Partnership brings practitioner voices, and regional perspectives on education transformation to a global audience
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, 10 February 2026-/African Media Agency(AMA)/-Africa.com today announced a new Knowledge Partnership with The Education Collaborative, a pan-African network dedicated to strengthening education systems through locally grounded research, collaboration, and leadership development.
Founded and convened at Ashesi University, The Education Collaborative brings together educators, policymakers, researchers, and practitioners from across the continent to share evidence-based approaches and practical solutions to Africa’s most pressing education challenges. Through this partnership, Africa.com will publish selected analysis, essays, interviews, and insights from The Education Collaborative network, expanding access to experience-driven perspectives on education reform, systems leadership, and learning outcomes.
The collaboration aligns with Africa.com’s ongoing commitment to amplifying credible, context-rich expertise through its growing Knowledge Partner Network. By integrating The Education Collaborative’s work across Africa.com’s editorial platforms, newsletters, and digital convenings, the partnership aims to connect education leaders and decision-makers with informed perspectives shaping the future of learning across Africa.
“This partnership underscores our commitment to sharing thoughtful, experience-driven insight from across Africa,” said Teresa Clarke, Chair and CEO of Africa.com. “The Education Collaborative’s work captures what’s actually happening inside education systems, and we’re pleased to help bring those perspectives to a broader audience.”
“At The Education Collaborative, our work gives us a front-row seat to some of Africa’s most promising approaches and innovations in higher education,” said Lydia Dampare Addo, Assistant Director of Strategic Communications at The Education Collaborative. “Partnering with Africa.com expands our reach, enabling more institutions and leaders to learn from proven solutions and advance sustainable systems change across the continent.”
Through this partnership, Africa.com and The Education Collaborative will elevate practical insight and lived experience in education, ensuring that research and real-world expertise reach those shaping policy, practice, and investment in learning across Africa.
Africa.com is a leading digital media platform providing thought leadership and insight on Africa’s business, innovation, culture, and policy through its websites, free newsletters, and online events. Africa.com connects a global audience of professionals, business leaders, policymakers, and engaged readers with trusted information shaping Africa’s future.
The Education Collaborative is a pan-African network of education leaders, researchers, and practitioners convened at Ashesi University in Ghana. The Collaborative works to strengthen education systems by fostering collaboration, advancing locally grounded research, and elevating African perspectives on education leadership and reform.
LAGOS, Nigeria, 10 December 2025-/African Media Agency(AMA)/-The EU–ECOWAS Scholarship Programme for Sustainable Energy, funded and launched in September 2022 by the European Union in partnership with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and delivered by the British Council, is celebrating the achievements of its first cohort of scholars whose research is already contributing to the region’s green-energy transition.
The programme provides fully funded master’s degrees in sustainable energy at nine specialised higher-education institutions across Cape Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, and Togo.
Demand for the programme has been exceptionally high. From 10,442 applications, scholarships were awarded to 72 academically outstanding candidates from 11 ECOWASmember states — with over 40% female representation.
The programme aims to strengthen human-capital development in the West African electricity sector by supporting postgraduate training and enhancing the capacity of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to deliver high-quality, industry-relevant education in sustainable energy and energy-efficiency systems. Alongside rigorous academic study, scholars received research support and mentorship to advance innovations that directly benefit the region.
All 72 scholars under the programme completed their research work in sustainable energy. Today, we highlight five scholars who illustrate the transformative impact of the programme through research that addresses real-world energy challenges in West Africa — from electric mobility and air-quality monitoring to renewable-energy optimisation, environmental data systems, and national energy-demand reduction.
Research Highlights from Five EU–ECOWAS Scholars
1. Blessing Nneka Ben-Festus (Nigeria)
Research: IoT-Enabled Predictive Maintenance and Energy Optimisation in Modern Inverter Systems
Institution: University of Ibadan, Nigeria
Blessing developed one of the first locally relevant Battery Management Systems (BMS) for Nigeria’s widely used inverter systems. By integrating the Internet of Things (IoT) with machine-learning-based predictive maintenance, the study demonstrates how low-cost hardware and advanced analytics can dramatically improve safety and energy performance in household backup-power systems.
This Battery Management System (BMS) is capable of delivering:
A three-sensor platform monitoring voltage, current, and temperature
A remote-data system using an Arduino microcontroller and a Global System for Mobile Communications module
Machine-learning models achieving 99% accuracy in predicting battery ageing and 92% accuracy in decision-tree diagnostics
Proven improvements in battery safety, lifespan, and reliability
Impact for ECOWAS: Improved safety, lower household costs, enhanced confidence in decentralised solar and inverter systems, and reduced energy waste across the region.
