Lwakabamba appointed to top Africa-US education post

The Rector of the National University of Rwanda (NUR), Professor Silas Lwakabamba and the President of Cornell University, David J. Skorton, have been appointed to co-chair the famous Africa-US Higher Education Initiative Advisory Board. The Africa-US Higher Education Initiative was established in July 2007 by a number of organizations in Africa and the US with the support of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to advocate for increased US engagement in African higher education capacity development. In a phone interview The New Times had with Prof. Lwakabamba, he said that the initiative would lend a hand to African universities in terms of funds assistance and human resources. The Rector also noted that the advisory board of Africa-US Higher Education Initiative is made up of twelve people, six from Africa and six from the US, but so far only the two co-chairs have been appointed. The full board will have representation from African and U.S. leaders across the spectrum of higher education and from the private and civil society sectors as well. He also said that the Africa-US Higher Education Initiative will address the issue quality and capacity education on a greater scale in Africa by the use of advanced technology and sustainable development. He added that some of the issues to be embarked on include developing an advanced curriculum and emphasizing relevant community studies in Africa. Media reports also quoted Lwakabamba, commenting on the significance of the initiative, as saying that Africans across the continent have been yearning for stronger universities and polytechnics and the institutions have been working hard to meet the exploding demand for post-secondary education. Partnerships with institutions in the United States and other parts of the world are essential for the development of African institutions. The NUR Rector also said that there is need for coordination and partnership between Africa and US Universities in terms of empowering African universities to produce competitive human resources. The Africa-U.S. Higher Education Initiative is expected to use USAID’s initial contribution of US$1 million (Approx. Frw545m) to fund 20 partnership planning grants of US$50,000 (Approx. Frw27m) each, to support collaboration between African and U.S. institutions, with the main purpose of increasing teaching, problem solving and administrative capacity in African institutions. According to reports, these grants will be managed by Higher Education for Development and the initiative’s team has been consulting broadly in Africa and the United States to merge its efforts with current collaborations already underway and to develop a framework for a competitive grants program that will support new Africa-U.S. higher education partnerships. Ends