The Association of African Universities (AAU) is inviting all Higher Education Institutions across the continent to celebrate the 2021 Africa Universities’ Day which falls on the November 12th, 2021, under the theme “Building Technology Based Resilient Universities, Now!”.
The Africa Universities’ Day is celebrated each year in commemoration of the day the AAU was established on November 12, 1967, and to highlight the contributions of the Higher Education Sector to the development of the African continent. On this day, critical talks on improvements of the quality of higher education in African Universities are shared.
This year’s theme seeks to shed light on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on higher education, and the urgent need for stakeholders to find ways to improve the modes of education delivery, especially based on the experiences and innovations that emerged as positives from the pandemic era.
The week of November 8-12 is lined with an array of rich programs which includes high-level presentations and panel discussions on the need for African Higher Education Institutions to collaborate and share technological resources and expertise in online content preparation and delivery. Other aspects will focus on the needed management and stakeholder support (policy and financial) and commitment towards building a technology based resilient higher education system. Having such systems in place is critical in promoting development and the attainment of the “Africa we want” by 2063.
AAU’s Secretary General, Prof. Olusola Oyewole says the 2021 celebration seeks to bring together the entire higher education community and major stakeholders in Africa to respond to salient questions and issues such as how HEIs are leveraging on partnerships to share resources, how they capitalize on technological innovations to enhance the achievement of their core mandates, among other issues
The 2021 celebrations like similar events in the past, has lined up a cocktail of events: topical seminars, debates, exhibitions, social media conversations, conferences, webinars and several other interesting activities. Besides, there will also be independent events hosted by the individual AAU member institutions.
With about 400 members across the African continent, AAU is the largest and most comprehensive organization representing Universities and Higher Education bodies in Africa. AAU supports and takes forward the interests of individual institutions and the higher education sector as a whole.
Photo courtesy / AAU
Article by Ann Agongo
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