Support research for Higher Education/ Campus Africa

Details

Mission and objectives

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a United Nations specialized agency with the headquarters based in Paris, France with a wide field network around the world. The mission of the organization is to contribute to peace and development of the world through education, the sciences, culture and communication and information. In the field of education, UNESCO is the international coordinator of Education for All. At the World Education Forum held in Dakar, Senegal in 2000, more than 160 countries around the world committed to achieving the Six Goals of Education for All (two of them are linked to MDG 2 and 3) by 2015. The role of UNESCO, therefore, is to support Member States to achieve them using capacity development approach. For more information, please refer to www.unesco.org/education. UNESCO along with the UN family priorities its support to Africa as the most developmentally challenging continent in the world. The UNESCO Regional Office for Eastern Africa based in Nairobi, Kenya, is the multi-sectoral regional office for 13 Eastern Africa member states of UNESCO and is the official representative to 10 of the 13 countries: Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia and Uganda. The remaining three countries, namely Ethiopia, South Sudan and Tanzania, are supported by their respective UNESCO National Offices based in these countries. The principal responsibility of the Education Programme Unit at the Regional Office in Nairobi is to support Member States to make progress towards achievement of EFA by 2015 (and education-related MDGs). Concretely, the office focuses on four areas: sector-wide planning and management, quality of education through education for peace and teachers, literacy and non formal education, and comprehensive educational responses to HIV and AIDS. For more information, please refer to www.unesco-nairobi.org and download Information Booklet of the office

Context

As approved in the 41 C/4, Campus Africa's overall objective is to build integrated, inclusive, and quality tertiary education systems and institutions, for the development of inclusive and equitable societies on the continent. Practically all actions on higher education in Africa by UNESCO, HQs, Field Offices in Africa, and category 1 Institutes in the 2024-2025 biennium (42 C/5 ED Output 4), are expected to deliver on and contribute closely to the objectives of the Programme Campus Africa “Reinforcing higher education in Africa, within the implementation of the Operational Strategy Africa 2022-2029”. Therefore, within the key global and regional framework documents (such as the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and specifically the Sustainable Development Goal 4, UNESCO Strategy on Technological Innovation in Education (2022–2025), African Union Continental Education Strategy for Africa (2016-2025), Transforming Education Calls to Action, and the UNESCO Regional Office for Eastern Africa Regional Support Strategy’s), UNESCO Education Sector is seeking a consultancy to build on the work done in the region on improving access to quality higher education, and in particular the flagship 1 on Campus Africa. To achieve the Campus Africa objective, UNESCO is working with its networks and partners to pool expertise and resources and ensure synergies in action for sustainable impact.

Task description

Under the overall authority of the Director of UNESCO Regional Office for Eastern Africa and under the direct supervision of the Head of the Education Sector, the following tasks will be carried out in close collaboration with the Education Programme Specialist for Higher Education: 1.Study the UNESCO global Operational Strategy for Priority Africa 2022-2029 Programme 1: Campus Africa – Reinforcing Higher Education in Africa and related publications for clear understanding. 2.Follow up with participating universities on their respective assignments in the implementation of ongoing and planned studies and research of the Education Unit by providing feedback and comments received from stakeholders from eastern Africa. 3. Collate comments and reviews received and consolidate for action by the Programme Specialist. 4. Support the process of stakeholder engagement from universities, UNESCO Chairs, UNITIN, Nobel prize winners, and researchers in Higher Education among others to improve understanding of the aim and expected outcome on Campus Africa. 5. Provide and review inputs for communication and visibility materials such as fliers, kakemonos, policy briefs etc. as required by different stakeholders on Campus Africa. 6. Support the organization of online and in-person workshops on Campus Africa targeting stakeholders of higher education in Eastern Africa in particular, and Africa in general, inviting key governments, educational institutions, development partners, quality assurance council/agencies, NGOs, funding agencies, and institutions, including UNITWIN/UNESCO Chairs working in Higher Education. 7. Support the creation and management of platforms and consortiums for engaging stakeholders in discussions and key actions required. 8. Contribute to the Education Unit resource mobilization strategy for Campus Africa implementation by proposing funding models, sustainability plans, and partnerships and networks among universities and entities to establish synergistic collaborations.