The Association of African Universities (AAU) is pleased to announce the 2016 African University Day Celebration and invites all Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) in Africa to commemorate this annual celebration on November 12, 2016. HEIs are free to celebrate this day on any day during the week of 7-11 November 2016.

Focusing on the need to stimulate job creation for the youth, this year’s celebration is themed; Entrepreneurial Learning and Communities of Practice. The AAU recognizes that for HEIs to adopt innovative strategies to improve their educational outcomes they need to work more closely with various stakeholders, especially from industry, to ensure the relevance of their curricula. This year’s celebrations seek to explore solutions relating to the churning out of graduates who can make a difference in their communities through problem solving.

The African University Day Celebration has as its objective, the presentation of a unique platform to promote critical dialogue among stakeholders on how to improve higher education in Africa. The Day is also set aside to celebrate the success stories of higher education across the continent, and has been celebrated since year 2000.

In Ghana, where the headquarters of the Association is located, AAU will bring together all institutions of education – both public and private universities, other tertiary education institutions, non-higher education institutions, and other higher education stakeholders to discuss the theme through an Innovation Week Celebration, starting from 7^th -12^th November 2016. Partners for the celebrations include the University of Professional Studies, Accra ( UPSA),  the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA),  the MeltWater Entrepreneurial School of Technology (MEST), and the Wisconsin International University.   The celebration will include an Inter-University Debate on an entrepreneurial based topic; Career Fairs for students; Mentorship Seminar;  an Entrepreneurial Challenge Event and  a high level Panel Discussion  be held on 11^th  November, 2016.

Events to Mark the 2016 African University Day

Events to mark the Day can take the form of seminars, workshops, or panel discussions on Entrepreneurship. This should involve various stakeholders, especially industry players and policy-makers and could be supplemented by interviews granted to the public and private media, press releases, articles in local newspapers, and exhibitions of publications and other outputs by Universities.

The recent Webinar by AAU and ADEA’s Working Group on Higher Education (WGHE), on Promoting Entrepreneurship in African Universities video, is a readily available resource to be considered for viewing by participants of planned seminars, following which discussions can ensue.

This webinar was presented by Prof. (Mrs.) Rosemond Boohene, an Associate Professor of Enterprise Development at the Centre for Entrepreneurship and Small Enterprise Development (CESED), University of Cape Coast, Ghana, on 18 August 2016. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9N5uKGmRDX0

In addition to the above, institutions are invited to partake in a twitter discussion to be held on Saturday, 12th November by the AAU and its partners via Twitter – @AAU_67.

If there is more than one university in a locality, such institutions may wish to arrange a joint celebration on the Day. AAU also suggests that information on the event is circulated to the various departments under the Ministries of Education, University Councils, Committees of Vice-Chancellors and all institutions involved in the management of higher education institutions, as well as other public and private universities which are non-members of this Association, research institutions, the media and the general public, inviting them to join in the celebration to give visibility to the Day and to promote activities of higher education institutions.

About the AAU

The Association of African Universities (AAU) is the apex organisation and forum for consultation, exchange of information and co-operation among institutions of Higher Education in Africa.

It 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 its headquarters in Accra, Ghana, was founded in Rabat, Morocco, on November 12, 1967, by members of the Organization of African Unity (now African Union) and has a current membership of over 380 and still counting.

With a strong representation in all five regions of Africa, AAU provides the platform for research, reflection, consultation, debates, co-operation and collaboration on issues pertaining to higher education.

Through its various projects, the AAU has, over the years, made tremendous contributions to Higher Education in Africa. Current programmes being run include the World Bank African Centres of Excellence project, Database of African Theses and Dissertation (DATAD), Graduate Internship programme, ECOWAS Fellowship Programme, Quality Assurance Support Programme and the Leadership/Management Development training programmes.

FACT FILE

Since 2000, the Secretariat of AAU in Accra, Ghana, and the Secretariat of the Committee of Vice Chancellors and Principals (CVCP), now Vice Chancellors, Ghana (VCG), have jointly organised events to commemorate the Day.

From 2006 to date, the following have been the venues and themes for the Day in Ghana:

• The University of Education, Winneba, hosted in 2006 under the theme: Education for Sustainable Development.
• In 2007, which was the fortieth anniversary of the AAU, the University of Ghana hosted the Day under the theme: Forty years of Championing African University Leadership: Prospects and Challenges for the Near Future.
• In 2008, the University of Ghana again hosted the Day under the theme: Sustainable Development in Africa: The Role of Higher Education.
• In 2009, the theme was African Universities: Linkages with the Productive Sector. The celebration was held as a public event at the Holiday Inn Hotel, Accra
• In 2010, the theme was: The Contribution of African Universities to the Achievement of the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). It was also held as a public event at the Holiday Inn Hotel, Accra.
• In 2011, University of Cape-Coast hosted the Day under the theme: Harmonization of Curricula and Qualifications in Higher Education in Africa: Challenges and Prospects.
• In 2012, Central University College, Miotso, hosted the Day under the theme: Promoting University-Industry Linkages for Graduate Employability
• In 2013, the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA) hosted the Day under the theme: Changing Higher Education Landscape in Africa: Highlighting Success Stories.
• In 2014, the All Nations University, Koforidua, hosted the Day under the theme; How can African Universities Enhance Capacity for Job Creation.
• In 2015, the Ashesi University, Berekusu, hosted the Day under the theme, Internationationalisation of Higher Education in Africa

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