA-IEA-MS4SSA, as submitted by its leader, Prof. Saidou Madougou, hosts Nigerian refugees, following the disturbing activities of the Boko Haram insurgent group in Nigeria. According to Prof Madougou, the center has despite several challenges been deliberate about serving the interest of these Nigerian refugees to enable them to complete their programs of study, rather than indulge in nefarious activities now or in the future.

A practical laboratory session of the CEA MS4SSA-UNHCR training

He disclosed the center also trains pre-tertiary refugees to use digital and analogical tools, for example, for measuring electrical current of bulbs. Prof Madougou said trainers from the center have been helping trainees in the refugee camps to use both conventional and non-conventional ways to undertake their experiments and organizes several training sessions per year to help the students prepare for various examinations, resulting in a 73.29% pass rate in their Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination (SSSCE), for example.

Again, in a cost-sharing approach, according to Prof Madougou, the center collaborated with the UNHCR to provide trainers to train refugees from Nigeria, achieving a number of results.

On his part, CEFTER leader, Prof. Barnabas Achakpa Ikyo, who described the engagement and possible partnership with the UNHCR as welcome news, shared key experiences in hosting refugee students and some of the centre’s outreach activities to the refugee camps. CEFTER is hosted by Benue State University in Benue State, Nigeria. According to 2023 UNHCR data presented by Prof. Ikyo, Benue State alone hosts about 10% (8,797) of the 87,000 refugees in Nigeria, owing to the State’s closeness to Cameroon, from where most of these refugees have fled.

Prof. Barnabas Achakpa Ikyo, Center Leader, Center for Food Technology and Research (CEFTER)

As part of its activities geared towards refugees, the center has, since the beginning of its engagement in 2016, trained hundreds of refugees in their camps and certified some on basic nutrition, food safety, food processing, packaging, and value addition. CEFTER has even gone ahead to provide start-up capital and logistics to some entrepreneur refugees. Through this, not only has the center helped protect the raw food materials from going waste, but it has also helped improve the hygienic conditions of refugees’ setting and empowered them to obtain jobs in restaurants and set up businesses within the food value chain.

CEFTER’s achievements have not gone unnoticed, as the DAAD has acknowledged the center’s effective model and offered yearly funding for more beneficiaries in Africa for three years to study master’s and PhD programmes. So far, 39 refugees from Cameroon are enrolled in the center’s post graduate programmes. Out of the number, 34 of them (17 females and 17 males) are pursuing MSc programs, while 5 of them (2 females and 3 males) are pursuing PhD programs. The center has also trained 65 Cameroonians in short-term courses. A total of 489 refugees, comprising 339 females and 150 males, have undertaken CEFTER’s short courses.

Indeed, these results have been achieved not without challenges. One biggest challenge projected by the two centers during their presentations at the webinar is the lack of sufficient funding to sustain the great capacity building and academic support initiatives and the start-up funding for refugees to consolidate the gains made so far. It was thus suggested that centers foster sustainable partnerships that will ensure sustainable cashflows, expand the academic support to refugees, organize effective return programmes for refugees, and improve on the ACE model in general.

In the next phase of the initiative, Dr. Ekua Bentil, Senior Education Specialist and task team leader for ACE Impact at the World Bank, made a compelling appeal to the two centers. She urged them to contemplate expanding their support for refugees within their existing funding or to explore alternative avenues to bolster this commendable initiative.

Dr. Bentil shared with the audience that her team was actively looking into potential funding opportunities within The World Bank’s refugee window. This strategic move forms part of a dedicated effort to elevate the inclusion of refugees in Africa’s higher education landscape.

November 1, 2023November 3, 2023

Cote d’Ivoire Welcomes Africa’s Higher Education Stakeholders to the Landmark 10th ACE Impact Regional Workshop

Over 400 delegates from 23 countries have convened in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire for the 10^th ACE Impact Regional Workshop, marking a critical milestone in the project’s pursuit of advancing higher education excellence in Africa. The workshop, taking place from October 31^st to November 3^rd, 2023, has brought together vice-chancellors, project teams, subject matter experts, government representatives from various African countries, policy think tanks and other stakeholders. High-level government officials from Cote d’Ivoire graced the workshop with their presence at the opening ceremony. The central theme of sustainability is at the forefront of discussions as the project progresses towards its culmination in 2025.

