East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 20th August, 2021:The 2nd Regional Bioeconomy Conference will be held virtually on 10th and 11th November, 2021 with a small group of in-person participants in Nairobi, Kenya.
The two-day conference is being co-hosted by BioInnovate Africa/International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe), the Biosciences eastern and central Africa-International Livestock Research Institute (BecA-ILRI) Hub, and the East African Science and Technology Commission (EASTECO), and the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) – Africa Centre.
Nairobi, 30th July, 2021 – Growing disruptions and new developments in higher education have prompted leaders and policy makers in the sector back to the drawing board to discuss the future of higher education in the East African Community (EAC).
Technological advancements such as artificial intelligence and augmented virtual reality coupled with alternative models of higher education, championed by technology firms, has emphasised the need to re-think the traditional model.
East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 6th June, 2021: The 16th Meeting of the Sectoral Council on Education, Science and Technology, Culture and Sports (SCESTCS) came to a close in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania on 4th June, 2021.
The Ministerial Session of the SCESTCS was chaired by Kenya's Cabinet Secretary for Education, Prof. George Magoha,
On Education and Training, the Sectoral Council directed that the EAC TVET Harmonization Strategy be finalized by end of June 2021; criteria for administration of EAC Essay Writing Competition be reviewed and that a Regional Forum on Education be held by November 2021 in Rwanda to, among other things, look into the impacts of the COVID 19-Pandemic on the education systems of EAC Partner States.
East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 2nd June, 2021: The 16th Meeting of the Sectoral Council on Education, Science and Technology, Culture and Sports (SCESTCS) commenced on 31st May. 2021 in Dar es Salaam, United Republic of Tanzania.
The SCESTCS will consider matters on Education and Training, Culture and Sports and those of the East African Kiswahili Commission (EAKC), Inter- University Council for East Africa (IUCEA) and the East African Science and Technology Commission (EASTECO).
Kampala, 17th August 2020 – Twenty young lecturers from Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania Regional Flagship TVET Institutes (RFTIs) supported by the World Bank East Africa Skills for Transformation and Regional Integration Project (EASTRIP) have been awarded scholarships to upgrade their qualification in Science and Technology to support advancement of Technical, Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in East Africa.
The scholarships were awarded by the Chinese government, as part of the tripartite partnership between the Inter-University Council for East Africa (IUCEA), the People’s Republic of China through the Ministry of Education, and the World Bank to promote excellence in TVET and facilitate regional integration in East Africa.
East African Science and Technology Commission Headquarters, Kigali, Rwanda, 28th October, 2019: The East African Science and Technology Commission (EASTECO) in collaboration with the Inter-University Council for East Africa (IUCEA), the East African Business Council (EABC), and the East African Development Bank (EADB) held the 1st EAC Science, Technology and Innovation Conference (STI Conference), and the Academia-Public-Private-Partnership Forum (APPPF) Dialogue Session under the theme: Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) as a Catalyst Towards Achievement of East Africa Community Vision 2050.
Kampala (September 14, 2019): The Inter-University Council for East Africa (IUCEA), the Regional Facilitation Unit for the World Bank supported Eastern and Southern Africa Higher Education Centers of Excellence (ACE II) Project, has announced the recipients of the ACE Scholarship Program for 2019. A Call for Applications for Masters Fellowships targeting female students in the nine project participating countries of Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Zambia, Uganda, Mozambique and Malawi was announced in March 2019. The aim of the competitive scholarship is to enhance the participation of young African female scientists at postgraduate level, encourage regional student mobility and identify and cultivate future leaders in the region. A total of 28 fellowships were awarded for the 2018/2019 academic year.
An Independent Selection Panel nominated from members of the Regional Steering Committee (RSC) of the ACE II Project selected and recommended 32 applicants out of nearly 500 applicants for the 2019/2020 academic year. The selected candidates were found to have met all required conditions for the scholarship as specified in the Call.
East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 15th August 2019: East African Community Partner States are working to harmonise education systems and curricula in the region.
EAC Deputy Secretary General in charge of Planning and Infrastructure, Eng. Steven Mlote, said that the harmonisation would ensure quality and standardised education which would in turn guarantee skilled and tech-savvy manpower for the labour market in the region.
East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 25th July, 2019: The Inter-University Council of East Africa (IUCEA), an institution of the East African Community (EAC), is currently running an advert for the nascent EAC Scholarship Programme.
The advert is basically inviting applications for Master’s degree scholarships tenable at universities in four EAC Partner States, namely Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda. The advert, which runs from 5th July to 1st August, 2019, was first published in the 6th – 12th July edition of the weekly The East African newspaper. It is also available on the IUCEA website: https://iucea.org/
The number of available scholarships under the programme are 157 under six thematic areas, namely: Mathematics; Engineering; Informatics; Science; Technology, and; Business Science.
