On 1-2 October, greater than 150 individuals from over 30 establishments in 10 nations gathered in Nairobi for the 2026 East Africa Hub Convening. Over two days, greater than 40 audio system and facilitators from inside the Hub led periods and discussions on the challenges and alternatives going through African increased schooling.
This story is written and edited by The Training Collaborative
2026 marks the East Africa Hub’s fourth Convening and 5 years of operation. Past the Convening, establishments make commitments that translate into programs change on their campuses and within the increased schooling ecosystem. Establishments made 213 commitments between 2022 and 2024, and practically 90 per cent of the 2024 commitments are already full. Six institution-wide programs have grown from that work, throughout profession providers, e-internships and entrepreneurship ecosystems, reaching greater than 34,000 college students.
What turned guarantees into outcomes was accountability. Commitments have been tracked, shared and revisited, and friends anticipated follow-through, in line with Dr George Mugabe, Director of the East Africa Hub. Bigger, systemic commitments have been additionally completed extra usually than small ones.
The central query: are campuses constructed round college students?
The theme was College students First: Advancing Sustainable, Tech-Enabled Campuses for Equitable & Transformative Pupil Outcomes. Operating by the discussions was a query that challenged establishments to look carefully at themselves: Are our universities actually designed round college students, or are college students nonetheless being requested to suit into the programs which were constructed?
Expertise is not elective, however the discussions have been targeted on the way it can enhance the scholar expertise, not on adopting know-how for its personal sake. Does it make the scholar journey higher? Prof. Mwenda Ntarangwi, Vice Chancellor of host establishment United States Worldwide College-Africa, described one of the best campuses of the longer term as these the place know-how is invisible as a result of it serves human connection, belonging and success. He added a warning: “Expertise can widen inequity if we’re careless. Placing college students first means utilizing it ethically, transparently, and with college students as companions.”
The keynote rule and the talk that examined it
Partaking policymakers is a deliberate a part of how the Collaborative works, as a result of what’s agreed within the room solely travels past it if it reaches coverage. Dr Beatrice Muganda, Principal Secretary in Kenya’s State Division of Increased Training, gave the keynote and set a rule: “Nothing about college students ought to be designed with out college students.” She requested universities to maneuver from pilots to institutional change, a step that coverage can both assist or stall.
The opening debate, facilitated by Claude Kabengera of Kepler School, put that rule to the take a look at by asking whether or not African universities are actually student-centred. Prof. Wanja Tenambergen of Riara College put the issue plainly: universities know pupil numbers, not actual college students. Progress on entry, pupil management and selection in studying is actual, Tenambergen acknowledged, however assist stays disjointed, with college students navigating a number of places of work to settle a small drawback. Collette Utetanase Ganza of the College of Rwanda described college students as recipients of selections, not companions in making them.
Dr Vincent Ogutu of Strathmore College and USIU-Africa pupil president Olatunji Lincoln Oladayo supplied a extra hopeful view. Oladayo cited pupil governments, a task in strategic planning and monetary help as indicators of progress, whereas admitting the work is unfinished. Ogutu pointed to wider entry and entrepreneurship coaching that prepares college students to create jobs, and proposed judging universities by course and energy, not perfection. On day two, pupil leaders Sandra Mumbi Ndambuki and Collins Muhia Muchoki pressed the purpose, utilizing monetary help because the take a look at case. The sensible takeaway: outline what student-centred means and measure it.
Expertise in follow: instruments universities have constructed for college students
Profession providers supplied among the clearest examples of placing pupil wants into follow. The College of Embu constructed a portal to trace the place every pupil is on their profession path. The College of Cape Coast constructed a digital CV builder that lets college students create and obtain CVs by the scholar portal. The instrument grew out of the college’s participation in Collaborative programming and was supported by a grant from The Training Collaborative. The college is now sharing it by the Collaborative to widen entry throughout the community. On the AI Improvements Showcase, Kepler School demonstrated Iga Africa, which provides instructors an AI abstract of pupil strengths and weaknesses. USIU-Africa confirmed a dashboard that flags at-risk college students, and the Muhimbili College of Well being and Allied Sciences, Tanzania, described constructing AI beneath 16 coverage statements and a governance committee.