Co-organised by the French Development Agency (AFD), the World Bank Group, and the Association of African Universities, in collaboration with the Ivorian Ministry of Higher Education, the workshop’s hybrid format combines virtual and onsite activities. The opening and closing ceremonies are being held at the Latrille Events, whiles other key workshop activities, including plenary, parallel sessions and steering committee and experts’ meetings, will be held from November 1^st –2^nd, 2023 at the Noom and Movenpick Hotels concurrently. The opening ceremony witnessed a compelling address by Mrs. Marie-Chantal Uwanyilligira, the World Bank Country Director for Cote d’Ivoire, who highlighted the critical role of Africa’s youth population. She underscored the projection that by 2050, Africa’s population will reach close to 2.5 billion, representing 35% of the world’s population and having the largest share of youth globally. The heightened need to leverage the opportunities presented and change the ‘youthquake’ into an opportunity was said to be critical. ‘Timely, deliberate and purposive actions must be taken now to harness this demographic advantage effectively’ – said Mrs. Marie-Chantal.

Already, numerous successes of Africans solving Africa’s developmental challenges through innovations exist, as evidenced by the ACE Impact project, demonstrating that indeed, ‘Africa can’. The data demonstrates the remarkable strides the centres of excellence have made in addressing the continent’s most pressing needs and continue to do so in impactful ways. Since 2014, Centres have trained 71, 987 students, published 8,528 research articles, and raised USD 170 million of externally generated funds. They now host over 116 internationally accredited programmes.

Education, research, and innovation were said to be pivotal in attaining a SMART economy and therefore needed to be prioritised and placed at the core of capitalising Africa’s demographic transition. Mrs. Marie-Chantal indicated that Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is positively correlated with levels of education, STEM education and scientific output, thereby investment in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education and the encouragement of girls to take up studies and careers in the STEM fields needed to be promoted to boost country GDP. Moreover, it was added that the ACE Impact project goes beyond training and graduating students, to innovating and driving solutions to Africa’s challenges. Stakeholders were invited to partner with the project teams and join in transforming Africa.

The workshop was officially opened by Prof. Arsène Kobéa, the Director of Cabinet of the Minister of Higher Education, who reiterated the numerous benefits of investing in human capital. He emphasised the need to strengthen collaboration between governments and academic institutions to overcome key challenges faced by their economies. Prof. Kobéa called on African countries to promote sustainability and ensure that the various phases of the project, continue to drive innovation and economic growth. Commending the efforts of the ACE Impact project’s facilitators and funders, he urged all stakeholders to contribute synergistically to building a stronger and more resilient continent.

Prof. Olusola Bandele Oyewole, the Secretary General of the Association of African Universities, underscored the importance of project sustainability, and encouraged robust collaboration and partnerships. He acknowledged the Ministry of Higher Education in Cote d’Ivoire for its pivotal role in hosting the workshop and recognised the unwavering commitment of government representatives, subject matter experts, the World Bank Group, AFD, AAU, and the 53 participating centers.

Highlighting the significance of the workshop, Prof Oyewole emphasised that “the workshop serves as a vital platform to assess the Africa Higher Education Centers of Excellence project’s progress while providing the avenue for the sharing of knowledge, experiences, and innovations. The project’s collaborative spirit and innovation have had a profound impact, not only on academia but also on Africa’s socioeconomic and technological evolution”.

Prof. Oyewole encouraged participants to form robust collaborations and strategic partnerships with industry, governments, and international organizations, to leverage existing resources and expertise, citing that the trajectory of higher education and its role in sustainable development hinges upon the combined efforts of all stakeholders. The Association of African Universities’ commitment to supporting the various key components of ACE Impact and the common goal of advancing higher education in Africa was reaffirmed. He also encouraged the pursuit of funding opportunities from diverse sources to sustain and expand the programme beyond the World Bank and AFD funding.

Representing the French Development Agency, (AFD), Mr. Lionel Yondo, the Regional Director for Gulf of Guinea, urged stakeholders to harness Africa’s geographical dividends and the various opportunities. He highlighted the transformative role of the 53 centres in achieving tangible results across various thematic areas. Emphasizing the achievements of the centres in the areas of scientific publications in high-impact journals, number of PhDs trained, attraction of externally generated funds, among others. Mr. Yondo stressed the need for close collaboration with governments and the effective leverage and use of stable resources.

The workshop came to a close with the official launch of the 10-year Anniversary of the ACE Impact project (ACE@10), which will be celebrated in 2024 to mark a decade of remarkable achievements and contributions to Africa’s development.

ACE Impact (Ghana) project team members at the National Review Meeting

October 1, 2023October 23, 2023

World Bank urges ACEs in Ghana to showcase accomplishments

World Bank Senior Education Specialist and Country Task Team Leader for the Africa Higher Education Centers of Excellence for Development Impact (ACE Impact) project in Ghana, Mrs Eunice Ackwerh has emphasized the importance of showcasing the outstanding achievements of ACE Impact centers in the country. Mrs. Ackwerh made these remarks during the country’s review workshop on Friday, September 29, 2023, at the Tomreik Hotel in Accra.

