Higher Education Stakeholders Gather at Education Collaborative Convening to Reimagine Student Success in Africa
June 20, 2025
By
University Communications
June 20, Kigali, Rwanda– Hundreds of university leaders, faculty and administrators, and higher education stakeholders met this week to sketch a student-first blueprint for the continent’s campuses, committing to new integrated services, career-focused curricula, and cross-border partnerships in service of student success. Under the theme “Re-centering Student Development,” the Education Collaborative’s 2025 June Convening, the largest yet in the initiative’s eight-year history, focused on a subject gaining momentum across the continent: student success as a driver of institutional excellence in Africa.
Over four days, participants from more than 16 African countries engaged in practical dialogue on how to transform student support—from personalized learning and coaching to career development and alumni engagement—into a strategic pillar within universities. Hosted in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation, the convening was co-organized by Ashesi University, Covenant University, and the University of Embu. Among the attendees were student leaders from across the continent, four of whom took the stage during the opening session to share lessons drawn from their own campus experiences.
“If you want to understand student development, don’t just look at classrooms and lectures,” said Liyabona Nqumani, a student from Rhodes University in South Africa. “Look at where students sleep, eat, and form their identities. That is where leadership grows. That is where transformation begins. [Universities] are not just where leaders learn—they are where leaders live.”
Rooted in Community, Driven by Mission Since its founding in 2017, the Education Collaborative has grown into a pan-African network of institutions committed to transforming higher education systems on the continent. What began with 12 institutions now welcomes more than 70, and the network has directly engaged over 500 universities in its broader programming to date.
“Eight years ago, we welcomed some 12 universities and organizations to our first June Convening on Ashesi’s campus in Berekuso,” said Rose Dodd, Executive Director of the Education Collaborative. “Today, as we welcome 73 institutions to Kigali, the feeling I have is not just hope—it’s restlessness. Not borne out of impatience, but clarity. We must now work to ensure that every African student—no matter where they come from—can access a university system that sees them, serves them, and prepares them to effectively lead.”
Hosting the convening outside of Ghana for the first time marked a milestone for the initiative, reflecting the network’s expanding geographic footprint. Speaking at the opening ceremony, Rwanda’s Minister of Education, Hon. Joseph Nsengimana, emphasized the importance of collaboration across borders.
“As Africa positions itself within an increasingly interconnected global landscape, higher education must serve as a catalyst for deeper economic, social, and scientific integration,” said Minister Nsengimana. “Our universities must evolve beyond their traditional mandates. They must become dynamic platforms for innovation, leadership development, and continental collaboration—incubators of the very transformation we seek across Africa.”
AI Enters the Conversation The convening also featured conversations around AI, focusing on how it is currently being used to how it could be more broadly integrated within African higher education. Attendees, across various sessions and workshops, highlighted how AI was affecting not only administrative work and teaching, but also student learning and engagement.
“We are seeing that students now have more control over how they learn,” shared Jalal Charaf, Chief Digital Officer at Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P) during a plenary panel. “If we do not understand this, we will stay behind. It is no longer about just evaluating the answers students provide; we must also start evaluating how effectively they are interacting with AI.”
The convening offered a platform to present initial findings from a joint research initiative led by the Qatar Foundation’s World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) in partnership with the Education Collaborative, AfriLabs, and UM6P. The study, grounded in campus-based data from across Africa, explores the maturity of AI integration and proposes practical roadmaps for institutions. University leaders at the convening contributed to testing an AI-readiness scorecard tailored to the context of African universities.
Speaking with University leaders at the convening, Selma Talha-Jebril, Director of Policy and Research at WISE, highlighted how this joint project was part of ongoing collaborative research initiatives on Global AI use in African higher education. Findings from this first of its kind research project will be presented at the WISE Summit taking place in Doha in November of 2025, which will be attended by peers, experts and innovators from the global education community.
From Dialogue to Action The convening concluded with institutions signing a set of shared commitments, including advancing ethical AI use, institutionalizing career development programs, and building stronger systems for student and alumni engagement. Regional hub convenings scheduled for 2026 will assess and publish progress toward those goals.
While the convening centered on African institutions, organizers emphasized that the lessons emerging from Kigali are globally relevant. As universities worldwide grapple with questions around relevance, equity, and student success, the model taking shape through the Collaborative suggests a different kind of response—one led from the ground up, shaped by local context, and driven by collaborative intent.
“What does it mean to be in the right place, at the right time, with the right people?” asked Dodd. “It means being here, now, together. In this room are people who already know what it takes to change the story of higher education in Africa. Not by copying what others have done, but by showing what’s possible when African institutions lead together.”
“The real test of this network,” she added, “is not how many universities we convene, but how many students we uplift and how many futures we help take root, right here on this continent.”
Christmas on the Hill A festive end-of-year celebration featuring activities, music, and community bonding. This event brings together students, faculty, and staff to share in the holiday spirit before the break.
