Higher Education & Research

The Association of African Universities (AAU) is the apex organisation and forum for consultation, exchange of information and cooperation among institutions of higher education in Africa. It represents the voice of higher education in Africa for regional and international bodies and supports networking by institutions of higher education in teaching, research, information exchange and dissemination. One of the emerging issues at institutions of higher learning in Africa is eLearning and the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) tools to deliver educational resources. Boubakar Barry is the Coordinator, Research and Education Networking Unit at AAU and Edris Kisambira interviewed him about emerging issues in higher education in Africa.
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As the world's leading English-language publisher of management research, Emerald is always working on new ways to distribute and collect management and engineering knowledge efficiently. At eLearning Africa 2008, the publisher will present the open web space and hosting service Emerald InTouch in its effort to enhance African community building, look for authors and encourage African researchers to publish their findings. eLA newsletter author Nina Wittrock spoke to Eric Broug, Emerald Business Manager for Africa.
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For the last decade, the African Virtual University (AVU) has worked hard to provide needy students with access to quality higher education. The AVU Rector, Dr Bakary Diallo, spoke to Reuben Kyama, member of the eLA editorial team, in Nairobi on their experience and ambitious plans.
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For the last eight years, the International Institute for Communication and Development (IICD) has been helping local organisations in Zambia, Tanzania, Ghana, Mali, Burkina Faso, Jamaica, Uganda and Bolivia use a broad range of information and communication technologies (ICTs) inexpensively and effectively to improve various aspects of the education sector in their countries. So far, IICD has helped to launch 32 ICT4E projects, many of which are now self-supporting. In the following, IICD presents the “Chawama Youth Project in Zambia.
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Dr. Siro Masinde
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Reuben Kyama

Digital libraries can open up more ways for research, teaching and broader public discussion in Africa hopes Dr. Siro Masinde, who works as the Regional Coordinator for Aluka, a not-for-profit initiative that is building a digital library with emphasis on primary source materials from and about Africa.

Africa has its own rich natural and cultural heritage as well as traditional knowledge and information systems that have been passed on from generation to generation. Most of it has not been documented in permanent ways so that there is inherent danger of distortion and complete loss of old manuscripts or archaeological remains. Furthermore, these materials are practically inaccessible to most researchers, scholars and students. Reuben Kyama and James Waititu report from Nairobi.
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“We want to better understand how the pedagogical integration of ICT can improve the quality of teaching and learning in Africa,” says Prof Thierry Karsenti, who is part of the coordination team of PanAf Edu, a project working on a pan-African research agenda that focuses on the pedagogical integration of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). eLA spoke to Thierry Karsenti, who also leads a workshop at eLearning Africa...
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UNESCO and Hewlett-Packard have launched a project to help reduce the brain drain in African universities and research institutions. The project will establish links between researchers who have stayed in their countries and those who have left.
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“We need more good baseline surveys for ICT4D projects”, says Tim Unwin, founder of the ICT4D Collective, an interdisciplinary group engaged in research in the use of ICT for development. Tim talked to Beate Kleessen from the eLA newsletter about his commitment to the ICT4D network, good partnerships, and ICT for education.
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