The ACE Impact project, initiated by the World Bank and implemented by the Association of African Universities (AAU), aims to enhance the quality and quantity of higher education in Africa. Championed by 53 centers across 10 West African countries and Djibouti, ACE Impact measures its success against various indicators of Project Development Objectives, including enrollment, accreditation, research publications, community engagement, resource mobilization, and practical student internships. To assess progress, bi-annual national review meetings are organized to provide a platform for center leaders and other key stakeholders to discuss the project’s achievements, operational challenges, and strategies to address them.

During the workshop, the nine Ghanaian centers of excellence reported several remarkable achievements, exceeding their targets. These accomplishments include groundbreaking research publications, advanced technologies and innovations, infrastructural development, valuable partnerships, national and international accreditations, effective revenue mobilization, gender-balanced enrolment, and international awards and recognitions.

Despite their high female enrolment rates, the Ghanaian ACEs still struggle to attract students from other African regions, a critical aspect of the project’s success. The low international enrolment has been attributed to high tuition fees and additional costs not covered by scholarships. Mrs. Ackwerh thus suggested a sustainable solution to this challenge, emphasizing that the value of the programs offered by these centers should be clearly communicated to prospective students and other relevant people.

Mrs. Eunice Ackwerh, World Bank Senior Education Specialist and Ghana Country Task Team Leader, ACE Impact Project

Mrs. Ackwerh urged the centers to emphasize the value of their programs and make their achievements more visible through their websites and other communication platforms. She cited Ashesi University as an example, where international students are willing to pay higher fees because they recognize the value of the programs. She encouraged centers to leverage their success rates to attract more international students, emphasizing that this aspect would be crucial for the project’s next phase.

Mrs. Ackwerh also highlighted the importance of attracting foreign students, along with other key indicators like procurement, internship, and construction, in determining the continuation of the ACE program. She called upon host universities to support the centers in student financing and other relevant aspects to ensure the project’s sustainability.

On his part, Dr Edmund Aalangdong, Head of Policy and Planning and Focal Point for the National Facilitation Unit at Ghana Tertiary Education Commission, commended the centers, especially for their remarkable progress and continuous efforts towards advancing excellence in research and innovation. Dr Aalangdong therefore urged centers to continue to strive to achieve even more and sustain their successes. According to him, it is only when those gains are consolidated that their impacts will be meaningful. The national review meeting, organized by the National Facilitation Unit of the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission, also provided an opportunity for participating centers to plan for their sustainability as the project nears its conclusion. Dr. Sylvia Mkandawire, Senior Project Manager of ACE Impact, encouraged centers to work on ensuring project continuity beyond World Bank funding. This includes establishing endowment funds, seeking grants, brokering research and training contracts, offering short courses and consultancy services, and forming partnerships with government and private institutions.

Dr. Edmund Aalangdong, Head of Policy and Planning, ACE Impact Ghana National Facilitation Unit, Ghana Tertiary Education Commission, Accra

Furthermore, the workshop served as a platform for networking and collaboration among centers, and to update stakeholders on the upcoming 10th regional workshop scheduled for October 31 to November 3, 2023, in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire.

Mrs. Adeline Addy (first from right), Head of Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning, ACE Impact Regional Facilitation Unit, Association of African Universities, Accra

The nine Ghana centers of excellence are hosted by five universities. They are: West Africa Genetic Medicine Center (WAGMC), the West African Center for Crop Improvement (WACCI), and the West Africa Center for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens and Non-Communicable Diseases (WACCBIP + NCDS), all at the University of Ghana, Legon, Accra. Others include the KNUST Engineering Education Project (KEEP), Regional Transport Research Center, Kumasi (TRECK), and Regional Water and Environmental Sanitation Center, Kumasi (RWESCK), all hosted by the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi. The remaining Ghana ACE centers are the Regional Center for Energy and Environmental Sustainability (RCEES) at the University of Energy and Natural Resources, Sunyani; the African Center of Excellence in Coastal Resilience (ACECoR) at the University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast; and the West Africa Center for Water, Irrigation, and Sustainable Agriculture (WACWISA) at the University for Development Studies, Tamale.

September 15, 2023September 19, 2023

CEFTER and NRI Deepen Academic Partnership

The Centre for Food Technology and Research (CEFTER) and the Natural Resources Institute have launched a partnership scheme to enhance scientific research. This partnership comes on the back of a successful teaching collaboration that has existed between the two parties for five years.

Under the new research partnership aiming to fund at least five projects, each party will contribute £50,000 in research revenue for the 2023/2024 academic year to grow research excellence.

