The Conference on the Role of the Diaspora in the Revitalization of African Higher Education

Date: 

Thu - Fri, Mar 30 to Mar 31, 3:00pm - 6:15pm

Location: 

Tsai Auditorium, CGIS South, 1730 Cambridge Street, Cambridge, MA, 02138 United

The Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA), The Carnegie African Diaspora Fellowship Program (CADFP), The Ford Foundation, United States International University (USIU) – Africa, University of Johannesburg, and Harvard University are collaborating to present: The Conference on the Role of the Diaspora in the Revitalization of African Higher Education

About the Conference: 

Higher education is undergoing profound changes including massification, privatization, and internationalization, as well as in the patterns and processes of knowledge production, dissemination and consumption, and growing demands for accountability and quality assurance by key stakeholders. These trends are evident in Africa, and have been deliberated at international forums, the most significant being the 1st African Higher Education Summit in Dakar in March 2015. The summit brought together stakeholders to discuss the future and revitalization of African higher education to realize Agenda 2063 of the African Union Commission. The Declaration and Action Plan from the Summit outlined eight objectives. No 8 of the objective is to Mobilize the Diaspora by developing a 10/10 program that sponsors 1,000 scholars in the African diaspora across all disciplines every year, for 10 years, to African universities and colleges for collaboration in research, curriculum development, and graduate student teaching and mentoring.

Launched in 2013, the CADFP is an innovative model in diaspora and international educational exchange programs. It is a collaborative partnership between the Carnegie Corporation of New York (CCNY), Institute of International Education (IIE), the Advisory Council comprising prominent African academics in North America and in Africa, and the United States International University-Africa (USIU-Africa.

To implement the 10/10 program, the Advisory Council resolved to create the Consortium of African Diaspora Fellowship Programs (CADFP) that will open up participation for all African diaspora to work with higher education institutions anywhere on the continent.  The conference will bring together heads of African universities, major regional and national stakeholders in African higher education, and foundations, development agencies and multinational corporations with vested interests for the launch of the 10/10 program. The conference will explore concrete ideas on the structure and organization of the program, modes of collaboration with national and regional programs in higher education, processes of diaspora mobilization in different countries and regions, systems of impact evaluation, and the 10/10 program’s long-term sustainability. Panels will examine the role of diaspora in Africa higher education; technology and digital platforms in learning; regional and international partnerships; and the funding of African higher education.

View the full Conference program

 

Day 1, Thursday
March 30, 2017

(Open to the Public)

CGIS South, Concourse Level, 1730 Cambridge Street, Cambridge, MA 02138

3:00 – 4:00 PM
Room S001

Registration

4:00 – 4:30 PM
Tsai Auditorium

Welcome and Introductions:

  • Mark ElliottVice Provost for International Affairs,  Harvard University

  • Paul Tiyambe Zeleza, Vice Chancellor, United States International University – Africa and Chair, Carnegie African Diaspora Fellowship Program (CADFP) Advisory Council

4:30 – 6:00 PM
Tsai Auditorium

Plenary Session: Challenges of African Higher Education (Open to the Public) 

  • Fred Matiang’i, Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Education Science and Technology, Kenya

  • Winston Wole Soboyejo, Dean of Engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (former President and Provost,  African University of Science and Technology, Nigeria)

  • Ihron Rensburg, Vice Chancellor and Principal, University of Johannesburg

  • Judith McLaughlin, Educational Chair, Harvard Seminar for New Presidents and Faculty Director, Higher Education Program

Session Chair: Ebrima Sall, Executive Secretary, Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa, Dakar, Senegal

 

Day 2, Friday,
March 31, 2017

(Closed Sessions, Registration Full) 

Harvard Art Museums, Deknatel Hall – Lower Level

8:00 – 9:15 AM

Panel Discussion: The Future of African Universities: Policy Directions

  • Berhanu Abegaz, Director, African Academy of Sciences

  • Alexandre Lyambabaje, Executive Secretary, Inter-University Council for East Africa

  • Phillip Clay, Professor and former Chancellor Massachusetts Institute of Technology Board member, Kresge Foundation (former Board member, MasterCard Foundation)

  • Kassa Belay, Rector, the Pan African University

Session Chair: Pinkie Mekgwe, Executive Director, Division for Internationalization, University of Johannesburg, South Africa.

9:15 – 10:15 AM

Keynote Speech: H.E Dr Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, Former President United Republic of Tanzania and Chancellor, University of Dar es Salaam

Chair: Paul Tiyambe Zeleza

10:00 – 11:15 AM

Panel Discussion: Technology and Digital Platforms in Higher Education at African Universities

  • Robert Lue, Faculty Director of HarvardX and Director of the Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning

  • Mark Matunga, Director, Corporate Affairs Group - East Africa, Intel Corporation

  • Atieno Adala, Manager, Research and Development, African Virtual University

  • Etienne Porgo, Manager, Education, Science and Technology Division, African Development Bank

Session Chair: Ilesanmi Adesida, Provost, Nazarbayev University, Kazakhstan (former Provost and Vice Chancellor, Academic Affairs, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign)

11:45 AM – 1:00 PM

Panel Discussion: Partnerships for Higher Education: Consortiums, Foundations, Multinationals

  • Kofi Appenteng, Chair, Ford Foundation Board of Trustees and President, African American Institute

  • Aggrey Ambali, Head, Science, Technology and Innovation Hub, New Partnership for African Development

  • Joyce Lewinger Moock, Advisor to Foundations and Non Profits (former Vice President, Rockefeller Foundation)

  • Paul Maritz, Computer scientist and software Executive,  Chair of the Board of Pivotal (former Vice President,  Microsoft Corporation)

Session Chair: Tade Aina, Executive Director, Partnership for African Social and Governance Research, Nairobi, Kenya

2:00 – 3:15 PM

Panel: Diaspora Scholars and Higher Education

  • Jonah Kokodyniak, Deputy Vice President, Strategic Development,  Institute of International Education

  • Emmanuel Fabiano, Minister of Education, Malawi

  • Gibril Faal, Director Africa – Europe Diaspora Development Platform

  • Fanta Aw, President, NAFSA: Association of International Educators
    Studies

Session Chair: Teboho Moja, Professor and ProgramDirector, Higher Education Program, New York University

3:15 – 4:30 PM

Open Discussion: Establishing the 10/10 Program and the Consortium for African Diaspora Fellowship Programs

Session Chair: Emmanuel Akyeampong, Oppenheimer Faculty Director, Harvard University Center for African Studies

4:30 – 5:15 PM

Endnote Address: Re-imagining African Higher Education for the 21st Century

Fred Swaniker, Founder and Chairman of the African Leadership Academy, African Leadership Network, and African Leadership University

Session Chair: Paul Tiyambe Zeleza

5:15 – 6:15 PM

Break and Networking

 

ORGANIZER(S): 
USIU – Africa (United States International University - Africa)
CODESRIA - The Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa
CADFP – Carnegie Africa Diaspora Fellowship Program
Ford Foundation
Harvard University Center for African Studies
University of Johannesburg