ICHEI Visited Ethiopia to Deepen Cooperation in Higher Education
From July 22 to 23, 2024, Prof. LIANG Jiansheng, Executive Deputy Director of UNESCO-ICHEI, and Mr. JIAO Yanwen, Chief of the Global Partnership and Programme Office, visited Ethiopia. The delegation held working meetings and discussions with Addis Ababa University, the UNESCO Addis Ababa Office, the UNESCO International Institute for Capacity Building in Africa (IICBA), the Ethiopian Ministry of Education, and the African Union Department of Education, Science, Technology, and Innovation.
Visit to Addis Ababa University
On the morning of July 22, a delegation from the UNESCO-ICHEI visited Addis Ababa University and held a working meeting with Dr. Samuel Kifle, President; Dr. Jeilu Oumer, Academic Vice President, Dr. Samson Mekonnen, Vice President for Strategic Communication and Internationalization, and members of the IIOE Ethiopia National Centre and Smart Classroom team.
Working Meeting between UNESCO-ICHEI and AAU
During the meeting, UNESCO-ICHEI reviewed the history of its cooperation with Addis Ababa University. Both parties proposed signing an updated Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) based on the existing one to further expand the scope of their collaboration and deepen the partnership between Addis Ababa University and Southern University of Science and Technology. Currently, Addis Ababa University focuses on digital transformation in higher education, E-learning, and AI empowerment. The university showed strong interest in participating in UNESCO-ICHEI's IIOE Digital Skills for Teaching Workforce Micro-Certification Project (IIOE Micro-Certification Project) and plans to explore policy and course localisation with UNESCO-ICHEI's support. Additionally, Addis Ababa University aims to further engage in UNESCO-ICHEI's multilateral exchanges and cooperation. By jointly hosting regional policy dialogue meetings in Addis Ababa, they intend to promote the innovative practices in technology-empowered higher education, facilitating digital reform and transformation in the region's higher education.
Prof. LIANG Jiansheng (left), and Dr. Samuel Kifle (right)
Group Photo of the UNESCO-ICHEI Delegation and AAU Representatives
On the same day, the UNESCO-ICHEI delegation visited the Smart Classroom at Addis Ababa University. This Smart Classroom, jointly established by UNESCO-ICHEI, SUSTech, WEDON Cloud Education Group and Addis Ababa University has been in operation since 2022. The Smart Classroom provides a digital teaching environment for the faculty of Addis Ababa University, effectively supporting higher education innovation practices empowered by digital technology. UNESCO-ICHEI will continue to collaborate with IIOE partner enterprises to upgrade and extend the functions of the smart classroom.
UNESCO-ICHEI Delegation Toured the Smart Classroom at AAU
Visit to UNESCO Addis Ababa Office
On the afternoon of July 22, the UNESCO-ICHEI delegation visited the UNESCO Addis Ababa Office and met with Mr. Abdoulaye Salifou, Chief of UNESCO’s Education Section in Addis Ababa, and related representatives.
Work Meeting between UNESCO-ICHEI and UNESCO Addis Ababa Office
Mr. Abdoulaye Salifou warmly welcomed the delegation and briefly introduced the key work of the UNESCO Addis Ababa Office. UNESCO-ICHEI expressed its intention to strengthen cooperation with the African Union's education department, with support from the UNESCO Addis Ababa Office, and to jointly participate in the African Union Education Year activities. Both parties had in-depth discussions about the planned African regional policy dialogue meeting, UNESCO Chairs and Partners Forum, and Campus Africa event for the second half of the year.
Group Photo of the UNESCO-ICHEI Delegation and UNESCO Addis Ababa Office Representatives
Visit to UNESCO International Institute for Capacity Building in Africa
On the afternoon of July 22, the UNESCO-ICHEI delegation visited the UNESCO International Institute for Capacity Building in Africa (IICBA) and held a working meeting with Dr. Quentin Wodon, Director of IICBA, and Program officers Mr. Saliou Sall and Mr. Temechegn Engida, among other representatives.
Dr. Quentin Wodon warmly welcomed the delegation and introduced the latest progress of the Africa Higher Education Digital Transformation Research Report. Subsequently, both parties discussed related cooperation in capacity building for African higher education faculty and had detailed exchanges regarding participation in or organizing activities for the African Union Education Year.
Group Photo of the UNESCO-ICHEI Delegation and UNESCO-IICBA Representatives
Visit to the Ethiopian Ministry of Education
On the morning of July 23, the delegation from UNESCO-ICHEI visited the Ethiopian Ministry of Education and held a working meeting with Mr. Muluneh Atinaf, Coordinator for the National e-Learning Initiative in Higher Education Institutions. Mr. Muluneh Atinaf warmly welcomed the delegation and introduced the digital education strategy of the Ethiopian Ministry of Education. He emphasized that the professional development and retraining of university faculty and leaders are key focuses of the ministry's digital education agenda. UNESCO-ICHEI's IIOE Micro-Certification project aligns perfectly with the ministry's strategy. He expressed the hope that the IIOE Digital Competency Reference Framework for Higher Education Workforce could enhance the existing competency framework of the Ethiopian Ministry of Education. By utilizing the course resources available on the IIOE platform, the project could be piloted nationwide, further empowering the digital skills development of faculty and leaders from 50 universities across Ethiopia. Both parties engaged in thorough discussions on how the IIOE Micro-Certification project could support the Ethiopian Ministry of Education's digital education strategy.
