From left: Professor Damtew Teferra, Dr Beatrice
Njenga, Associate Professor Wondwossen Tamrat,
Dr Samuel Kifle, Dr Eva Egron-Polak and
Dr Mahama Ouedraogo.
A high-level symposium sponsored by the Ethiopian Ministry of Education in association with several partners and sponsors, including UKZN’s Higher Education Training and Development Unit (HETD), was held in Addis Ababa.
The symposium, which attracted about 150 delegates, featured Dr Eva Egron-Polak, the Executive Director, International Universities Bureau, and Secretary General of the International Association of Universities in France; and Professor N V Varghese, formerly Director, UNESCO-IIEP, now Director, Centre for Policy Research in Higher Education, India, one of the leading authorities in Higher Education leadership and governance in the world.
This symposium also brought together the international and continental partners of the International Network for Higher Education in Africa.
The group took the opportunity to hold an initial meeting with partners of a new project involving the University of Tampere (Finland), the University of Makerere, UKZN, the Uganda Management Institute, and the three Ethiopian Universities – Addis Ababa, Bahir Dar and Mekelle. The grouping won a major grant from the Finnish government to advance leadership and management in Higher Education in Africa. This is the third time the Finnish government has committed such a major grant to support such initiatives.
The new initiative, which is anticipated to start soon, is expected to benefit PhD students and academics at UKZN, as has been the case in the past.
Dignitaries included the Ethiopian State Minister of Education, senior government officials, and officials from the Education and Science and Technology departments of the African Union Commission.
The effort was a manifestation of the 10-Year Continental Education Strategy for Africa, which UKZN’s Professor Damtew Teferra helped develop along with four leading authorities in education.
Teferra was also instrumental in organising and intellectually leading the symposium.