In late October, the representatives of the University of Rijeka and Matej Bel University in Banská Bystrica (Slovakia), as partners on the implementation of the ENHANCE GSL project, spent a week in Freetown, working closely with their project partners from the University of Sierra Leone.
From 21 to 24 October, the project partners discussed the importance and value of community engagement, starting with a one-day international conference “Universities in Action: A Global Perspective on University-Local Cooperation”, which brought together more than 200 participants, including students and staff of Fourah Bay College, the oldest university in West Africa. During the conference, the participants had the opportunity to learn more about the Erasmus+ program and the ENHANCE GSL project. The conference’s central part was dedicated to discussions on student and university community engagement, thus breaking down prejudices about the third mission of universities.
Prof. Judith Pete, Ph.D., from the University of Tangaza (Nairobi) attracted great attention with her interesting presentation on long-term effects of cooperation between the academic and local communities on sustainable social development. Participants expressed great interest in the opportunities that the EU offers to African universities, students, and staff, especially within the framework of programs aimed at capacity building and international mobility.
The final part of the conference included presentations on community engagement practices of partner universities, as well as projects of African partners from local communities, Caritas organizations, and primary school institutions with many years of experience in cooperation with universities.
The conference was followed by a three-day training intended for academic and non-academic staff of the University of Sierra Leone and the University of Makeni. The training was jointly led by Prof. Bojana Ćulum Ilić, Ph.D. (University of Rijeka) and Prof. Alžbeta Brozmanova Gregorova, Ph.D. (Matej Bel University), who familiarized the training participants with methods and tools for strengthening the social role of universities in the community.
Projects such as these, which connect European and African universities through concrete forms of cooperation, are still rare, but clearly show the direction that European education policy is heading. European Commission’s recent strategic documents emphasize the importance of including African institutions in the European Higher Education Area, intending to develop globally connected, socially responsible, and sustainable academic communities. The ENHANCE GSL project is an example of such a vision and cooperation that transcends geographical boundaries and connects universities through shared values of social responsibility, equality, and sustainable development.
The entire photo gallery from the meeting in Freetown can be accessed here.