2. Ruth Mawunyo Kokovena (Togo)
Research: Building a Low-Cost Environmental Monitoring System to Support Renewable Energy Planning
Institution: University of Lomé, Togo
Ruth developed SISEE, an affordable, multi-sensor environmental monitoring system designed for regions where high-precision weather stations are too costly to install or maintain. The system captures temperature, relative humidity, solar irradiation, tide levels, and GPS location, using open-source software and low-cost sensors.
SISEE is capable of delivering:
Temperature accuracy nearing ±0.5°C, comparable to entry-level commercial stations
Over 80% correlation in solar-irradiation tracking
Effective monitoring of tidal variations for coastal energy planning
Real-time data transmission and visualisation
Impact for ECOWAS: Supports solar-resource assessment, coastal-energy planning, climate-monitoring infrastructure, and decentralised data collection for national energy strategies.
3. Godwin Josiah Ajisafe, (Nigeria) – Under the supervision of Ayodele T. R & Ogunjuyigbe A.S
Research: Determination of the Functional End-of-Life Threshold of Electric Vehicle Lithium-ion Batteries under Urban Lagos Driving Conditions
Institution: University of Ibadan, Nigeria
This study provides the first Lagos-specific model for predicting the end-of-life of Electric Vehicle (EV) lithium-ion batteries under real urban driving and environmental conditions. Machine-learning algorithms — including Support Vector Regression, Random Forest, and Decision Trees — were trained using local data such as temperature, humidity, traffic intensity, driving behaviour, and charging patterns.
The model is capable of delivering:
Near-perfect predictive accuracy (Coefficient of Determination R² = 0.999)
Identification of heat and stop-and-go traffic as major contributors to battery degradation
Strong foundations for EV-fleet management, charging-infrastructure planning, and battery-recycling initiatives
Impact for ECOWAS: Enables realistic EV-policy development, supports circular-economy planning, and strengthens regional capacity for clean transport systems.
4. Kevin Konan N’guessan (Côte d’Ivoire) Research: TGIME-ES: A Sustainable Energy Management and Solar Integration Solution for National Energy Demand Reduction
Institution: INP-HB, Côte d’Ivoire
Kevin developed TGIME-ES, an intelligent-energy-management solution that reduces electricity consumption while enhancing solar integration. The system was deployed across residential, commercial, and industrial sites.
TGIME-ES is capable of delivering:
22,962 kilowatt-hours of energy saved in four months
2,149,745 West African CFA francs in cost savings
28% reduction in electricity bills
National-scale modelling showing TGIME-ES can slow demand growth by more than 50%
Impact for ECOWAS: Offers a scalable, locally developed approach to energy-efficiency, reduced grid pressure, and improved adoption of solar technologies.
5. Patience Yaa Dzigbordi Quashigah (Ghana)
Research: Machine-Learning-Based Performance Analysis of Two Low-Cost Sensors for Measuring Carbon Dioxide (CO₂) and Fine Particulate Matter (PM₂.₅)
Institution: Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Ghana
Patience evaluated two low-cost air-quality sensors, costing approximately USD 100, as alternatives to reference-grade stations costing up to USD 250,000. Using machine-learning calibration, the study improved the accuracy of monitoring carbon dioxide (CO₂), fine particulate matter (PM₂.₅), ultra-fine particulate matter (PM₁), coarse particulate matter (PM₁₀), temperature, humidity, and methane (CH₄).
These sensors are capable of delivering:
Clear model ranking, with Random Forest performing best
Reliable environmental data after machine-learning calibration
Insights into sensor limitations and calibration techniques
Evidence that low-cost networks can support large-scale monitoring
Impact for ECOWAS: Enhances affordable air-quality monitoring, supports solar-energy forecasting, informs emissions policy, and enables community-level environmental awareness.
Overall Programme Impact
These five research projects demonstrate the success and strategic relevance of the EU–ECOWAS Scholarship Programme for Sustainable Energy. Together, the scholars’ work:
Strengthens regional capacity for renewable-energy innovation
Provides scientific evidence for policy and infrastructure planning
Supports environmental monitoring and public-health initiatives
Advances energy efficiency, electric mobility, and solar deployment
Builds a new generation of skilled experts driving West Africa’s green-energy transition
The programme is creating a pipeline of talented professionals equipped to support ECOWAS member states in accelerating sustainable-energy adoption, reducing emissions, and improving energy security across the region.