Mr. Muluneh Atinaf (left) Prof. LIANG Jiansheng (right)
Visit to the African Union Department of Education, Science, Technology, and Innovation
On the afternoon of July 23, the UNESCO-ICHEI delegation, accompanied by Mr. Abdoulaye Salifou, Chief of UNESCO’s Education Section in Addis Abba, visited the African Union Department of Education, Science, Technology, and Innovation (ESTI) and held a working meeting with Prof. Saidou Madougou, Director of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation, African Union, Prof. Jean Koulidiati, Rector of the Pan African University, and related representatives. This visit marked the first formal meeting between UNESCO-ICHEI and the African Union's education department.
Prof. Saidou Madougou warmly welcomed the UNESCO-ICHEI delegation. During the meeting, UNESCO-ICHEI introduced its key programmes and achievements in 17 countries in Africa, including IIOE capacity building for higher education teachers, IIOE National Centre, IIOE Micro-certification Project, Smart Classroom, research on higher education digital transformation for Africa Region, regional policy dialogues. UNESCO-ICHEI hopes to establish and enhance collaboration with ESTI African Union to jointly promote the digital transformation of higher education in Africa. Both sides discussed the potential fields for collaboration in higher education in Africa and African Union Education Year, and reached positive consensus. UNESCO-ICHEI and African Union ESTI plan to sign a MoU with the support of UNESCO Addis Ababa Office.
Prof. Saidou Madougou (left), and Prof. LIANG Jiansheng (right)
Group Photo of the UNESCO-ICHEI, ESTI, Pan African University Representatives
This visit brought together key stakeholders in Ethiopia's higher education sector, including officials from the Ministry of Education, leaders of higher education institutions, and representatives from UNESCO. Through in-depth exchanges with various local higher education institutions, this visit deepened mutual understanding and trust between UNESCO-ICHEI and Ethiopian universities, educational administrative departments, and regional organizations. In the future, both parties will continue to deepen exchanges and cooperation with the higher education key stakeholders in Ethiopia, to jointly promote the digital transformation of higher education in Ethiopia and Africa, and to drive the cultivation of digital talent and the optimization and upgrading of industries at both the national and regional levels.
Addis Ababa University (AAU) Addis Ababa University is Ethiopia's oldest and largest higher education and research institution. Since its establishment, the university has been a leader and pioneer in teaching, research, and community service in Ethiopia. The university offers 70 undergraduate programs and 293 graduate programs (72 PhD programs and 221 master's programs) across its 14 campuses, along with various health science specializations. Since its founding, more than 222,000 students have graduated from AAU. In recent years, Addis Ababa University has consistently adopted proactive reform strategies, developing and implementing various reform programs to respond to rapidly changing domestic and international educational dynamics. Currently, Addis Ababa University has 10 colleges, 4 teaching and research institutes, and 6 research institutes primarily engaged in research. UNESCO-ICHEI has maintained close cooperation with Addis Ababa University (AAU). As early as 2017, ICHEI visited Ethiopia and signed a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding with AAU and Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech). AAU co-initiated the IIOE project as a founding member in December 2019. In December 2022, the Smart Classroom project was officially launched at AAU. In December 2023, AAU won the UNESCO-ICHEI Higher Education Digitalisation Pioneer Case Award, and in April 2024, the IIOE Ethiopia National Centre was established. UNESCO Addis Ababa The mission of UNESCO Addis Ababa is to contribute to sustainable human development in a culture of peace underpinned by tolerance, democracy, and human rights through programs and projects in UNESCO's fields of competence: Education, Natural Sciences, Human and Social Sciences, Culture and Communication and Information. The UNESCO Addis Ababa office comprises of the Liaison office with African Union Commission (AUC ) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and the National Office for Ethiopia. UNESCO International Institute for Capacity Building in Africa (IICBA) The International Institute for Capacity Building in Africa (IICBA), a category 1 UNESCO institute, is based in Addis Ababa. Founded in 1999, it aims to inform education policies, strengthen teacher professional development, and build capacity in educational institutions, including Ministries of Education. To provide innovative solutions and scale-up efforts to improve educational outcomes in Africa, IICBA works with a range of partners, including the African Union, UN agencies, other international organizations, development banks, bilateral donors, foundations, teacher organizations, school networks, and non-profits. Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia Ministry of Education The Ministry of Education of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia is dedicated to achieving excellence in the field of education, aiming to ensure that every citizen has access to high-quality and equitable educational opportunities. The goal is to continuously cultivate a highly skilled and competitive workforce to promote sustained economic growth and prosperity for the nation. To this end, the Ministry focuses on enhancing the execution efficiency of educational administrative departments, meticulously formulating and standardizing educational performance indicators, and comprehensively advancing the standardization of education nationwide. Additionally, the Ministry effectively supplements and optimizes educational development interventions through precise strategic communication strategies and increased public awareness, ensuring the establishment of an efficient, high-quality, and equitable education and training system. This provides solid support for Ethiopia's long-term educational strategy and economic development. Education, Science, Technology and Innovation (ESTI), African Union(AU) The Education, Science, Technology and Innovation (ESTI) division of the African Union (AU) coordinates programs focusing on human resource development, education, science, technology, and youth development. Key responsibilities include promoting research and cooperation in science and technology, fostering collaboration among member states in education and training, encouraging youth involvement in continental integration, and implementing initiatives such as the African Virtual and E-University and the Africa Outer Space Strategy. The ESTI also oversees the implementation of continental education policies and strategies like the Continental Education Strategy for Africa (CESA), the Science, Technology and Innovation Strategy for Africa (STISA), and the TVET Continental Strategy. It coordinates the activities of technical bodies such as the Scientific, Technical and Research Commission (STRC), the African Observatory of Science, Technology and Innovation (AOSTI), the Pan African University (PAU), the International Centre for Girls’ and Women’s Education in Africa (CIEFFA), and the Pan African Institute for Education for Development (IPED). |
