Association of African Universities holds conference

The Association of African Universities (AAU), would host its 18th biennial Conference of Rectors, Vice Chancellors and Presidents of African Universities (COREVIP) in Kigali, Rwanda.

A statement from the AAU Secretariat in Accra and copied to the Ghana News Agency on Monday said the meeting scheduled for Monday, June 2 to June 5 would be organised in collaboration with the Ministry of Education of Rwanda and the University of Rwanda.

The conference which is on the theme “Internationalisation of Higher Education in Africa,” is set to convene distinguished scholars and practitioners to discuss topical issues on promoting the quality of higher education in Africa.

It would also discuss promoting mobility and credit transfer across Africa; improving the relevance of higher education in a globalised world and promoting new modes of teaching and learning (including e-Learning and Distance Learning) to enhance learning outcomes, skills and competences, and graduate employability.

More than 250 participants are expected to attend the COREVIP comprising executive heads of AAU member institutions, top-notched African scholars, representatives of student bodies, as well as representatives of sub-regional, regional and international organisations.

Also in attendance would be donor and development agencies that partner with the AAU in carrying out its mandate of improving the quality of higher education in Africa.

Ministers of Higher Education and other higher education policy think tanks would also partake in the conference to help push the agenda for the internationalisation of African Higher Education, which requires concerted and well synchronised efforts from all key players.

The upcoming COREVIP would also provide an excellent opportunity for leaders of African higher education institutions, particularly the current member institutions of the AAU, to exchange experiences and draw on the lessons from the themes as well as serve as an opportunity to hear from both regional and international organisations involved in higher education initiatives.

COREVIP is an assembly of the chief executive officers of member institutions or their representatives, which meets every two years with the purpose of collectively examining themes identified as common concerns and priorities for the development of higher education in member institutions.

It aims at making recommendations primarily to members, as well as to the Governing Board, and to the Secretariat and acting as a mid-term forum for taking stock of the implementation of the decisions of the General Conference and recommending corrective measures.

AAU is an international non-governmental organisation set up in November 1967 by universities in Africa to promote cooperation among themselves and between them and the international academic community.

With a current membership of 320 institutions of higher learning drawn from all regions within the continent, the AAU is the representative voice of the African higher education community with a mission to raise the quality of higher education in Africa and strengthen its contribution to African development by fostering cooperation and collaboration among its member institutions, providing support to their core functions of teaching, learning and research.