Transforming Academic Partnerships with Global South: Some

Transforming Academic Partnerships with Global
South: Some new trends, perceptions and realities
James Otieno Jowi
African Network for Internationalization of Education (ANIE)
SIU Internationalization Conference
University of Stavanger, Norway
9th – 10th March , 2016
Africa & internationalization
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Recent system but with strong international orientation
An important part of the global HE system
Engages differently with internationalization
Various contextual implications and even risks.
Many opportunities but weak capacity to benefit from
internationalization
Complexities amid uncertainties
New debates……
Does Africa mean much to the rest of the world?
Are perceptions changing in anyway?
Is Africa still a problem? For everyone to solve?
Are we still reading from the colonial library?
Some facts
• 1 billion people
• 200 million (age 15-24)
• 2500 post secondary school institutions (7% of
worlds total)
• Rapidly growing enrolments
• 6 out of every 100 students studying abroad
A look at the past…..
• 1980s HE in Africa faced serious decline
• 1998 WCHE-strengthening capacities of African HE (Cooperation
identified as crucial)
• Partnerships for HE in Africa supported by American Foundations
• G8 support to HE in Africa- NEPAD & centres of excellence
• 2007 Joint Africa- EU strategy (partnerships for capacity building in
HE)-access/ICT
• 2006-2015- The Second Decade of Education in Africaharmonization, alignment, AHERS, Arusha Convention, Pan African
University, Quality
• 2009- World Bank- Accelerating catch up in tertiary HE- recognition
of role of HE in development
• 2009- Association of African Universities Abuja Declaration on role
of HE in Sustainable Development in Africa
• 2015 African HE Summit (Agenda 2063)-achieve
participation rate of 50%, establish at least 200
research universities, train all academic staff at PhD
level
“An integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa, driven by
its own citizens and representing a dynamic force in the
global arena.”
• Adaption of SDGs in 2015- “ Transforming our world,
leaving no one behind” - Partnerships are key (SDG 17)
• 6th ANIE Conference in 2015 focused on SDGs
• 2016- Going Global!
“OUR ASPIRATIONS FOR THE
AFRICA WE WANT” (Agenda 2063)
1. “A prosperous Africa based on inclusive growth and
sustainable development
2. An integrated continent, politically united and based on the
ideals of Pan Africanism and the vision of Africa’s Renaissance
3. An Africa of good governance, democracy, respect for human
rights, justice and the rule of law
4. A peaceful and secure Africa
5. An Africa with a strong cultural identity, common heritage,
values and ethics
6. An Africa where development is people-driven, unleashing the
potential of its women and youth
7. Africa as a strong, united and influential global player and
partner”
Creation of African Futures
• We are lagging behind-social indicators; but also in knowledge
production
• Mwalimu Nyerere: We Must Run Where Others Walked: catching up and
Leapfroging
• “Bringing the Universities Back In: we need to “reverse the process of
marginalisation of knowledge produced by African universities from
sites where fundamental decisions on the future of Africa are made
(...);
• any meaningful future for Africa must be organically linked to the
intellectual, scientific, and technological capacities and endeavours of
its institutions of higher learning (…); the entire infrastructure that sustains
the intellectual life of institutions of learning – publications, libraries, research
centres, and networks” should be involved (Mkandawire)
• A re-look at the global epistemological order- Dr. Sall
Action Plan: 8 Priority Areas
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Commitment of various stakeholders to expand higher education
Promote diversification, differentiation, and harmonization of higher education systems and
assure the quality of educational provision against locally, regionally, and internationally agreed
benchmarks of excellence
Increase investment in higher education to facilitate development, promote stability, enhance
access and equity; develop, recruit and retain excellent academic staff and pursue cutting-edge
research and provision of high quality teaching.
Pursuit of excellence in teaching and learning, research and scholarship, public service and
provision of solutions to the development challenges and opportunities facing African peoples
across the continent.
5.
Building capacity in Research, Science, Technology, and Innovation.
6.
Pursue national development through business, higher education and graduate employability
7.
Nation building and democratic citizenship
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Mobilize Africas Diaspora: Develop program that sponsors 1,000 scholars in the
African diaspora across all disciplines every year, for 10 years, to African universities and
colleges for collaboration in research, curriculum development, and graduate student
teaching and mentoring.