The funds generated through the partnership will support innovative research discretions, generating data, and producing outputs that will lead to even expanded collaborative research opportunities.

The Natural Research Institute (NRI) is a specialized research, development, and education organization of the University of Greenwich, UK, with a focus on food, agriculture, environment, and sustainable livelihoods, which also align with the mandate of the World Bank-funded ACE Impact project.

In line with the core objectives of its mother ACE Impact project, CEFTER, through this partnership with international academics, will produce rigorous research that will identify innovations and technologies to reduce post-harvest losses in Nigeria and undertake sector-based knowledge exchange to address local, national, and international challenges.

For their individual contributions to this joint research scheme, CEFTER, which is hosted by Benue State University in Nigeria, will draw funds from its share of the ACE Impact project while NRI will draw from its Food and Nutrition Security Initiative (FaNSI). Together, the funding from the two partners will be used to cover their associated staff time and research costs.

The research will support applications low-cost potential for success in the following research areas: termite control, innovations in low-cost, post-harvest technologies for smallholder farmers and food processors, nutritional profiling of indigenous foods recommended for diabetic patients, packaging, and transportation of tropical fruits and national food supply forecasting, including import and expert deficits for rice and cassava and quantification of citrus and cassava produce in Benue State, Nigeria.

June 12, 2023

ACE Impact-Morocco Partnership Forum provides learning opportunities for Vice Chancellors

To fast-track the connections between Sub-Saharan Africa and Moroccan universities and industries, the World Bank partnered with the Morrocco Ministry of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Innovation, Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P), OCP Africa, the Association of African Universities (AAU), and the French Development Agency (AFD) to co-host the ACE Impact-Morocco Partnership Forum from 31 May to 2 June 2023 in Marrakech, Morocco.

This Partnership Forum involved the ACE Impact Centers, Moroccan government representatives, Moroccan universities, Tunisian universities, private sector representatives, experts in commercialization of research, other thematic/sector experts, and experts from the World Bank, AFD, IRD, and AAU. Because sustainability is vital for the future of the ACE Impact Centers, the Vice Chancellors of universities hosting the 53 Centers were invited to participate in this partnership forum so that they benefit from knowledge sharing and hopefully forge partnerships and networks with regional stakeholders to advance the sustainability of their Centers and their higher education institutions overall.

Learning visit to Mohammed VI Polytechnic University

In line with the objectives of the partnership forum, over 40 Vice Chancellors and Focal Points of governments participating in the ACE Impact Project visited the Mohammed VI Polytechnic University on the 31st of May 2023. Mohammed VI Polytechnic University is strategically positioned to promote applied research and innovation and places research and innovation at the forefront of African development.

The visit by the Vice Chancellors focused on understanding the strategic plan for Mohammed VI Polytechnic University, learning how faculty are supported to digitalize their courses, gaining exposure to the peer learning school, learning about the relevant and impactful research being conducted in the areas of phosphate fertilizers, green energy, materials science, and nano engineering. The Vice Chancellors who visited Mohammed VI Polytechnic University attested to the fact that is a model university of excellence in Morocco and Africa as a whole – demonstrating a high quality and conducive environment for teaching, learning research and collaboration.

Best Practices in Research Funding

Since funding is a key ingredient of sustaining the ACE Impact Centers, another special session on “Best practices in research funding in the context of autonomy” was organized for the Vice Chancellors on the 1^st June 2023. Professor Mustapha Bennouna the former President of Abdelmalek Essaadi University, Tétouan-Morocco and now a World Bank Consultant facilitated this session to discuss good practices regarding research funding and shared experiences across African universities. “There are several reasons why governments must invest in research, and these include strengthening innovations, encouraging dynamic businesses, developing an effective system for creating and disseminating knowledge, taking advantage of the transition to the digital economy, and fostering talent and skills” stated Professor Bennouna at the beginning of his presentation.

Morocco is currently dedicating 0.8-1% of its GDP for research expenditure and the goal is to match and exceed countries such as Sweden, Denmark and Finland who are spending more than 3% of their GDP on research. Professor Bennouna also spoke about sources of research funding in general, common approaches to allocating public research funding, research funding in Morocco, Moroccan sources of financing and strengthening the financial autonomy of universities. He advised that for sustainability to be achieved, governments must be the largest sponsors of research and other sources such as private sector, foundations, sponsorships, and charities must complement government efforts.

Since 2015 the government of Morocco has made strides in strengthening the ‘National Fund for Scientific Research and Technological Development’ by ensuring that it is supplemented by other sources of funding. The country has also prioritized studies into the introduction of appropriate incentives and mechanisms such as research tax credits and public/private partnerships with a view to mobilising private research funds. The National Centre for Scientific and Technical Research (CNRST) is key player in the Morocco research and innovation space – it runs the National Support Programme for Sectorial Research and issues calls for research proposals to public institutions.

