Over 20 communication experts working with the Eastern and Southern Africa Higher Education African Centers of Excellence (ACE II) Project have undergone training in communication to equip them with skills and knowledge to improve the communication function in their respective centers.

The one-week training was held from 18th to 23rd March, 2019 and was officially opened and closed by Deputy Secretary, the Inter University Council for East Africa (IUCEA) Prof. Mike Kuria at Hilton Hotel Nairobi.

Prof. Kuria implored participants to utilize the knowledge and skills gained to transform their communication function.

“The success of this workshop will not be rated by what you gain from here, but how you will be able to communicate with the stakeholders and the quality of the communication documents from the centres.

We must shift from measuring the quantity of grades of our graduates to the quality of their work at the workplace. The success of these projects depend on the quality of the communication output in your respective ACEs”, Prof. Kuria said.

The training was organized and funded by the Inter University Council of East Africa (IUCEA) supported by the country ACEs.

The IUCEA Project Communication Officer Ms. Agnes Asiimwe said the objective of the training was to discuss the ACE II project objectives and how to effectively communicate the project results.

Ms. Asiimwe emphasized the need for communication officers to keep all their stakeholders updated on the activities going on in their ACEs using different channels of communication.
She advised every communication officer to ensure that ACE websites are active and regularly updated as a key tool and window into the centers.

“Make sure you post everything, everywhere. Post it on tweeter, Facebook, if there is no major event happening, get something, if not, do a video, a Q and A with PhD students on their research progress and post a 300 words story.

Make the website priority number one. This is a World Bank project ending 2022 and the website is the only way to show what the ACEs are doing”, she added.

The training attracted leading Communication, Public Relations (PR) and ICT experts from the region including the Lead Trainer and Facilitator from Capital One Group Paul Mwirigi Muriungi, Ann Gichuhi and Bernard Khatukhira.
 
Key topics delivered included, Introduction to Public Relations and Public Relations Strategy; Planning and Managing PR Campaigns; Strategic Communications; Monitoring and Evaluation,  in Communication; Digital Communication and Social Media Management;  Integrated Marketing  and Communication; Corporate Social Responsibility; Internal Communications; Media Relations  and Crisis Communications, Written, Photo and Video Content Management.

The World Bank is supporting 24 African Centers of Excellence to meet the demand for skills required for Africa's development in areas such as agriculture, energy, extractive industries, etc while strengthening the innovation capacity of the best African higher education institutions in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), and other relevant disciplines.

Countries benefitting from ACE II include; Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia among others.

Makerere University Regional Centre of Excellence in Crop Improvement (MaRCCI) is one of 24 African Centers of Excellence being supported by World Bank to transform graduate education and research in Plant Breeding.

MaRCCI won US$6million to provide effective training, research, and outreach that produce applied knowledge and plant breeders who use the most current approaches to rapidly develop and deploy improved crop varieties that meet stakeholders needs and preferences across the region.

Report compiled by
Jane Anyango
Principal Communication Officer, CAES