The Education Collaborative
The needed scale and speed for delivering transformation in higher education in Africa is beyond any single institution’s capability. It requires a collective with a shared agenda, mutual accountability, and uncompromising dedication to the vision for transformation.
The Education Collaborative spearheads a model of collective engagement that promises to significantly reshape higher education outcomes for students. This transformative scale initiative adopts a network approach that fosters trust and collective commitments among higher education leaders and stakeholders to drive sustainable results within the systems they govern and influence.
The Education Collaborative spearheads a model of collective engagement that promises to significantly reshape higher education outcomes for students. This transformative scale initiative adopts a network approach that fosters trust and collective commitments among higher education leaders and stakeholders to drive sustainable results within the systems they govern and influence.
At the core of this pioneering movement lies a membership model, which encourages open engagement and sharing, and fosters a sense of community accountability among participating institutions. The Collaborative is establishing sub-regional hubs, led by exemplary public and private institutions within each region, to ensure that this model incorporates a deep level of contextualization within different regulatory environments. By doing so, institutions can deepen their ability to advance quality education outcomes while raising the bar for other regional institutions.
The success of this endeavour is driven by a robust platform of in-person and virtual convenings and engagements that facilitate deeper mentorship between exemplar public and private institutions – celebrated for their achievements in higher education teaching, learning, operations, and leadership – and peer institutions striving for growth in those areas. Furthermore, this platform facilitates and provides resources for experiments and innovation at a smaller size, generating the critical evidence and data needed to scale such outcomes across the network and the continent. In doing so, the Education Collaborative network sets the stage for truly sustainable impact on African higher education by driving collective focus in key areas that drive student transformation.
By 2030, the Education Collaborative aims to build a 140-member network that serves at least 1 million students, educating ethical, entrepreneurial leaders capable of creating jobs, advancing industries, and driving economic growth across Africa.
What is an Exemplar Institution?
Exemplary institutions have evidence of solid outcomes and leadership in higher education in their country. The EduCollab accepts an exemplar on the following criteria, which have been developed over the five years of our establishment:
- The institutional leadership’s interest, willingness, and commitment to working to achieve the vision of scaling transformation.
- Strong teams in university operations, academic, and non-academic units.
- Focus on ensuring little to no exposure to reputational risk and a keen sense of and commitment to good governance and financial sustainability.
- Demonstrate credibility and influence in the region with peer institutions.
- Meet all the accreditation requirements in their country of operation.
- Demonstrate, with evidence, a commitment to strong career outcomes for students and alumni.
Our Mission
Our mission is to leverage collaboration and mentorship to build a network of higher education institutions that are uncompromising in achieving excellence in quality student outcomes in Africa.
Our Vision
Our vision is to improve educational systems and outcomes on the African continent through an institutional and collective effort to achieve systemic transformation.
Our Focus Areas for Transformation
Together in the network, we are working to achieve extraordinary education outcomes through focus on these Transformation Goals:
Ethics & Leadership Development
Through engagement in network programs, member institutions maintain a system and culture that empowers individuals and community for ethical action, empathy, teamwork, leadership and influence.
Training Students with Relevant Career Readiness
Through engagement in network programs, member institutions are well-equipped to train and provide all students with the competencies, knowledge and resources to prepare graduates for a smooth transition into successful careers, entrepreneurship, and graduate school.
Enabling an Active Entrepreneurship Ecosystem
Member institutions have the tools and know-how to create and sustain a range of institutional and infrastructural support systems that nurture creative thinking and entrepreneurial spirit in students to solve problems.
Defining Metrics for African Higher Education Ranking
Developing a context-specific ranking system focused on outcomes that contribute to Africa’s development.
Faculty Development and Research
Member institutions build their institutional capacity through faculty training, research and development across disciplines and focus areas.
Impact through Regional Hubs
By leveraging regional clusters, the Education Collaborative looks to scale its impact through partner institutions across the continent.
Explore our regional hubs below:
- East Africa Regional Hub
- West Africa Regional Hub
See where institutions we have engaged are:
Speedily raise a productive and entrepreneurial youth
This project of transforming Africa is not going to be done not by one institution, but by a thousand. We need to build a network of like-minded institutions. Ashesi is a self-contained system, and in order to transform African leadership, we need entire systems working together.
– Dr Patrick Awuah, Founder Ashesi University
Tackling Africa’s Higher Education Challenge
The challenge of an exploding youthful population
By 2050, Africa’s population will reach 2.5 billion, of which 50% will be youthful (UN, 2017)
The challenge of unemployment
Africa needs to create a minimum of 12 million jobs annually to provide jobs for the 30 million youth who will enter the labor market by 2030 (ADB, 2016)
The challenge of economic development
263 million young people will lack an economic stake in the system by 2025 (ADB, 2016)