Across the country, colleges and universities are struggling to figure out how to incorporate AI into the classroom. ChatGPT debuted almost exactly three years ago. And very quickly, students began to see its potential as a study buddy, an immense research tool and, for some, a way to cheat the system.
This week on The Sunday Story we look at the rapid growth of AI in higher ed and consider what it means for the future of teaching and learning.
Meekness Lunga-Ayidu, Director Higher Education SSA, British Council, ‘on how African women can thrive within systems designed to advance opportunity and inclusion
CAPE TOWN, South Africa, 5 November 2025 -/African Media Agency(AMA)/- Although access to higher education has improved, Sub Saharan Africa still has the lowest enrolment rate globally with only 9-10% compared to the global average of over 40%. While we have made some progress, we are still lagging. 60% of the young people who are not in education, employment or training are women. In as much as women’s participation in early stage and informal entrepreneurship across SSA now equals or even exceeds that of men, men are significantly more likely to own an established and growth-oriented business. Young women face significant additional barriers when attempting to access education or enter the labour market. Between 8 million to 11 million African youth will enter the labour market every year in the coming decades. Yet, only about 3 million new formal wage jobs are created yearly. Informal and self employment are becoming the norm. Action from governments and the private sector is required to close the gap between the increase in the working-age population and lagging job growth.
At the 16th Quadrennial General Conference of the Association of African Universities (AAU) in Rabat this year, the British Council presented groundbreaking research in collaboration with the African Network for Internationalisation of Education (ANIE) titled ‘Higher Education Gender Analysis: Access to Employability and Entrepreneurship Opportunities’. The research exposes systemic barriers across Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa. The findings are sobering. Women in higher education still face discrimination, harassment, and exclusion from leadership positions. Gender policies, where they exist, remain poorly understood and rarely enforced. Female graduates face higher unemployment rates than their male counterparts, while socio-cultural norms continue to prioritise boys’ education, contributing to early marriages and dropouts.
The insights highlight the systemic challenges to advancing higher-education gender-responsive reforms in the four main countries, and chart a roadmap for higher education institutions, policymakers, funders, and partners to bridge persistent inequalities and develop enabling systems that could unlock sustainable gender inclusion in higher education. For example, entrepreneurship holds enormous promise for empowerment, yet a lack of start-up capital and support structures remains. By introducing post-graduation accelerator programmes that incorporate entrepreneurship training and seed funding for women, a challenge like this can be transformed into an opportunity for inclusive growth. This demonstrates the urgent need for systemic reforms that will drive innovation, employability, and inclusive growth, and achieve true gender equity in higher education.
The two proven models include programmes such as Innovation for African Universities (IAU) and Gender Equality Partnership grants that form part of the British Council Going Global Partnerships programme. These programmes offer scalable, evidence-based models that other institutions and development partners can replicate or adapt. Through multi-country initiatives, the IAU co-designs and implements projects that equip graduates, especially women, with market-relevant entrepreneurial skills and mindsets. Its approach blends industry-academia collaboration, start-up mentorship, and enterprise-focused curricula. By embedding gender-responsive teaching, strengthening institutional support for female entrepreneurs, and improving access to funding and networks, the IAU shows how higher education can drive economic transformation and support female students.
Gender Equality Partnerships grants foster cross-border collaboration by funding joint research, institutional partnerships, and policy dialogue that centre gender equity as a core value. Together, these initiatives form a practical, evidence-based blueprint for gender parity, turning research into action and offering adaptable frameworks that universities across Africa can implement.
The ‘Higher education gender analysis’ was commissioned under the latter programme, reflecting a clear commitment to embedding gender equity across all higher education initiatives. The study applied the Accountability for Gender Equality in Education (AGEE) framework to ensure its outcomes were evidence-based and intersectional analysis, addressing not only gender but also how it interacts with class, ethnicity, and geography. AGEE is a UNESCO-developed model that helps governments and institutions identify, monitor, and address gender inequalities in education through data-driven analysis, policy reform, and institutional accountability mechanisms.
And the evidence is clear. Systemic change is required and must be driven by three priorities: gender reforms that include robust anti-harassment procedures, gender-responsive policies and gender-sensitive student support services, such as childcare and flexible learning, amongst others; policy reforms that prioritise gender equity in higher education with affirmative action in admissions and faculty recruitment, targeted scholarships, and funding for female students and entrepreneurs; and higher education transformation that invests in digital skills and infrastructure and integrates entrepreneurship education across disciplines.
