On Wednesday, October 9, 2024, the DigiGrad Project Workshop convened educators, researchers, and higher education leaders from across Africa at the 14th Annual ANIE Conference in Accra, Ghana at AH Hotel for the WP2 Digigrad Project Workshop.
The workshop aimed to foster actionable strategies to advance internationalization in African higher education institutions. It was a pivotal event for collaboration, capacity building, and knowledge exchange, aligning with the African Union’s Year of Education in Africa.
Opening Remarks
The day began with a welcome address from Prof. Goski Alabi, Chairperson of the ANIE Board and President of Laweh Open University. Prof. Alabi emphasized the importance of institutional commitment to integrating internationalisation and digital strategies into higher education. She underscored how such efforts could position African universities as global leaders in education.
Progress on Work Package 2 (WP2)
Dr. James Otieno Jowi, Coordinator of the DigiGrad Project, delivered a presentation on the progress of WP2, a core component of the DigiGrad Project. This segment highlighted achievements in developing digital strategies tailored to the specific needs of African universities. WP2 emphasizes equipping institutions with the tools to navigate digital transformation and foster global partnerships while addressing local challenges.
Institutional Experiences
Representatives from Upper Nile University (Dr. Samson Aru Garang), Africa Nazarene University (Prof. Sarah Darkwa)and the University of Cape Coast (Prof. Sarah Darkwa) shared their journeys in crafting and implementing internationalization strategies. These case studies highlighted:
- Resource Constraints: Innovative solutions to overcome limited funding and infrastructure.
- Digital Transformation: Tailored strategies to enhance technological adoption.
- Building Partnerships: Success stories of collaborations fostering student mobility, joint research, and staff exchanges.
Their insights reinforced the value of context-specific approaches to tackle shared challenges across the continent.
Some of the internationalization practices shared from participants include;
- The Consortium for Advanced Research Training in Africa (CARTA) in Moi University is an excellent example of practice in internationalization at home, particularly in the African context. CARTA focuses on developing the research capacity of African institutions by fostering advanced training and collaborations between African universities, research institutions, Northern Universities and Non-African Partner funders. CARTA enhances local research capacity without necessarily requiring students or staff to travel abroad. It brings international standards of research training and supervision into African institutions through networking and collaboration of these partners. The research proposals are reviewed by an international team as is the pedagogy.
- In Upper Nile University, The idea of Internationalization was practice at UNU since its establishment, but it was a one side internationalization, i.e. international Higher Education institution were implementing internationalization at the university. There were good number of UNU academic staff were offered scholarship and funds for postgraduate programs in addition there were many activities of academic exchanging programs where UNU has benefitted from it. Other practice of internationalization activities that international institutions and University had visited the university as of their own internationalization programs and activities.
- Technology can be credited for the paradigm shift towards internationalisation at home in Gulu University. Other than globalization, the COVID-19 pandemic ironically provided a perfect technological catalyst for this paradigm shift despite its devastating consequences characterized by disruptions of academic calendars. While this gravely affected cross-border mobility of students and academics, the uptake of technology as “forced” by the pandemic has led into more students and academics at Gulu University participating more on the international academic arena while domiciled at the university. Many academic staff are now advancing their education in international universities on online programmes and even participate in international conferences.
From Strategy to Action
Facilitated by Dr. Mindel from University of Maastricht and Karine Kindrix from UC Leuven-Limburg, the training sessions provided participants with practical exercises to translate strategic internationalisation plans into actionable steps within a set timeline. The sessions focused on:
- Implementing digital tools to enhance teaching, research, and administration.
- Adapting international best practices to fit the African context.
- Using collaborative frameworks for sustainable institutional partnerships.
The interactive nature of the sessions allowed participants to refine their strategies while gaining insights from peers.
Participants discussed and put together concrete options for the internationalization strategy to reinforce the quality of education and research in their respective institutions. Some of those included;
- Initiation of MoU’s to enhance research collaboration and exchange academic programs
- Staff capacity building in internationalization and digitalization to allow academic staff to be involved in internationalization and digitalization of higher education.
- Promote digital competence of students at the university
- Internationalization of the curriculum to strengthen the quality of graduate programme.
- Promote cultural exchange programs to help with Marketing of university and collaborative research.
Updates on Internationalization Handbook
Han Aart presented on the progress of The African Handbook on Internationalization as a comprehensive resource designed to offer information about internationalization in African higher education.
The handbook aims to:
- Define internationalization: What it is and why it matters.
- Explore its scope: The various ways institutions can internationalize their education, research, and overall operations.
- Provide practical guidance: From generating ideas to developing policies, creating action plans, and implementing strategies effectively.
- Showcase examples: Case studies and examples from colleagues across African institutions.
- Support further learning: References and resources for deeper exploration.
He noted that the Handbook is not a bulky, static book destined for dusty shelves or forgotten drawers. Instead, it has been designed as a lean, virtual document that is:
- Easy to access and navigate: Users can find information quickly and effortlessly.
- Open and available to everyone: Promoting inclusivity and collaboration across the continent on https://digigradafrica.anienetwork.org/
- A living document: Constantly evolving, like Wikipedia, with updates, new insights, and contributions from the community.
- Monitored and edited: Overseen by an African academic organization to ensure quality, accuracy, and relevance.
This approach ensures the Handbook remains a practical, dynamic, and impactful resource for individuals and institutions seeking to advance internationalization in African higher education. The Handbook was positioned as a key resource to drive internationalisation across Africa by providing actionable insights, fostering collaboration, and supporting institutions in addressing local and global challenges. Its virtual, evolving format ensures it will remain relevant and adaptable to emerging trends in higher education.
Jaume Fortuny – Mobility as a Strategy for Internationalisation
Mobility was presented as a critical tool for fostering internationalisation, with the following focal points:
- Facilitating collaboration between African universities and global institutions.
- Strengthening academic, research, and administrative capacities.
- Enhancing opportunities for young graduates, researchers, and staff.
Types of Mobility
Jaume detailed two key types of mobility programs for students and staff:
- EU–Africa Mobility: Enabled through Erasmus+ Key Action 1 (KA1), this initiative promotes global engagement by offering students and staff opportunities to study or train abroad.
Key objectives include:
- Enhancing employability and civic engagement.
- Promoting innovation, social inclusion, and environmental sustainability.
- Establishing stronger links between education and research globally.
- Africa–Africa Mobility: Supported by the Intra-Africa Academic Mobility Scheme, this program focuses on fostering collaboration within the continent. It provides:
- Scholarships for African students and staff.
- Support for consortia of African higher education institutions to advance continental academic mobility.
Linking Mobility to Broader Objectives
The mobility programs were connected to the broader aims of the DIGIGRAD project, specifically:
- Refining and contextualising strategies for digitalisation and internationalisation in African universities.
- Training graduates and young researchers to address global development goals.
- Leveraging mobility to strengthen academic networks across Kenya, Burundi, South Sudan, and Ghana.
4. EU Funding Opportunities
The presentation highlighted key funding schemes supporting mobility programs:
- Erasmus+ KA1: Focused on international learning opportunities and fostering global engagement.
- Intra-Africa Academic Mobility Scheme: Designed to promote knowledge exchange and academic collaboration across Africa.
African Universities were encouraged to
- Actively participate in mobility programs to enhance institutional capacities and build networks.
- Align mobility strategies with digitalisation efforts to overcome barriers such as geographic limitations.
- Encourage collaboration within and beyond Africa to drive innovation and address shared challenges.