“To strengthen the financial autonomy of universities a new law called the ESRI PACT provides for the strengthening of the universities’ financial autonomy and the introduction of a control system based on performance criteria”, said Professor Bennouna. Financial autonomy will encourage universities in Morocco to mobilize their own funds and build their capacities to contract large projects and to invest in innovation and entrepreneurship.

Question and Answer Session

During the question-and-answer session following Professor Bennouna’s presentation the Vice Chancellors asked for advice on alternative sources for supporting universities since budgets provided by governments to universities were decreasing. Professor Bennouna recommended that universities target participating in thematic cooperation networks to respond to some international calls for large research funding.

Another question was on the level of PhD graduates employment in Africa and Professor Bennouna advised that universities should focus on running innovative PhD programs and not producing theoretical PhD graduates. The focus must be on developing new skills for PhD graduates and linking the training of PhDs to economic and global needs, advised Professor Bennouna.

On the question about the level of support from the private sector to research funding in Morocco Professor Bennouna advised universities to specialize in specific research domains so that they become known for expertise in a specific research domain. Private sector would then be attracted to support these specialized universities who meet the needs of the specific private sector.

On the important question of the independence of research focus versus the interests of the funders, Professor Bennouna reiterated that “If universities are excellent and focused on their areas of specialization they will be identified for the funding of their strong, specialist and relevant research areas”.

Conclusion

Clearly the ACE Impact-Morocco Partnership Forum provided valuable learning opportunities for Vice Chancellors that are hosting ACE Impact Centers. The topics that they were exposed to during the forum will contribute to their institutional strategies for sustaining their Centers and leading advocacy in their countries for increased research funding by their governments. The forum also provided opportunities for the Vice Chancellors to establish partnerships and networks with Moroccan universities and other regional stakeholders to advance the sustainability of the quality work being done by African higher education institutions.

April 10, 2023August 30, 2023

Pushing the Frontiers of Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Africa’s Higher Education Eco-System

Globalization and internationalization, amongst other factors, have modified the role African universities play in society. Universities are now expected to be highly innovative and entrepreneurial; commercializing their research outcomes and spinning-out new knowledge-based enterprises, collaborating closely with the private sector, and offering advisory services, among a host of other key actions. The reduction in countries public funds, coupled with the lean government budgets for higher education, demand that higher education innovate and generates external funding to supplement its budget and facilitate meeting overall goals.

In response to this need, the ACE Impact project is strengthening innovation and entrepreneurship activities in 35 participating universities, while actively contributing to the creation of a pool of highly innovative universities, a crucial group needed to champion Africa’s economic transformation agenda. Since its inception in 2019, the project has supported the 53 ACE Impact centres to develop robust implementation plans in three core areas – 1) strengthening of technology transfer 2) development of institutional innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem and 3) innovation-oriented cooperation of research infrastructures. The prioritization of these key areas is congruous with the Disbursement Linked Indicator 5.3 (DLI 5.3), included in the project to track the successes and results of participating centres in meeting pre-agreed milestones under the critical themes of innovation and entrepreneurship.

Under this DLI (DLI 5.3), the project, working alongside experts, supported the centres to develop plans and implement activities related to innovation and entrepreneurship. A thorough review process of centres implementation plans revealed they were at different levels in terms of their institutional innovation ecosystem. centres were advised and empowered to measure their technological institutional readiness for innovation and entrepreneurship. The centres have been equipped with the requisite tools and information to facilitate the engagement of authorities in their institutions and at the country levels to prioritize innovation.

The senior consultant and expert in entrepreneurship and innovation at the World Bank, Dr. Danica Ramljakan, provided very pertinent feedback to the centres following the review process, including the recommendation that the centres need to have appropriate Science Technology Innovation (STI) policies in place and ensure its effective implementation. Centres were charged by her to ensure that institutional capacity building for STI management and governance were in place, in addition to establishing efficient models for knowledge transfer to prioritize capacity building.

The ACE Impact project also charged the centres to define their research and development priorities, develop a roadmap for research infrastructure, and provide sustainable support for innovation development. Equally important to fostering innovation and entrepreneurial activities were the recommendations to attract the private sector to collaborate and invest in higher education Institutions’’ research and development (R&D), strengthen international collaborations, and inform the general public about the importance of the Centres’ work.

Centres have already begun to implement key interventions and have recorded significant improvements.

