The Association of African Universities (AAU), Africa’s apex continental higher education body, invites stakeholders to participate in an upcoming training programme being organised  on contemporary legal issues in higher education with the following details :
Theme: ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, DATA PROTECTION & 21^ST CENTURY HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS IN AFRICA

Date: September 3 – 5, 2024; workshop duration – 3 days; Venue: Dar-es-salaam, Tanzania

Target Participants: This training targets all stakeholders in higher education and knowledge production with a particular focus on Innovative Institutional leaders, Policy makers, lawyers, Technology Transfer Officers, Data Protection Officers, Information Technology Professionals, Data Scientists, Academics, and Inventors.

Registration Link: https://forms.office.com/r/N80NXqCss2

Workshop Fee: AAU member institutions: 700 USD and Non-AAU member institutions: 800 USD

BACKGROUND

In recent decades, there have been growing demands on higher education institutions from several actors including regulators, students, and donors, requiring them to be more compliant with legal and policy frameworks in the performance of their functions.  This increasing demand has exposed universities to considerable legal risk.  As such, Higher education institutions must be very mindful of the legal environment in which they operate.

The Legal Issues in Higher Education program is an annual training program instituted by the Association of African Universities in 2017 in response to this growing need. Four training sessions have so far been held over three years in Mauritius, Botswana, and Rwanda. These training programs explored several themes relating to the legal context of higher education governance and management. The COVID pandemic in 2020 led to the truncation of this initiative.

During this lull, there have been significant legal developments in higher education. In the past five years alone, close to fifteen (15) African countries have enacted data protection legislation as well as intellectual property laws. Most of these laws raise legal issues linked to the interface of university processes to data and technology. Also, there has been significant progress in artificial intelligence in the year 2023.  Generative AI in particular has provided tools that have significantly transformed innovation and inventions. This has implications for claims by Higher Education Actors to intellectual property and technology transfer. This workshop will focus on the key legal issues arising from this evolving environment.  The purpose is to generate ideas and share perspectives on emerging legislative frameworks that address these concerns.  It will also introduce participants to data management and protection policies that effectively respond to the demands imposed by legislation. The training will review related case studies based on reported litigation from the Courts.

GENERAL OVERVIEW:

The thematic areas to be focused on comprise matters relating to the interface between law, Digital Technology, Artificial Intelligence and Intellectual Assets. The training will also explore judicial attitudes towards these issues.

METHODOLOGY/ MODE OF DELIVERY

The training session would employ the use of presentations, case studies on policy approaches, expert discussions, cohort deliberations, and open sessions, amongst others, to ensure effective facilitation, interaction, and communication of the ideals underpinning the training.

ABOUT THE FACILITATORS:

SOLOMON FAAKYE, ESQ: Solomon Faakye is the Head of Legal and General Counsel for the University of Cape Coast. He has also provided specialized corporate counsel to many reputable organizations including the Ghana Heritage Conservation Trust. Mr. Faakye has deep understanding of the legal and policy environment in which higher education operates. He has broad expertise in public law and technology law. He has published widely in peer reviewed journals both local and international and provided lectures, trainings and consultancies to several reputable national and international institutions. Mr. Faakye is a recipient of several prestigious academic and professional fellowships including the Erasmus Mundus Fellowship (European Union), Quota Scholarship (Government of Norway) and Mandela Washington Fellowship (US Department of State).

PROF. ERIK NIKLAS LAVESSON : Prof. Niklas Lavesson is a Full Professor of software engineering and Artificial Intelligence at the Blekinge Institute of Technology (Hogskola), Sweden. He has held several positions in various Higher Education Institutions across Sweden. From 2017 to 2021, he was a full professor of Computer Science at the Jonkoping University, Sweden. Between 2021 to 2022, he was the senior adviser to Hamrin Foundation, Jonkoping in Sweden. Prof. Lavvesson has also published in several journals including the Journal of Data Science and Analytics and the Journal of Wireless Mobile Networks, Ubiquitous Computing and Dependable Application. His works have focused on the creation of technology, its use and implications on different aspects of society.

TRAVEL, ACCOMMODATION, AND VISA

Participants will be responsible for their own accommodation and travel-related costs, such as flights and or local transportation. AAU will provide invitation letters to support the visa application process of participants from countries that require visas to enter Tanzania.

Participants are encouraged to confirm their participation early enough to ensure they have enough time to process their visas. It is suggested that participants arrive latest on the Monday evening, as the training starts on Tuesday morning.

CONTACT DETAILS: +233 543768690 / lodzebe.gidisu@aau.org  and cc: aodarko@aau.org.

LANGUAGE:

The main training language is English. However, an English French-English interpretation service will be provided for French speaking participants.

 

ABOUT THE  TRAINING PROGRAMME ORGANISER – The Association of African Universities –https://aau.org/

The Association of African Universities (AAU) is an international non-governmental organization set up by the universities in Africa to promote cooperation among them and between them and the international academic community. With over 440 members across the African continent, AAU is the largest and most comprehensive organization representing Universities and Higher Education bodies in Africa. It is also the apex organization and forum for consultation, exchange of information, and cooperation among institutions of higher education in Africa, and represents the voice of higher education in Africa on regional and international bodies and supports networking by institutions of higher education in teaching, research, information exchange, and dissemination. The AAU, with headquarters in Accra, Ghana, was founded in 1967, following recommendations made at an earlier conference organized by the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Antananarivo, Madagascar in September 1962 for the formation of such an apex organization. The mission of the AAU is to raise the quality of higher education in Africa and strengthen its contribution to African development by fostering collaboration among its member institutions.

 

ONLINE PAYMENT DETAILS

https://pay.aau.org/clihet-tanzania

BANK DETAILS FOR PAYMENTS

Dollar Accounts

BANK DETAILS 1

Account Name: ASSOCIATION OF AFRICAN UNIVERSITIES

Name of Bank: STANDARD CHARTERED BANK HIGH STREET BRANCH ACCRA-GHANA

Account Number: 87002-024488-01

Swift Code: SCBLGHACXXX

US Correspondent bank: SCB New York

Swift Code: SCBLUS33

ABA#: 026002561

 

BANK DETAILS 2 

Account Name: ASSOCIATION OF AFRICAN UNIVERSITIES

Name of Bank: ZENITH BANK GHANA LIMITED HEAD OFFICE ZENITH HEIGHT, NO. 31 INDEPENDENCE AVE. ACCRA-GHANA

Account Number: 4050121131

Swift Code: ZEBLGHAC

 

Cedi Account

BANK DETAILS 3  

Account Name: ASSOCIATION OF AFRICAN UNIVERSITIES

Name of Bank: ZENITH BANK GHANA LIMITED HEAD OFFICE ZENITH HEIGHT, NO. 31 INDEPENDENCE AVE. ACCRA-GHANA

Account Number: 6010155869

Swift Code: ZEBLGHAC