The EAC Scholarship Programme is the product of a financing agreement of €5 million signed between the EAC and the Federal Republic of Germany on 9th April, 2018. The scholarship programme is being implemented in cooperation with IUCEA and KfW, the German Development Bank.
The goal of the programme is to promote the integration agenda in East Africa by supporting higher education students. Scholarship beneficiaries will undoubtedly foster awareness about the integration, and spur social change and economic growth.
The programme is designed to support EAC students with academic talent and leadership qualities. In addition to the provision of scholarships, the EAC scholars will be actively facilitated through programme activities such as regional leadership seminars and mentoring schemes.
It is further anticipated that the beneficiaries of the scholarship programme will become highly skilled ‘change agents’ for their home communities as qualified professionals with a strong understanding of regional challenges, approaches and expertise in their subject fields.
The EAC region has a long history of cooperation in education particularly between Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, which are the founders of the Community. The EAC is cognizant of the fact that most of its aspirations can only be achieved through high quality and relevant education and training.
Under Article 103(a) of the EAC Treaty, Partner States undertook to promote cooperation in the development of science and technology, which are viewed as the prime movers of regional integration and development. The Community’s objective then is to develop a completely harmonized East African education system for the enhancement of a productive human resource base.
Inherent in a harmonized education system are: the establishment of a common reference to facilitate comparability, compatibility, equation and mutual recognition of education/training systems and qualifications among Partner States. There is also the shared view among Partner States on quality, criteria, standards and learning outcomes; promoting mobility of students and labour to foster integration, and; promotion of the region as a Common Higher Education Area.
The harmonization of education systems and curricula dates way back to the first Community. The EAC had a single examination system and same curricula. The University of East Africa (UEA) had its main campus in Makerere, Kampala, Uganda with affiliate colleges in Dar es Salaam and Nairobi. In the early1970s, UEA split into three independent universities: the University of Dar es Salaam, Makerere University in Uganda, and the University of Nairobi.
The EAC acknowledges that youth traditionally bring energy, drive and passion to any activity they embark on, and the integration process in East Africa is no exception. Added to this is the Community’s view that the youth will be the major beneficiaries of an integrated East Africa which is expected to bring with it various benefits which include, among other things, harmonized fees in institutions of higher learning, increased employment opportunities, better infrastructure, increased trade and investment, and socio-cultural integration. Some of the youth are already reaping these benefits of the integration.
The EA Scholarship Programme is modelled on the Erasmus Programme (EURopean Community Action Scheme for the Mobility of University Students) –an EU student exchange programme that was established in 1987.
Erasmus scholars study at least three months or undertake an internship of at least two months to an academic year in another European country. The programme has an in-built guarantee credit transfer scheme as long as the scholars abide by the terms previously set. A key component of the programme is that students do not pay extra tuition fees to the university that they visit. Scholars are also eligible to apply for an Erasmus grant to cover additional expenses occasioned by studying abroad.
For many EU students, Erasmus is their first time to live and study and abroad in another country. Erasmus has then become a cultural phenomenon and is highly popular among many students in Europe. The programme fosters learning and understanding of the host country.
The EAC on its part is convinced that the scholarship programme will help nurture a pan-East African identity among the youth. A year abroad will enable students to visit EAC Partner States other than the ones in which they were born and demystify any suspicions and mistrusts that could be inherent among citizens of one’s country vis-à-vis other countries. It will be a perfect opportunity for exposure of the youth to various peoples and cultures in East Africa.
As the EAC commemorates its 20th anniversary, it anticipates that the student exchange initiative engendered by the scholarship programme will foster regional integration by giving students a chance to live and learn in Partner States other than their own.
Going forward, the Community’s dream is that support for the scholarship programme will expand to include funding from philanthropists, Partner States’ governments, corporates and charitable foundations.
For more information, please contact:
Mr Owora Richard Othieno Head, Corporate Communications and Public Affairs Department EAC Secretariat Arusha, Tanzania Tel: +255 784 835021 Email: OOthieno [at] eachq.org
About the East African Community Secretariat:
The East African Community (EAC) is a regional intergovernmental organisation of six Partner States, comprising Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda, with its headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania.
Addis Ababa, June 14, 2019: The Eastern Africa Skills for Transformation and Regional Integration Project (EASTRIP) has been launched in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Three East African countries will participate in the project including Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania. The project supports the development of highly specialized Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) programs as well as industry-recognised short term certificate level training, and will target regional priority sectors in transport, energy, manufacturing and ICT. EASTRIP will be financed by the World Bank as an IDA loan of $210 million and a grant of $83 million. $8 million of the grant will go to The Inter-University Council for East Africa (IUCEA) to facilitate and coordinate the project and implement regional initiatives that would promote the mobility of students and faculty within and beyond the region and to establish a community of practice of TVET in the region.