Rankings roundtable: defining excellence on African phrases
The Africa Increased Training Rankings roundtable concluded that Africans ought to outline excellence themselves, measure it by influence and objective, and pursue it collectively. Prof. Robert Gateru, Vice Chancellor, Riara College, framed it as a matter of priorities: what we measure is what will get completed, so measures ought to mirror African values. Dr Olive Sabiiti, Vice- Chancellor, Cavendish College Uganda requested establishments to take a look at graduates’ influence on their communities relatively than counting outputs. Prof. DeBrenna Agbenyiga of the Worldwide College of Grand Bassam, Côte d’Ivoire, separated status from excellence and supplied a take a look at: can graduates create jobs, not solely get them? She closed: “Africa is plural, and so are our data programs.”
Communications Join: constructing a community of communications groups
Communications Join, an invitation-only night, gave friends working within the communications area inside the EA hub, a room of their very own to swap what works and make the community’s work simpler to see. A key takeaway was the necessity for stronger relationships amongst communications and advertising and marketing groups throughout member establishments, very similar to people who exist already amongst institutional leaders. Contributors raised a number of concepts: a extra structured neighborhood for communications professionals, shared priorities and sensible deliverables, stronger continuity in institutional engagement, and extra methods to amplify the work and influence of every establishment. An extra level was that communications groups ought to keep actively concerned in future Convenings and different Collaborative actions, consistent with the Collaborative’s intention to strengthen their function throughout the community.
5 years of the Hub: what member universities have gained
Prof. Samuel Gudu of Rongo College traced the Hub again to a easy thought: universities ought to assist one another develop as an alternative of competing. Dr Sabiiti pointed to the profession workplace and innovation hub Cavendish now has, and to a Hub the place establishments “don’t see one another as opponents however as collaborators.” Dr Juster Nyaga, Dean of College and Administration and Management on the Administration College of Africa, credited the Collaborative for the College’s first profession workplace and its first profession honest, held this 12 months. Prof. Ntarangwi known as the Hub’s completion file “returns on belief.”
Of their phrases: members on the worth of the Hub
“For the East Africa Hub, bringing collectively over 30 universities up to now is a really massive plus as a result of we’re in a position to study from one another, relearn from one another and unlearn from one another … we’re as an alternative supporting one another to develop even stronger.” Harriet Adong, Director of Communications and Public Relations, Uganda Christian College. “Being a part of the East Africa Hub has given us an excellent area to study and arrange buildings for our Workplace of Profession Providers … It gave us the chance to study from buildings that had already been established.” Dr Marilyn Ronoh, Coordinator, Workplace of Profession Providers, College of Embu.
Wanting forward: the 2027 Convening and commitments that journey house
The subsequent Convening takes place on 2 and three June 2027 and marks ten years of the community. The main focus widens to business, regulators and coverage, because the Collaborative builds a extra seen collective voice. The situation will probably be introduced by the publication and social media.
Dr George Mugabe set out the place the Hub is heading: “Wanting forward, the Hub is working to deepen mentorship, broaden mobility for school, workers, and college students, strengthen cross-border partnerships, develop funding in programs change, and affect schooling coverage throughout the continent.”
Commitments open and shut this story. On day two, establishments went into rooms to show what that they had heard into the subsequent spherical of commitments. These commitments now journey house with every establishment, to the campuses the place the work will get completed, and the worth of the Convening continues there, with friends holding each other to what they promised.
Till the subsequent Convening, contributors go away with easy homework: take at the least one thought house, keep in mind which establishment is doing what, and go to each other’s campuses. The Hub’s file suggests why that works: concepts which are written down, shared and revisited are inclined to get completed. Placing college students first, the Collaborative reminded everybody, is steady enchancment and never a vacation spot.
Closing message: possession, and pleasure in what Africa is constructing
Rose Dodd, Government Director of The Training Collaborative, closed the Convening by reminding contributors that no establishment solves its challenges alone. She highlighted USIU-Africa’s willingness to tackle higher accountability for the Hub by funding the campus go to, a espresso break and a hosted dinner from its personal sources. Because the Hub grows, this type of possession presents a mannequin different member establishments can construct on, serving to to share the accountability for sustaining and strengthening the community. Her closing phrases turned to pleasure within the continent:
“We see the form of Africa worn proudly, in necklaces, earrings, and symbols of house. There’s a deep connection to this continent and pleasure in what we’re constructing right here. We should always construct on that pleasure: wanting inward, studying from each other, and investing within the individuals and establishments already shifting Africa ahead.”
This text was initially revealed by The Training Collaborative and is republished right here with permission. View the unique article.
The Training Collaborative is a pan-African community of schooling leaders, researchers, and practitioners convened at Ashesi College in Ghana. The Collaborative works to strengthen schooling programs by fostering collaboration, advancing regionally grounded analysis, and elevating African views on schooling management and reform.
