Association of African Universities to hold 15th General Conference

The Association of African Universities, AAU, says all is set to hold it 15th Quadrennial General Conference of African University Leaders and Higher Education Stakeholders Virtually.

In a statement issued to Journalists ahead of the Conference, the Secretary General of the AAU, Professor Etienne Ehile, said the current environment beckons on the higher education community to position itself as a beacon to accelerate transformation from promises to reality.

Professor Ehile further stated that the 15th General Conference is a key step  that will ultimately foster development of a cohesive and vibrant African higher education community , as a driver of Africa’s development agenda.

He said; “Africa’s ongoing transformation, founded on strong economic growth, political will and favorable demographics, is ushering a new higher education landscape on the continent as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

The 2021 General Conference, with the theme: “The Future of African Higher Education” will, among other things, provide an opportunity for African academics to share scientific and research information on the theme, as well as provide a platform for sharing best practices with policy makers, and strengthen networking among African higher education institutions.

The Conference is to assess the activities implemented by the AAU in the past four years against the background of its Work Programme and Strategic Plan approved at the previous Conference .

It will also approve the plan of activities and budget estimates for the next four-years.

The Conference will also feature statutory sessions which are specific to the Association, such as election of a new Governing Board from among the Vice Chancellors, Presidents and Rectors of the member universities.

The 15th General Conference which coincides with the 21st Conference of Rectors, Vice Chancellors and Presidents of African Universities COREVIP , will jointly be held under the following sub- themes.

Theme 1: The Future of African Higher Education Post-COVID-19 ;

Sub-Theme 2: Contributions of African Higher Education Institutions to Addressing the Challenges linked to the COVID-19 pandemic ;

Sub-Theme 3: Contributions of African Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals;

Sub-Theme 4: Funding of African Higher Education Institutions in the face of unpredictable Economy ;

Sub-Theme 5: Mainstreaming e-learning and the digital divide

 Sub-Theme 6: Contributions of the Diaspora to African Higher Education.

The AAU, Africa’s apex continental Higher Education body with a membership of over 400 higher education institutions, convenes its General Conference, an assembly of representatives of all member institutions and key higher education stakeholders including policy makers, academics, researchers, development partner representatives and others, once every four years.

The Association of African Universities is an international non-profit, non-governmental organization created by African Universities to promote cooperation amongst them and between them as well as the international academic community.

Mercy Chukwudiebere