The Centre of Excellence for Food Technology and Research (CEFTER) at the Benue State University, Nigeria, for instance, has established a new Technology Transfer Office (TTO) and appointed a Technology Transfer Officer, as part of its intervention to strengthen the management of innovation and promote entrepreneurship/commercialisation. CEFTER has also instituted a startup grant scheme, to accelerate good business ideas and drive innovation forward. Already, 10 startups with commercialisable ideas have been selected to benefit from this scheme, following a competitive process involving 1,080 applicants. They are set to undergo a three (3) months incubation (booth camp) during which they will interact with experts in different fields for technical support, as well as undergo training on important subjects, including market research, product development, testing and validation, financial modelling, innovator business branding among others.

The ICT-Driven Knowledge Park (OAK-PARK) at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria developed a non-credit unit course ETR 700 (Engineering Entrepreneurship Process) and offered this course to its postgraduate students, dentistry students and faculty members of the Centre. The centre’s recently established Incubation Centre and ICT Garden were commissioned in December 2022 by Nigeria’s Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Professor Isa Ali Ibrahim, who also gave a lecture on the topic ‘Research, Innovation and Sustainable Development’, as part of a lecture and commissioning event organised by the centre to bring its stakeholders together to engage with the topic of innovation.

Centres under the ACE Impact project have also been creating important platforms to engage key stakeholders from industry, government and the general public through the organisation of innovation weeks and research fares. In November, 2022, CEFTER hosted the West and Central Africa Post Harvest Congress and exhibition in Abuja, where most of its innovations were exhibited and in February 2023, it hosted its annual food week (innovation week) during which Masters and PhD students showcased different food processing and packaging technologies they had innovated. The Centre Leader, Dr Barnabas Ikyo, concludes that the project has positively impacted the University in various areas, citing an example that its company – CEFTER Foods Nigeria Ltd, established in line with the centre’s entrepreneurial activities, produces water, cassava-based cookies and bread in commercial quantities to serve both the university and external community members. He adds that as result of ongoing research by the Centre, the State Government released seventy (70) hectares of land to the university to build a College of agriculture, cultivate model farms and to carry out other innovative research activities.

Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) to support entrepreneurship and innovation, and commercialization of research have also been entered into by some centre’s of excellence and various strategic partners to facilitate implementation and engagement on various fronts.

Looking ahead, the Centres of Excellence are optimistic about pushing the frontiers of innovation and entrepreneurship in Africa’s higher education eco-system and deepening their engagement and impact in this topical focus area. From viable businesses, the take-off of spin off companies, the registration of patents, introduction of resourceful products and technologies, and strengthening of appropriate systems, partnerships and the entire innovation eco-system, the Centres current efforts are soon to reach maturity for Africa’s benefit.

April 3, 2023

World Bank and its Partners to Assess the Regional Impact of the Centre of Excellence Projects

The Africa Higher Education Centres of Excellence (ACE) project is pleased to announce the launch of the Impact Evaluation for the ACE series of projects. The evaluation will assess the progress of the ACE series of projects- ACE 1, ACE 2, and ACE Impact. Co-funded by the World Bank and the AFD, the evaluation will be conducted by independent experts and commenced in Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, and Nigeria, although key analytical work will be applied to measure the impact in all participating countries.

The Africa Higher Education Centers of Excellence (ACE) is a World Bank initiative in collaboration with governments of participating countries to support higher education institutions specializing in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), Agriculture, Health, Environment and Social Science/Applied Science and Education. It is the first World Bank regional project building the capacities of African universities to address specific common regional development challenges and meet the demand for skills required for Africa’s development through high-quality training and applied research.

The first phase (ACE I) was launched in 2014 with 22 Centers of Excellence in Nine (9) West and Central African countries- Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, and Togo. 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 2019 to further strengthen post-graduate training and applied research in existing fields and support new fields that are essential for Africa’s economic growth. Under ACE Impact, there are 53 ACEs specializing in the broad thematic areas of STEM, agriculture, health, environment, and social/applied science and education.

The Impact evaluation will therefore provide a defined pathway toward subsequent implementation of the ACE model and further guide the design of future national and regional higher education projects. More specifically, the impact evaluation would:

Identify and highlight key lessons to-date from the ACE projects, discussing project design and implementation concerning quality, relevance, access, governance, and financing and how these relate to training of higher education students and research outputs.
Assess the impact so far at the sectoral level (STEM, Health, Agriculture, and Education fields), higher education national/institutional system level, and within local/regional communities -focusing on the four target countries; and
Develop overall and country-specific policy recommendations culminating from the findings, focusing on the higher education sectors at the institutional and national levels.

To commence the assessment process, interviews will be scheduled in centres hosted in the pilot countries. The preliminary findings will be presented at the ACE Impact bi-annual regional workshop to be held in May 2023. In addition, the first draft of deliverables will be shared in June for further review and feedback by key stakeholders.

