Digital Education: a priority for universities throughout Africa
© 2020 EPFL
As part of the joint initiative of EPFL and UM6P, forty-four universities from 19 African countries, representing all the subregions of the continent, applied for the creation of Centres of Competence in Digital Education (C-CoDE). The interest and institutional commitment of these universities emphasise the importance of integrating or strengthening digital education in their teaching processes.
EPFL and UM6P’s joint initiative “Excellence in Africa” launched on July 1st, 2020 a call for expressions of interest related to one of its 3 pillars: Digital education. This call had as objective the creation of several Centres of Competence in Digital Education (C- CoDE). With 44 complete applications from universities across the continent, digital education is clearly seen as part of their strategic development plans and not merely a response to the Covid-19 crisis. Through digital education, “Excellence in Africa” aims to strengthen the quality of teaching as well as the competencies of graduates in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics) disciplines relevant to the African context.
The transition of African universities to digital education, with the sustainable integration of digital tools and technologies and the adoption of modern pedagogical approaches, requires a new set of skills and competences. The creation of Centres of Competence in Digital Education (C-CoDE), bringing together these pedagogical and technological competencies, will lead this digital transition for the selected universities and have a broader impact at national and regional level.
Following the evaluation of the applications by an ad hoc committee composed of experts from EPFL, UM6P and independent specialists, selected institutions will be invited to submit a full proposal in early September 2020.
The final selection of partner universities which will set up a Centres of Competence in Digital Education (C-CoDE) at their campus, will be published by end October 2020.
For further information, please visit the Excellence in Africa website.
Contacts
Yann Kerloch, communication for Excellence in Africa, EPFL
+41 21 693 64 01, [email protected]
Ranya Alaoui, communication manager for UM6P
+212 525 07 31 21, [email protected]