The RUFORUM Secretariat, six member universities, the Polytechnic Institute of Porto (IPP), and three other European universities received funding from the European Union funded Erasmus+ programme to implement a project “African BlendEd Course: novel pedagogies boosting employability and socio-economic prosperity (ABC)”
The six RUFORUM member universities that are partners are; University of Nigeria, Nsukka and Federal University of Technology, Minna (Nigeria), Zambeze University and Eduardo Mondlane University (Mozambique), Makerere University, Soroti University, and the RUFORUM Secretariat (Uganda). The European Universities are University of Siegen (Germany), Odisee University (Belgium), Helenic Mediterenian University (Greece).
The core activity in ABC is to implement a blended challenge-based learning in a multi-disciplinary and multi-cultural context at African universities to enhance employability of graduates. The course imparts technical and extra curricula competencies to solve real life problems using knowledge gained at university, working with multi-disciplinary and multi-cultural teams. The first cohort of challenge-based learning was held in 2024 with the inception meeting at Makerere University and the Closure meeting at Federal University of Technology, Minna.
General Objective:
Stimulate the adoption of challenge-based international, multidisciplinary project course units to promote students’ entrepreneurship, teamwork, and transversal skills while producing and transferring to the local society results of significant added value. ABC BlendEd aims to adapt the BlendEd learning paradigm to the reality of African universities in the field of agriculture and stimulate multiplier effects to mainstream blended mobility challenge-based project courses to other study fields and regions in Africa, other than those addressed directly by the project, in the next three years.
Specific Objectives,
- Foster student employability and generate added value to the local communities and local economy by designing, fine tuning and deploying a BlendEd project course suited for African universities in the field of Agriculture
- Stimulate the effective adoption of BlendEd courses by all its key stakeholders, students, teachers, and beneficiary companies, by developing the required content, infrastructure and training
- Promote multiplier effects and mainstream the adoption of BlendEd courses in Africa through a Community of Practice empowering local stakeholders
1. Makerere University
2. Soroti University
3. RUFORUM
4. Eduardo Mondlane University
5. University of Zambeze
6. Federal University of Technology Minna – Nigeria
7. University of Nigeria, Nsuka
8. Polytechnic Institute of Porto, Portugal
9. Hellenic Mediterranean University, Greece
10. University of Siegen, Germany
11. Odisee Co-university College, Belgium