January 16, 2023

The Africa Higher Education Centers of Excellence: A Pathway towards Sustainable Development – High-Level Meetings with Partners

In collaboration with the French Development Agency, AFD (co-financier of ACE-Impact), the French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development, IRD (facilitating ACEs’ regional networks), and the Association of African Universities, AAU (ACE-Impact Regional Facilitation Unit), the World Bank is organizing a two-day high-level event under the theme: “The Africa Higher Education Centers of Excellence: A Pathway towards Sustainable Development”. The event took place at the World Bank Headquarters in Washington, DC, on October 17 and 18, 2022, and brought together the ACEs and the most influential decision makers in the development space to discuss the centers’ innovations and best practices at both national and regional levels, as well as their challenges and opportunities. Following the high-level event, the ACEs travelled on October 20 and 21, 2022 to Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard University for peer-learning and partnership opportunities.

The event was co-funded by the World Bank, the AFD and the World Bank China Partnership Facility (CWPF).

ACEs Lead Health Research in Infectious and Genetic Diseases

Through partnerships with various international and local institutions, some of the health focused Africa Centres of Excellence are involved in research which is seeking answers to solving some of humanities challenges and curbing diseases. ACEGID for instance is part of a consortium conducting numerous studies (including an epidemiology study) in line with preparations for the trials of safe, effective, and affordable vaccines for Lassa fever. The centre was also the lead in sequencing the first case of Ebola in Nigeria within 48 hours, a singular feat that led to early containment, management, and control of the disease in Nigeria, and hence saving lives of the many people who could have been infected by the disease.

With an estimated number of about 14, 000 babies born each year with sickle cell disease in Ghana alone, the West Africa Genetic Medicine Centre (WAGMC) is focusing on undertaking key research on sickle cell diseases. WAGMC is also involved in continental level initiatives, projects and networks including the Sickle Cell Diseases Genomics Network of Africa (SickleGenAfrica). Other key focus areas of the research conducted by the centre include Diabetes, Kidney Disease, and Cancer.

The Centre for Mycotoxin and Food Safety (ACEMFS) is focusing its research on mitigation against mycotoxins for food safety and improved public health and trade. The centre conducts regional surveillance of chemical residues that is, heavy metals, veterinary drug and pesticides residues and hydrocyanic acids in cassava food products among others.

The involvement of some Centres of Excellence in conducting research focused on the characterization of malaria pathogens needs to be underscored. Professor Diabate Abdoulaye, the Centre Director for the African Center of Excellence in Biotechnology Innovation for Vector-borne Disease Elimination (CEA/ ITECH-MTV) for instance, received the Newcomb Cleveland Prize for his outstanding research on fighting malaria in Africa. All these efforts are in line with fostering world-class research excellence and providing lifesaving information and research findings on disease prevention and treatment.

June 17, 2022August 2, 2022

“Place Students and Faculty at the Center of Digital Infrastructure Implementation” – a Senior Digital Education Expert Advises

Mr. Moussa Traore an International Digital Education Expert from the World Bank advised African Universities to always prioritize the needs of students and faculty when designing and implementing digital infrastructure. This is important because technological infrastructure must be used by students and faculty to achieve the intended learning outcomes and produce skilled graduates that would be able to address Africa’s developmental challenges. African Universities tend to prioritize internet access for their administrative purposes and not for teaching, learning and research needs, stated Mr. Traore. He said this while making a presentation during the digital transformation session at the 7^th ACE Impact Regional Workshop hosted in Benin from 14-17 June 2022.

The overall “ICT for digital and remote learning” recommendations shared by Mr. Traore focused on infrastructure and equipment; technical support and training; quality digital content and resources and digital education policies and data governance.

Infrastructure and equipment

Mr. Traore advised universities to gradually migrate their applications, platforms, and related infrastructure to the cloud because this would reduce the need to invest in internal skills for maintaining the infrastructure. Cloud hosting also ensures that the digital platforms are continuously accessible and not affected by power outages.

Universities were encouraged to develop long-term plans for their infrastructure, which must include the replacement of wired and wireless cabling, devices and identifying funding sources. It was also said that university digital transformation plans must indicate how the security and protection of student data are assured.

Mr. Traore cautioned that universities needed to ensure that their servers had the capacity to meet current and future storage needs, and that they had the performance to run newer applications. “It is important to be able to easily expand the storage capacities of servers as needed”, indicated Mr. Traore. Computer servers must be replaced every 3-5 years and their software regularly updated to newer versions. There must be additional servers for specific tasks and services – for example, a web server for online and remote training, accounting server, database server, mail server, and others.

