Accra- Ghana, October 22, 2020 – To mark the 2020 African Universities’ Week, the Association of African Universities and its collaborating institutions will be hosting a series of exciting virtual events focusing on Digital Transformation in African Higher and Tertiary Education.

The African Universities’ Week (AU Week) is celebrated annually by universities in Africa to commemorate the birth of the AAU on the 12th November 1967 in Rabat, Morocco. The Week’s celebration brings together higher education stakeholders across the continent, to discuss contemporary issues pertinent to the improvement of the quality and relevance of higher education to the development of the African continent. The African Universities’ Week Celebrations have become a premier event on the calendar of AAU and has been celebrated by HEIs since 2000.

All higher education institutions and stakeholders across the continent are invited to participate in the celebration of the 2020 African Universities week which comes off from November 9-13, 2020 by registering via https://tinyurl.com/2020AUWeek.  For the first time, one continental virtual weeklong event is planned for the 2020 AU Week Celebrations – instead of various physical events in different African Universities. The rich bouquet of programme lined up for the week include keynote addresses and webinars on various topical issues- including Open Access, Blended Education, Leadership by Women, and Geo-Tourism, among others.  The programme will also feature sessions dedicated to AAU members and opportunities for collaborating among themselves and with other institutions.

AAU recommends that the management of each member institution circulates information concerning the AU Week Celebrations to Ministries of Education, University Councils, Committees of Vice-Chancellors, and students to ensure their participation.  Representatives from diverse sectors including – health, agricultural, financial, and educational industries, Research Institutions and corporate organisations are also invited to actively participate in the celebrations. Other public and private universities in each country which are non-members of the AAU,  the media and general public are also invited to join the celebrations to give visibility to the week and promote the activities of higher education institutions in their countries.

This year’s theme, ‘Digital Transformation in African Higher and Tertiary Education’ was aptly chosen to stimulate dialogue on how African HEIs can digitally transform their various business processes – teaching, learning, working spaces, events management, administrative operations (financial, students records, health, accommodation, etc), collaborations, knowledge services,  research, community engagement among several other functions of HEIs.  Specifically, the theme for the 2020 AU Week links to the African Union Commission’s Digital Transformation Strategy (2020-2030) whose vision is “an Integrated and inclusive digital society and economy in Africa that improves the quality of life of Africa’s citizens, strengthens the existing economic sector, enables its diversification and development, and ensures continental ownership with Africa as a producer and not only a consumer in the global economy”.

‘As the AAU and all higher education institutions come together to celebrate the AU Week,  I invite all stakeholders,  especially the Heads of HEIs, Government of African States and Development Partners to increase their allocation and investment towards ensuring a holistic digital transformation of the African Higher Education Sector. The COVID-19 pandemic has shown us that this is urgent now, more than ever’ said Prof. Etienne Ehile, Secretary General of the Association of African Universities.

More information about the African Universities’ Week is available in the concept note which is accessible at https://blog.aau.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Final-Version-AU-Week-Concept-Note-October-22-2020.pdf

AAU, the Voice of Higher Education in Africa!!

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Note to Editors

About 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. Created in 1967 by the Heads of African Universities themselves, AAU is the voice of higher education in Africa. The Association aims to improve the quality of higher education, and to strengthen its contribution to Africa’s development by supporting the core functions of higher education institutions and facilitating critical reflection and consensus building on issues affecting higher education. It is headquartered in Accra, Ghana and has three regional offices – North African Regional Office (NARO) hosted by the Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt; Eastern African Regional Office (EARO) hosted by the University of Khartoum in Khartoum, Sudan; and North America Office (NAMO) in Washington DC, USA. The AAU is the technical implementing arm of the African Union Commission (AUC) in higher education and the coordinating agency of the Higher Education Cluster of the Continental Education Strategy for Africa (CESA 16-25) of the AUC. It currently has a membership of over 400 Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) across Africa.

Collaborating Organizations
The AAU Secretariat is collaborating with its three regional offices – North Africa Regional Office (NARO), East Africa Regional Office (EARO) and North America Office (NAMO) and its Member Universities to celebrate the Week.

Contact Information

Mrs Felicia Kuagbedzi

Communications and Publications Officer

Association of African Universities, P. O. Box AN 5744, Accra-North, Ghana

Email:  fnkrumah@aau.org with a copy to lodzebe.gidisu@aau.org

Mobile: +233 26 417 3153

Tel: +233-302-774495 / 761588

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