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Promoting youth skills development in Africa through higher technical education: Highlights from CFIT III annual project meeting
From 13 to 16 June 2023, the 2023 Annual Project Meeting of the China Funds-in-Trust Phase III: Higher technical education in Africa for a technical and innovative workforce (CFIT III) in Dar es Salaam, United Republic of Tanzania, gathered over 300 participants, including 277 youths to discuss initiatives on strengthening higher education systems and enhancing youth skills development in Africa.
Jointly organized by UNESCO Headquarters, UNESCO Dar es Salaam Office, and the University of Dar es Salaam, one of the CFIT III partner universities, the CFIT III annual project meeting brought together the project implementation partners and various key stakeholders, including youth, academia, policymakers, private sector representatives, and development agencies. During the three-day meeting, participants engaged in insightful exchanges aimed at pinpointing challenges and opportunities throughout the CFIT III project implementation, sharing knowledge and best practices in the field of higher technical education, and exploring collaborative initiatives for youth skills development.
On behalf of the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology of Tanzania, Prof. William-Andey Lazaro Anangisye, Vice Chancellor of the University of Dar es Salaam, declared the official opening of the meeting. He emphasized the need of high-quality human resources and the role of partnership in this endeavour. He said, “I hope that effective partnerships will be forged throughout the project implementation to improve the quality of higher technical education in our region for a technical and innovative workforce.”
“The CFIT III project works in synergy to advance the Education 2030 Agenda. Together, we are advancing higher technical education across Africa and ensuring that our youth are equipped with the skills to contribute to their nation’s development”. Mr Michel Toto, Head of UNESCO Dar es Salaam Office highlighted UNESCO’s dedication to driving forward Education for Sustainable Development and the alignment of the CFIT III project with this vision.
H.E. Chen Mingjian, Ambassador of China to the United Republic of Tanzania reaffirmed China’s commitment to supporting high-level skills development in Africa.
The CFIT III annual meeting encompassed three parts: Project management meeting, Thematic open dialogues, and country workshops.
Highlights, results and impact
The CFIT III project management meeting invited the coordinators from 12 CFIT partner universities to present the project implementation highlights, results achieved, and impact at their institution. Universities presented solid progress in enhancing training programmes and skills development, such as labour market analyses and graduate tracer studies, curriculum review and accreditation for competency-based education, partnership with the private sector to ensure training quality, entrepreneurship training, green skills development programmes, awareness-raising campaigns among young girls and women in STEM subjects, etc.
The Open Dialogues delved into topics of common concerns related to expected outcomes of the CFIT III project, including information intelligence for programme development, quality and relevance of the curriculum, competency-based assessment methods, entrepreneurship ecosystem building in higher technical education, and university-industry partnership. Moderated by experts from relevant fields, participants actively explored pathways to strengthen higher technical education and empower youth with skills for a future driven by quality education, innovation, and sustainable development.
Building on the outcomes of the project management meeting and open dialogues, the country workshops provided an opportunity for CFIT country teams in Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Gabon, Senegal, Tanzania, and Uganda to closely discuss specific aspects of the project implementation in breakout sessions and brainstorm the way forward. Following the discussions, the national focal points presented priorities and action points for the upcoming project implementation cycle.
In this new era, higher education embraces its “third mission” of driving socio-economic development and contributing to the realization of SDGs. To effectively transform higher education in alignment with the aspirations of the African Agenda 2063, universities need to “offer programmes that reflect a direct link to the professional field and have a firm element of job-oriental development in their curriculum”, as highlighted by Dr. Dereje Engida Woldemichael, President of Addis Ababa Science and Technology University, one of the CFIT III partner universities in Ethiopia.
“We need high-quality training for individual success and the growth of Africa. It is up to us, the young Africans of tomorrow, to take advantage of this opportunity to push back our limits and raise our continent higher”, said Ms. Adjata Kamara, one of the winners of the 2022 L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Sub-Saharan Africa Young Talents Awards, also Ph.D. student at the University of Félix Houphouët-Boigny, a CFIT III partner university in Côte d’Ivoire.
The CFIT III Annual Meeting served as a dynamic platform for fostering meaningful collaborations towards this goal, paving the way for a bright future where the youth can thrive, and the continent can prosper.
