The African Union has awarded three education innovation projects with grants of US$ 60k, US$40k and US$20k at the Innovating Education in Africa Pitch Event 2020. The grants will be used to undertake pilot projects in collaboration with African Union Member States.
The winners were:
- BAG – Building A Generation – A gamified platform that offers real-time access to experience-based learning for University students;
- Learnable – A teaching assistant that allows teachers to compose and distribute lessons via a dedicated mobile app and WhatsApp;
- Chalkboard Education – A remote teaching and learning toolkit aimed to help teachers and parents during the COVID19 crisis.
The Commissioner for Human Resources, Science and Technology, H.E. Prof. Sarah Anyang Agbor called on all the stakeholders to build education, training and innovative ecosystems that have local relevance, global competitiveness and mutual recognition to enable us to equip the African citizenry with the necessary knowledge and skills needed to build the Africa we want, as identified in Africa’s blue print for development Agenda 2063.
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“One of the critical challenges of our time is the imbalance that exists between skills offered in the Education and Training institutions and the skills needed in the world of work – often referred to as the Skills Mismatch. The high and persistent levels of unemployment together with job vacancies that remain unfilled could be addressed through adopting innovative approaches in education and training”.
The series of virtual events included a Dialogue and Pitch which brought together over 500 participants, including policy makers, education development experts, private sector players, innovators and educators. Innovating Education in Africa (IEA) is a flagship programme of the African Union Commission and Partners, intended to identify and promote practical social and technological innovations aimed at enhancing access, quality, relevance and inclusion in education in order to release the potential for empowerment, employability and inventiveness.
Supporting the programme are key partners including: EU, GIZ, Mastercard Foundation, UNESCO, UNICEF, AfDB, Ashoka, ADEA, and GeSCI.
