The project aims to strengthen educational innovation in African higher education through the implementation of a sustainable and efficient network of institutions (6 African and 6 European ones) as well as experts in the development of MOOC (massive open online course) from Cameroon and Senegal. This network would promote access to higher education and improve teaching conditions and learning practices. To this end, the project targets the adoption of innovative educational practices, namely practices designed to substantially improve students’ learning, initially by teachers from partner institutions and in the long term by teachers outside the consortium through the development of MOOC and blended learning. Based on a one-year preliminary research which identified the needs of end users (Roland, Stavroulakis, François & Emplit, 2017), the project is structured around 5 areas: networking, institutional support, pedagogical support, technology development in line with the sub-Saharan African context and an iterative approach throughout continuous assessment. Therefore, the activities aim to develop, through partners, a network of excellence in terms of development and reuse of MOOC that will ultimately be able to transfer its expertise at an institutional and at a national level; to develop, by building capacities, support structures for innovative pedagogical practices within partner institutions; to produce technology solutions tailored to the African context for online and offline distribution of MOOC; to adopt a quality approach throughout the project in order to improve every step; to prepare and support the development of 14 MOOC (two national and two per institution); to promote blended learning practices and arouse an institutional reflection on how MOOC should be integrated in curricula and learners’ certification through these devices.

The African Union's Science, Technology, and Innovation Strategy for Africa (STISA-2024) positions science, technology, and innovation as fundamental drivers of Africa’s socio-economic development and growth. It emphasizes the need to strengthen three main pillars: 1) Building/upgrading Research Infrastructures (RI), 2) Enhancing professional and technical competencies, and 3) Promoting entrepreneurship and innovation. It also highlights the importance of fostering collaboration among African countries and establishing partnerships with international stakeholders. ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) is identified as a critical priority sector. Areas such as computer science, telecommunications, cloud computing, big data, artificial intelligence, machine learning, security, and IoT offer potential for creating new knowledge, research capacities, and industries that address African and global challenges. DIGITAfrica aims to lay the foundations of a pan-African comprehensive RI in Digital Sciences, which will have a transformative impact on AU-EU shared R&I, as well as innovative education and training. DIGITAfrica will prepare the transformation of this partnership into a sustained research initiative in common strategic fields. Drawing from the expertise of partners across five AU countries, each with a strong background and representing diverse African contexts, alongside EU partners who coordinate the first two ESFRI DIGIT RIs dedicated to Digital Sciences, DIGITAfrica aims to exchange experiences, consult stakeholders, and foster dialogue to collaboratively develop a strategic approach. DIGITAfrica will serve as a catalyst for realizing the vision of a pan-African Digital RI and should become a cornerstone of Euro-African cooperation in R&I. The impact of DIGITAfrica will contribute to digitally transforming the African continent for prosperity and inclusivity, and to move with Europe towards a shared twin green and digital transition agenda.

The Master’s project “Water Resources and Environmental Risks in African Cities”, also known as MAREMA aims to improve the quality of higher education to better address technical and scientific challenges for water resources management and environmental risks in large African cities. MAREMA project is based on existing degrees in the partner universities. They will be gradually rearranged to create a common degree between Benin, Cameroon and Ivory Coast. This new degree is built on the analysis of the labour market needs and aims to reach this specific positioning. Innovative pedagogical and scientific approaches are developed to ensure the quality of the Master’s degree. It especially encompasses new scientific tools, multi-disciplinary approach, problem-solving based learning, research training and development of MOOC. These tools are co-developed by the partner universities’ pedagogical teams with specific trainings taking place before implementing the innovative tools in the degree.MAREMA training program is deeply embedded in its socio-professional environment thanks to the large number of partners already involved in the project. The proposed strategy aims to guarantee the participation of future employers in the elaboration of the training template, its implementation (teachings, participation in field activities) and its evaluation that ensures its embedding. The MAREMA project strengthens the capacities of partner universities to collaborate and to align themselves with higher education European standards. It also guarantees a high level of student employment. The project strengthens the capacities of teaching staffs involved. It reinforces the partners’ ability to design and lead sustainable development (creation of centers of excellence in terms of expertise and research in this field).