Connectivity

Since robust connectivity is a key enabler for online learning, African universities must therefore ensure that students and faculty have broadband access to the Internet and adequate wireless connectivity. Special focus must be on the equity of access both inside and outside of the campus.

Network Engineers were advised to plan to offer a minimum of 10 mbps total bandwidth to each student and WIFI solutions must cover the whole campus including the students’ dormitories to enable them to learn from anywhere. Campus networks must implement at least the 802.11N wireless technology standard in the 5GHZ band to facilitate maximum coverage and connection for students and faculty.

Device access

Universities were called to allow students to use their own personal wireless devices in a safe and secure manner. Mr. Traore also said that content filtering and restricted guest user access must be implemented to protect the universities’ internal network resources.

It is the duty of university leaders to ensure that every student and faculty member have at least one internet access device – a smartphone, laptop, tablet, and or desktop – including appropriate software and resources for research, collaboration, communication, multimedia content creation, and collaboration in and outside campus.

Universities ought to design and implement plans for accommodating students who either do not have access to devices or lack devices that are compatible with the official campus learning management system.

Learning Management System (LMS) Use

African Universities were advised to ensure that they offered a digital and distance learning management system (LMS) such as Moodle, Sakai, Blackboard or other preferred LMS.

There ought to be clear instructions given to students concerning how to use the LMS and tips for navigating the specifics of a course.

Technical Support and Training

Universities were advised to prepare their Information Technology (IT) support staff to provide just-in-time support to students and faculty members.

There must be a plan for continuous Professional Learning Opportunities for university IT staff. Mr. Traore mentioned observing over the period, that many of the universities were not creating such learning opportunities for their staff, therefore universities ought to refine their goals and set a focus on this area since changes happen frequently in the IT sector. Adding, that the modes and frequency of professional learning activities need to be clarified as an institutional policy.

Mr. Moussa Traore Presenting at the 7th ACE Impact Workshop

Provide Access to Technology and Support

Universities need to identify and put in place support mechanisms to help students and faculty when they experience technical difficulties. Such a support plan, when adopted should be communicated to all faculty and students.

An annual training program on the use of the university LMS must be developed and shared with faculty and students. Offering educational technology support to faculty and students increases their digital literacy declared Mr Moussa Traore.

Quality Digital Content and Resources

The technologies that are deployed must be fit for purpose and should facilitate the management and provision of learning materials. Again, African Universities were advised to support the development and use of openly licensed educational materials to promote innovative and creative opportunities for all learners and to accelerate the development and adoption of new open technology–based learning tools and courses.

Mr. Traore also advised universities to take inventory of all their learning technology resources and align them to intended educational outcomes.

Policies and Governance

Prioritization of the implementation of data initiatives and the collection of data to drive decision-making in African Universities was recommended by Mr. Troare. “To collect data, universities must implement robust Education Management Information System (EMIS) so that they can collect all existing data on students, faculty, and the universities”, he added.

Collected Data must be regularly analyzed to determine whether additional data need to be collected to address priorities. Mr. Traore recommended the creation of a comprehensive map and database of connectivity, device access, openly licensed educational resources, and their usage across the institution.

Mr. Traore underscored the importance of establishing governance for learning and educational technologies to avoid problems with the efficient delivery of systems, confusion over policy, and variation in the types and quality of services and tools provided.

He stressed the importance of implementing an IT security policy, saying that cybersecurity and cyber safety training for students, faculty and staff in general needed to be prioritized. He also stated that digital and distance learning policies needed to be developed and implemented by African Universities.

Technology Planning and Purchasing

University Leaders were informed that they needed to define their Technology Budgets as a matter of priority. Existing budgets must be reviewed, and an inventory of available technology done. Vice Chancellors must work with their Directors of ICT to determine the costs for upgrading infrastructure and purchasing new devices as well as identify funds to meet short- and long-term goals.

Universities must develop a multi-year plan to support and sustain the costs of technology. Similarly, budgets must be regularly reviewed and refined to accommodate the costs of technology.

Technology Evaluation

In conclusion Mr. Moussa Traore said that the periodic evaluation of all technological solutions was important because this provides opportunities to obtain feedback and improve technological services to benefit both students and faculty. During technology evaluations, universities were advised to reflect on questions such as – Is technology being used effectively? Is technology getting in the way of pedagogy? Are the students engaged in the lessons? Do the faculty staff display or have confidence in the use of the technology? Are the hardware and software installed and configured correctly? Are there things that the IT Support team can do to facilitate learning?

Written By: Ms Nodumo Dhlamini, Director ICT Services, Communications & Knowledge Management at AAU