The Association of African Universities (AAU), a Pan-African Higher Education organization, invites stakeholders to participate in an upcoming training program being organized on Strategic Foresight and Strategic Intelligence in Africa with the following details:

Workshop Title: Strategic Foresight and Strategic Intelligence for Leaders, Managers, Academics and Administrators in Higher Education Institutions in Africa

Date: 8^th -11^th October 2024

Venue:  Association of African Universities Secretariat, Accra, Ghana

Target Participants: The workshop is recommended for Academics, Leaders, Librarians, Registrars, Administrators, University Management, Heads of Resource Mobilization & Partnership Development in institutions, Executive Directors, Directors, Program Coordinators, Staff of International Relations Offices, Finance and Budgeting Managers, Project Managers and Officers, Staff Responsible for Resource Development, Partnership & Policy Managers, and Planning Officers.

Registration Link:  https://forms.office.com/r/yvY1z52mVJ

Registration Fee:  The registration fees for the 4-day event are as follows:

AAU Member Institutions    –        $700

Non – AAU Member Institutions – $800

This will cover workshop attendance fees, snacks and lunches, training materials, certificates, and other logistics.

Overall Objective of the Workshop

This workshop aims to create future-ready and alert African higher education institutions that can adapt as the future evolves (anticipation, awareness, agility, and capability). This four-day practical capacity-building workshop focuses on foresight for strategic decision-making in higher education institutional contexts and helps participants understand and deal with the complexity underlying the operations of universities and research institutions. Participants will gain hands-on experience in applying strategic foresight tools (e.g., STEEP driver mapping, futures wheel, visioning, backcasting, wind tunneling, three horizons, archetypes, and roadmap) and working in groups. Participants will apply theoretical perspectives from cognitive and social psychology, decision theory, economics, organizational behavior, political science, or other behavioral science disciplines.

Specific Objectives

The training workshop is intended to help participants:

• Expand their thinking beyond the present and/or near-term future.
• Consider the long-term implications of current assumptions, decisions, and courses of action.
• Think backward in time to better anticipate how the situation may evolve in the future.
• Think holistically about multiple factors and their interactions to anticipate potential second-and third-order effects.
• Develop a system thinking mindset and the skills and tools to apply that mindset to complex challenges and management problems for decision-makers in higher education institutions in Africa.
• Critically evaluate the complexity of grand challenges in higher education and systematically address them.
• Use strategic foresight for effective strategic planning in the context of the SDGs –building vision, resilience, and capability.

Delivery Mode 

The workshop will be face-to-face, hands-on, and interactive through a combination of lecture, discussion, and group work. The workshop will give participants a structured approach to developing and implementing strategic foresight. The approach is proven and incorporates tools and techniques to aid analysis, the creation of options, and the evaluation of alternatives. Participants will learn to use one of the most compelling strategic foresight methodologies in use today, The Actionable Futures Toolkit and the Horizons Strategic Foresight Approach.

Expected Outcomes

On completing the workshop, participants will be able to:

• Characterise grand challenges in higher education in Africa and delineate the potential of strategic foresight in addressing them.
• Apply strategic foresight to institutional challenges and societal problems to identify leverage points for transformative change.
• Critically reflect upon the strengths and limitations of strategic foresight to solve complex problems in higher education, and society, at large.

About our facilitators 

Our facilitators are distinguished experts in the field of strategic foresight and strategic intelligence, with many years of experience in higher education. They have dedicated their careers to advancing strategic thinking and intelligence among leaders and managers in academia. These are:

1.  Professor Tobias De Coning,  Dean and Chair, Department of Innovation,  and Entrepreneurship, ISM, Paris
2. Professor Frederick Ato Armah, Director of Research and Programmes (DRAP), Association of African Universities

Travel, Accommodation and Visa

Participants will be responsible for their 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 Ghana.

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 on Monday, as the training starts on Tuesday morning.

Recommended Hotels

Generally, participants are advised to book hotels in Accra, specifically in the East-Legon area. The AAU logistics team for the workshop remains available to support with hotel bookings.

Below are some recommended hotels and their negotiated rates:

TOMREIK HOTEL- USD 80 – asm@tomreikhotel.com Mr. Bondzie/ +233 244286915

MJ GRAND HOTEL – USD 80 – ansulinda@ymail.com Ms. Linda /+233 249982150

ROYAL BEAULA HOTEL – USD 70 – edith.pinamang@gmail.com Mrs. Edith Pinamang

MENSVICK HOTEL- USD 100 – info@mensvichotels.com

AH HOTEL – USD 120 – Robert.bulley@ahhotelafrica.com 0243274676

AAU Contact Details to support with accommodation booking and other logistics support: +233 543768690 / lodzebe.gidisu@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 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 and between them and the international academic community. With over 440 members across the African continent and beyond, 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.

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