Do you have advice for the planned Africa E-University?

Is Africa ready to host a virtual university targeting the whole continent and beyond? 

What must we consider as we plan for this implementation?

The Pan African University Institute of Open and Distance eLearning (PAU-ODeL) is one of the African Union’s flagship projects that has been proposed for addressing the Agenda 2063 need for “accelerating development of human capital, science and technology and innovation through increasing access to tertiary and continuing education in Africa by capitalizing on the digital revolution and global knowledge; reaching large numbers of students and professionals in multiple sites simultaneously- anywhere, anytime; and by consolidating African initiatives and strategies on accelerated development of human capital; science, technology and innovation”.

The Department of Human Resources, Science and Technology within the African Union Commission gathered a group of experts (from 23-26 October 2017) to review the working document for the establishment of the Pan African University Institute of Open and Distance eLearning (PAU-ODeL). I was one of these experts who joined others from the University of South Africa, African Council for Distance Education, Pan African University Institute of Water and Energy Sciences (PAUWES), University of Jos/e-Merge Africa, UNESCO/IICBA, Kakata Rural Teacher Training Institute (KRTTI), Universite Virtuelle du Senegal (UVS) / Virtual University of Senegal, Open University of Tanzania and Program4Results.

Vision of the Pan African University Institute of Open and Distance eLearning

To be known for its leadership and excellence in providing access to inclusive quality-assured and relevant tertiary-level teaching, learning and research, innovation and entrepreneurial skills support to open and distance education students located anywhere within the African continent, and catalyzing the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and its ideals.

Mission of the Pan African University Institute of Open and Distance eLearning

To maximize student access to quality, relevant and credible Certificate, Degree and non-Degree programs using a variety of digital technologies.

Our roles as the Experts

Our role as the experts was to broadly review the draft Pan African University Institute of Open and Distance eLearning Project Working Document. This working document will provide guidance and create an enabling environment for the implementation of this Agenda 2063 flagship project. The issues that we considered included the following:

1. The Right Open Distance Learning or Open Distance eLearning platform (anytime, anywhere)
2. The Optimal infrastructure and technology requirements for operationalization
3. Programme Quality Mix, and identifying niche areas of intervention
4. Academic and executive programmes (modules) development
5. The estimated costs 
6. Academic, Technical and Administrative staff requirements for first phase
7. Assessment Modes and Strategies
8. Teaching and Counselling support

The Pan African University Institute of Open and Distance eLearning is part of the Pan African University Initiative championed by the African Union Commission

Do you have any input or advice for consideration as we plan for the implementation of the Pan African University Institute of Open and Distance eLearning? Your comments will be most welcome.