Higher education is more than access, it is a powerful lever for innovation, job creation, and economic transformation opportunities across sub-Saharan Africa. When business community including universities, governments, funders, and industry partners collectively take action to address gender disparities in higher education, we create a multiplier effect where women gain entrepreneurial skills, secure funding, access mentorship, and break cycles of inequality that have persisted for generations. The economic and social returns extend far beyond individual success stories to shape resilient, innovative societies.
A call for partnership depends on Africa’s future to unleashing the full potential of its people and now this is the moment for universities, governments, and industry partners to act decisively and scale proven models like the Innovation for African Universities and Going Global Partnerships to embed gender equity in policy and practice, and to champion women as the architects of Africa’s next chapter of growth. We cannot afford to leave half our talent behind. The British Council invites education leaders, policymakers, and funders to collaborate on systemic change that transforms access into empowerment and ambition into opportunity. This is the moment to champion women as the architects of Africa’s next chapter of growth based on proven models and frameworks with compelling evidence. Join the British Council in making gender-responsive higher education a reality across the continent.
The British Council builds connections, understanding, and trust between people in the UK and other countries through arts and culture, education, and the English language.
We work in two ways – directly with individuals to transform their lives and with governments and partners to make a bigger difference for the longer term, creating benefits for millions of people all over the world.
We help young people gain the skills, confidence, and connections they are looking for to realise their potential. We support youth to learn English, get a high-quality education, and gain internationally recognized qualifications. Our work in arts and culture stimulates creative expression and nurtures creative enterprise.
We are on the ground in over 20 African countries and deliver impact working with local institutions and partners.
President Trump has a long list of grievances against many U.S. colleges and universities. He’s complained about antisemitism on campuses, of gender- and race-based course offerings, even communist indoctrination. To force change, the government has increasingly used the power of money. It’s withheld billions in research funding and clamped down on international student visas. This week on The Sunday Story, NPR Correspondent Elissa Nadworny explores what the disruption means for the future of higher education in America.
World Mosquito Day 2025: Why investment in communities, researchers and innovation matters more than ever
Dr. Léa Paré Toé, Stakeholder Engagement Lead for Target Malaria Burkina Faso
OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso, August 18, 2025 /African Media Agency (AMA)/ – As the world marks World Mosquito Day on August 20th, the calls for renewed investment in the people, partnerships and innovations needed to beat malaria – a disease that still claims over half a million African lives every year, and mostly young children – is louder than ever.
Target Malaria, a not-for-profit research consortium working in Africa to develop genetic technologies – such as gene drive (designed to reduce the population of malaria-transmitting mosquitoes) – has invested in the technology, training and development needed to heed the call to protect lives threatened by malaria in Africa.
With mounting pressures and challenges from climate change, insecticide resistance, and fragile health systems on the continent, governments and funders are urged to see genetic tools not as replacements, but as complementary innovations that can work alongside existing malaria interventions. But, these new solutions must go hand-in-hand with strong community engagement and scientific capacity-building.
“Every child lost to malaria is a failure of imagination and investment,” says Dr. Léa Paré Toé, Stakeholder Engagement Lead for Target Malaria Burkina Faso, at the Health Sciences Research Institute (IRSS). “On World Mosquito Day, we’re asking the world to invest not just in technology, but in the people and partnerships that will make it work.”
Investment in technology
How Target Malaria’s gene drive technology works: A genetic trait is introduced into the targeted Anopheles mosquito, one of the main carriers of the malaria parasite. This gene is passed down to offspring at a higher-than-normal rate, gradually reducing the population’s ability to reproduce. Over time, the mosquito population declines – potentially enough to interrupt malaria transmission altogether.
This technology is not designed to eradicate all mosquitoes – nor could it. Of more than 3,500 known mosquito species, only about 30 are a public health concern. Of those, just three or four are responsible for most malaria transmission in Africa. Target Malaria’s research is based on these.
Prof. Abdoulaye Diabaté in the laboratory at the Health Sciences Research Institute (IRSS), in Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso. Credit: Target Malaria
Investing in trust
“You can’t introduce scientific innovation without first investing in the trust of communities and the people who will carry this work forward,” says Dr. Paré Toé. “Our partnerships with local communities are foundational to our research – they are co-creators of this work, not just beneficiaries.”
In Burkina Faso and Uganda, the team has built long-term relationships with villages where research is taking place, ensuring residents are informed, consulted, and empowered to contribute to decisions.