Africa, mobility & partnerships
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Can be traced even to years before establishment of HEIs in Africa
Pioneer African scholars/professionals studied abroad
Colonial roots of pioneer universities
Regional focus of local universities
Mobility followed strong colonial links
Language was an important factor
In bound mobility – growing but has different shape
Africa is one of the most mobile regions!
Mobility has been central part of the development of HE in Africa
Is an international & intercultural skill building process ..increases students
talents/cross cultural understanding.
A value adding initiative- esp in global citizenship/employability
Global race for talent
What will be the consequences of mobility?
What drives of mobility?
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Inadequate capacity at home
Specialized training
Quality and prestige
Global experiences/multiculturalism
Enhance employability
Aggressive recruitment
Technological development and explosion of information
Growing middle class and expansion of the HE system
Increases in global engagements & partnerships
New funding opportunities & increasing places in developed countries
Competition for talent
***- Not based on some strong premise e.g for the European Union (by
2010- Europe should be the leading knowledge economy in the world)
Barriers to outbound mobility
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Funding- main challenge
Visas issues
Language issues
Access to information on available opportunities
Weaknesses in international offices
Weak institutional collaborations
Credit transfers
Incompatibility of systems
Semester dates esp for exchange
Link to Africa Priorities
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Strengthening of research & institutional capacities
Strengthening academic quality/ curriculum
Preparing students for a more globalised world
Developing Africa's academic community- the new generation of scholars for
Africa
New window for institutional collaborations
Opportunities for collaborative researches
Specialized training / developing new competencies
Strengthening & developing Africa's centers of excellence
Opportunities for reverse mobility
Use of specialized infrastructure/ facilities
Cultural diversity…..new ways of doing things
Enrichment of learning experiences
Responding to local societal challenges
Risks associated with mobility
• Mobility affords many benefits - has serious associated risks
• Mobility presents biggest risks to internationalization in
Africa(IAU, 2010)
• Brain drain- is escalating and poses serious concerns
• Aging African professors
• Low enrolments in doctoral education
• Capacity crisis
• Curriculum influences- loss of local relevance by making it
attractive to international students
• Unfair collaborations
• Are we hitting the target or missing the point?
• Some of these are peculiar to Africa- need to develop ways of
responding
• We cannot underestimate the risks!
The shape of things to come
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Mobility will grow in importance- (5.8 m by 2025) -Open Doors 2013, USA increased by 7%
Impacts will escalate – both good and ugly- the world is not flat
Changing global demographics- favorable for Africa if turned into an opportunity.
Rise of the BRIC economies
Mobility may continue to take a more regional dimension.
Commercialization/global race for talent/rankings and branding.
English as the international language
Current economic crisis could impact on the future of mobility- negatively or positively
Decline in government funding- Africa
Transnational higher education could increase-especially in regions where local capacities are low
Strategic partnerships, alliances and networks- could take centre stage
Expansion of HE Participation in developing countries
If unabated, the risks for developing countries could be compounded
How will Africa respond?
Will it lead to more global polarization and imbalances?
The call for global responsibility/ rethinking of internationalization is timely!
Europe remains a priority region for Africas internationalization….history, proximity,
language…new developments
Some concerns!
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Imbalances in mobility
Are the interests the same?
Endemic risks/ challenges need redress
Agents in international recruitments
Is it elitist?
Does it really enhance internationalization?
Do we assess outcomes of experiences abroad?
What should be the ultimate outcomes?
Growing Xenophobic responses?
Impacts of growing commercialization
Economic crisis
Emerging players/new dynamics
About ANIE
• African Network for Internationalization of
Education (ANIE)
• Originated from project on international
dimension of HE in Africa- 2006-2008
• Pioneer book on internationalization in
Africa- New knowledge & identification of
gaps
• Established in April 2008- Nairobi meeting
• Membership based
• Secretariat- Moi University, Kenya
Main Activity Areas
Research
Capacity Building
Advocacy/policy dialogue
Information sharing e.g. AFIRE,
dissemination framework
• Professional development
• etc ……on the international dimension of
HE in Africa
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Some Milestones
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- Strong membership
- 6 Annual Conferences
- Research projects and publications
- Capacity building workshops
- Strong partnerships within Africa and
internationally
• - Strong dissemination/ communication
framework
James Otieno Jowi
African Network for Internationalization of Education
(ANIE)
P.O.Box 3900, Eldoret, Kenya
www.anienetwork.org
[email protected]