Higher Education And Capacity Building In Africa

Higher education has recently been recognized as a key driver for societal growth in the Global South and capacity building of African universities is now widely included in donor policies. The question is; how do capacity building projects affect African universities, researchers and students? Universities and their scientific knowledges are often seen to have universal qualities; therefore, capacity building may appear straight forward. Higher Education and Capacity Building in Africa contests such universalistic notions. Inspired by ideas about the ‘geography of scientific knowledge’ it explores what role specific places and relationships have in knowledge production, and analyses how cultural experiences are included and excluded in teaching and research. Thus, the different chapters show how what constitutes legitimate scientific knowledge is negotiated and contested. In doing so, the chapters draw on discussions about the hegemony of Western thought in education and knowledge production. The authors’ own experiences with higher education capacity building and knowledge production are discussed and used to contribute to the reflexive turn and rise of auto-ethnography. This book is a valuable resource for researchers and postgraduate students in education, development studies, African studies and human geography, as well as anthropology and history.

For the past 25 years UK Higher Education institutions have forged research and teaching partnerships with their counterparts overseas. Many of these links were funded by the British Government and managed by the British Council’s Higher Education Links Scheme. This book takes an informed and critical look at issues and trends in global higher education over the past twenty five years with an in-depth and often personal account of how these links were managed and led. Ten experts representing a variety of disciplines from areas such as conserving the natural environment, the promotion of human rights, and education and gender present an ‘insider’s’ view of their link, reflecting upon the successes and challenges in promoting research, developing institutional capacity at home and abroad, and the lessons they have learned. This book will be of particular interest to those working in higher education and international development generally; as well as students, researchers and professionals engaged in bilateral and multi-lateral development assistance programmes.

The first of its kind, this book documents and analyzes the international dimension of higher education in Africa based on country case-studies and a consideration of relevant historical and contemporary themes. It identifies trends, developments, and challenges related to the international dimension of higher educational at the institutional, national, and regional levels. It explores the institutional the opportunities and probes the risks while it responds to the growing need for information and analysis of internationalization of higher education in Africa. On the basis of this book project, an effort is underway to establish the African Network for Internationalization of Education (ANIE). This network aims to develop research capacity and expertise to meet the professional and practical needs of individuals, institutions and organizations interested in the international dimension of higher education in Africa.

The role of higher education, especially the international dimension, is given little importance in the discourse on achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in Africa. This book aims to change that. The potential of higher education’s contribution to Africa’s development remains unrealized and often misunderstood. In today’s globalised world, which prioritises economic growth through liberalised trade and competitive market strategies, much emphasis has been placed on higher education’s ability to produce graduates to serve the labour market and produce new knowledge for the knowledge economy. While these are important contributions, the book argues that international higher education and new knowledge must go beyond economic purposes and serve the human and social development needs of the continent. It is against this background that the African Network for the Internationalisation of Education (ANIE) undertook research on the international dimension of higher education in Africa and its role in the achievement of the MDGs. Through empirical research, seven case studies address how international and regional higher education programmes and policies in African universities can address MDG priorities of promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment, combating HIV/AIDS and establishing global partnerships for development through academic mobility, joint research initiatives, curriculum innovation and policy development.

Finland, South Korea and the state of North Carolina in the United States are three systems that successfully have harnessed higher education in their economic development initiatives. Common to the success of all these systems is, amongst others, the link between economic and education planning, quality public schooling, high tertiary participation rates with institutional differentiation, labour market demand, cooperation and networks, and consensus about the importance of higher education for development. Linking higher education and economic development: Implications for Africa from three successful systems draws together evidence on the three systems, synthesises the key findings, and distils the implications for African countries. The project on which the book is based forms part of a larger study on Universities and Economic Development in Africa, undertaken by the Higher Education Research and Advocacy Network in Africa (HERANA). HERANA is co-ordinated by the Centre for Higher Education Transformation in South Africa.

"Universities and economic development in Africa presents the synthesisesand key findings of eight African countries and universities. The analysis and discussions presented in the book draw the following three main conclusions: 1. There is a lack of clarity and agreement (pact) about a development model and the role of higher education in development, at both national and institutional levels. There is, however, an increasing awareness, particularly at government level, of the importance of universities in the global context of the knowledge economy. 2. Research production at the eight African universities is not strong enough to enable them to build on their traditional undergraduate teaching roles and make a sustained contribution to development via new knowledge production. A number of universities have manageable student-staff ratios and adequately qualifi ed staff, but inadequate funds for staff to engage in research. In addition, the incentive regimes do not support knowledge production. 3. In none of the countries in the sample is there a coordinated effort between government, external stakeholders and the university to systematically strengthen the contribution that the university can make to development. While at each of the universities there are exemplary development projects that connect strongly to external stakeholders and strengthen the academic core, the challenge is how to increase the number of these projects. The project on which this report is based forms part of a larger study on Higher Education and Economic Development in Africa, undertaken by the Higher Education Research and Advocacy Network in Africa (HERANA). HERANA is coordinated by the Centre for Higher Education Transformation in South Africa"--Back cover.

There has been a resurgence of interest in training programmes for higher education leaders and management (HELM) at African universities in recent times. Although there have been a few cases of evaluation studies of such programmes in Africa, a more systematic review of the lessons learnt through these programmes has not been done. This book aims to document and reflect on the learnings from intervention programmes at three African higher education councils. It is clear that university leaders face many leadership and management challenges. This is the starting point of the book.