To deepen community understanding of gene drive research, Target Malaria has invested in a suite of creative educational tools. These include interactive theatre performancesin local languages, visual presentations, radio and broadcast programs. These tools are helping to build trust, transparency, and meaningful dialogue around the science, especially in communities directly involved in the research.
“This model of engagement is now seen as a blueprint for responsible research across the continent,” adds Dr. Paré Toé.
Investment in talent
In Burkina Faso and in Uganda, Target Malaria team members are actively involved in training a new generation of young African scientists to lead the fight against vector-borne diseases. From entomologists and molecular biologists to social scientists and ethicists, the not-for-profit is supporting local expertise and infrastructure to ensure African-led solutions to Africa’s health challenges.
In addition to building infrastructure and partnerships, the team in Burkina Faso is playing a significant role in training future generations of African scientists. Researchers at the Health Sciences Research Institute (IRSS) supervise Master’s and PhD students, while the African Center of Excellence for Biotechnological Innovations for the Elimination of Vector-Borne Diseases (CEA/ITECH-MTV), led by Prof. Abdoulaye Diabaté in partnership with Nazi Boni University and others, provides hands-on training focused on innovative approaches to combat vector-borne diseases. Many students from across the continent – including Kenya, Benin, and Burkina Faso – also benefit from research exchanges with leading laboratories in Europe.
“Our goal is to equip a new generation of high-performing scientists to adapt emerging technologies to Africa’s development priorities,” says Dr. Paré Toé.
“Malaria won’t be solved alone, we need collective efforts to beat the disease. But, because malaria is an African problem, we’re building African scientific leadership, so the next breakthrough doesn’t just happen in Africa – it’s led by Africa.”
Prof. Abdoulaye Diabaté with scientists from Target Malaria Burkina Faso. Credit: Target Malaria
Recently, Dr. Léa Paré Toé was elevated to the rank of Knight of the Academic Palms alongside the Principal Investigator of Target Malaria Burkina Faso, Prof. Abdoulaye Diabaté who was awarded the title of Knight of the International Order of Academic Palms by the CAMES, a Pan- African organisation promoting cooperation in the field of higher education and research.
To find out more about malaria transmitting mosquitoes visit Target Malaria’s educational series here and here.
About Target Malaria:
Target Malaria is a not-for-profit research consortium that aims to develop and share new, cost-effective and sustainable genetic technologies to modify mosquitoes and reduce malaria transmission. Our vision is to contribute to a world free of malaria. We aim to achieve excellence in all areas of our work, creating a path for responsible research and development of genetic technologies, such as gene drive. www.targetmalaria.org.
Target Malaria receives core funding by the Gates Foundation and Open Philanthropy. The lead grantee organisation is Imperial College London with partners in Africa, Europe and North America.
A lot has changed in higher education since President Trump took office. This week on The Sunday Story, Ayesha reflects on her own college graduation, and she sits down with three graduating college seniors. They talk about how funding cuts have upended their postgrad plans and how the last semester has made them think differently about what college is all about.
LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-The country’s Higher Education Students’ Loans and Grants Board recovered a measly MK35 million in the nine months of the exercise of the MK1.7 billion which it targets to collect within the 12 months running up to March 2017.
Chris Chisoni: The MK1.7 billion target unrealistic
The Board’s Executive Director Chris Chisoni told The Daily Times that his office will not be able to recover the MK1.7 billion loans within the remaining three months from former universities students.
Chisoni disclosed that over 23,000 beneficiaries from 120 employers have been traced and approached for the recovery of the loan.He said that about 60 of the employers approached have complied with the board’s exercise of recovering the loans.
“I doubt that we will recover all the money we wanted. Currently, the process of consulting employers to identify the students who went to public universities is ongoing. So far, the board has managed to recover MK35 million within nine months just three months ahead of the March 2017 target that we collect the M1.7 billion,” said Chisoni.
“The board has been engaging employers to provide names of their employees who accessed the loans while learning at the country’s public higher learning institutions. The recovered money is meant to support other needy students in the wake of high tuition fees”, he added.
Chisoni then warned that legal action will take its course on those beneficiaries who fail to comply with the board’s order arguing that the law was clear on loan defaulters.
In 2012, the late President Bingu Wa Mutharika launched the loan recovery campaign from former public university students as a revolving fund that needy students can access as a loan for their tertiary education.
The loan recovery exercise has been meeting problems in tracing former beneficiaries who might have traveled outside the country and those in the informal sector.
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