Dr. Martha Abeja Ekure, Deputy Director, Office of the Dean of Students and 14 other African University Leaders were selected to visit over 30 American Universities and Institutions of Higher Learning. This was on the prestigious International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP), funded by the United States Department of State, Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs. The program that is hosted in the Office of International Visitors of the US was organized and coordinated by the US Mission in Kampala, Uganda.
It is a program that seeks to build mutual understanding between the US and other nations through carefully designed short term visits to the US for current emerging foreign leaders. The US Mission in Uganda selects distinguished leaders in the country who do developmental work with the Mission in the countries they are located.
The theme for this year was “Developing University Partnerships – Connecting African Universities with Historically Black Universities and Colleges (HBCUs) in the USA.” The visit lasted for 3 weeks between September 12 -5 October 2024 and was fully funded by the U.S. Government Department of State. This project explored administrative best practices at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs), Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs), and Asian American and Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs).
The participants who were carefully selected from eleven (11) Countries of the African Continent examined how these American institutions develop and maintain diverse sustainable international partnerships, monetize research, and support faculty collaboration and
international research. The project provided examples of successful models of transnational university partnerships, with a goal to increase
U.S. faculty and student exchanges, joint research, and capacity building. This meant that the participants for this program included higher education leaders from academia and administration who were interested in internationalizing university campuses as well as strengthening and expanding higher education linkages with U.S. institutions.
Dr. Abeja shared her experience of the exciting visit. She says, “the visit that saw us interact with Presidents of Universities and Colleges, Administrators and Faculties of over 20 Institutions of higher learning was an eye opener for me.
The opportunity to interact with the top HBCUs like Howard University, University of Atlanta, Stillman College, Lawson State Community College, Clark Atlanta University, Spelman College, and Morehouse School of Medicine among others was an opportunity of a lifetime!” “Besides that, interacting with the US Department of Education gave me an idea of how the US prepares their students for global competitiveness, we as African and Ugandan Universities in particular can borrow a leaf on fostering Educational excellence and ensuring equal access for our students.
As MUBS we have vast opportunities of partnering with these universities in collaborations for research, staff and student partnerships, and building capacity”. “Dr. Cynthia T. Anthony, President of Lawson State Community College for example shared insights on everything from the offerings of comprehensive two-year colleges like Lawson State to the critical role business and industry partnerships play in college students’ success”. “The group also was impressed by the work of Lawson’s STEM Center of Excellence, including its pre-college programs for girls interested in science and technology.
Dr. Anthony also highlighted the ways Lawson has interacted with Apple, Smuckers, FedEx, and others to ensure that they are preparing students for the needs of the workplace, sometimes even before new products and services are released to the public.
Another impressive University that I visited was Howard University which is a private research University located in Washington DC. It is one of the most prestigious HBCUs in the US and it is where the current Secretary of State of the US Government, Kamala Harris went to school. Howard University has a close relationship with MUBS. This is the University where one of the distinguished Visiting Professors, Prof. Langmia Kehbuma, who supervises MUBS PhD students teaches. Prof Langmia also supervised me on my PhD.
Other participants on this program were from Botswana, Cote d’ Ivoire, Ethiopia, Liberia, Mauritania, Morocco, Mozambique, Niger, South Africa, Uganda and Zimbabwe.
As a away forward I am working on Student cultural exchanges which will help MUBS Students get International Exposure.