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Call for Proposals: Enhancing Youth Skills Development through Higher Technical Education

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1. Background

By 2050, the African youth population is estimated to reach 1.1 billion (1 in 10 of all people on the planet)1. Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are mandated to impart skills to the youth that are relevant to the employment market. However, not all youth are able to join the HEIs due to various reasons including their limited financial capacity, poor academic performance at lower levels, and high competition at the joining stage. For instance, whereas the eligible population to study in HEIs in 2019/2020 grew by about 3.1% according to Uganda’s population growth estimates, the overall enrolment declined by 3.8%2.

Elaborated as one of the five flagship programmes of UNESCO Operational Strategy for Priority Africa 2022-2029)3, the overall objective of the Campus Africa Flagship Programme is to build integrated, inclusive, and quality tertiary education systems and institutions, for the development of inclusive and equitable societies in the Continent. The Programme is implemented along three interrelated main lines of action (MLAs) through which UNESCO jointly with its partners will strengthen and enhance equity and quality of higher education systems, connect Africa’s tertiary education systems, institutions, researchers, and communities, and promote mobility and employability of higher education students.

“Campus Africa” activities will promote all SDGs and more specifically SDG 4, 8 and 9. In particular, synergies are to be sought with United Nations agencies, the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Frameworks (UNSDCF) and development partners’ initiatives supporting SDG 4.3 – by 2030 ensure equal access for all women and men to affordable quality technical, vocational, and tertiary education, including university.

2. Objectives of the Study on Enhancing Youth Skills Development through Higher Technical Education

To achieve the Campus Africa objective, UNESCO is working with its networks and partners to pool expertise and resources and ensure synergies in action and sustainable impact. To this end, UNESCO is collaborating with the Makerere University within the framework of the Campus Africa flagship with the objective to propose relevant operational initiatives, which address challenges of access and quality of higher education, and higher technical education in particular. More specifically, work shall be conducted in relation to Campus Africa Main Line of Action (MLA) 2, Workstream 2.1 which focuses on strengthening higher technical education to respond to national skill needs for development, by enhancing labor market oriented teaching and competency-based learning; and also to Campus Africa Main Line of Action 1 on improving the research capacity of African tertiary institutions and increasing research outcomes with effective networking.

This assignment therefore is to conduct an analytical study on the gaps, challenges, and opportunities for enhancing youth skills development through higher technical education, leveraging government-industry-university linkages, and identifying enablers and success factors – funding; curricula; collaboration and networking, etc. and propose the way to address these challenges.

The study is to have an inclusive approach, with gender, country, and regional balance where relevant – with a focus on Eastern Africa. It should target perspectives from stakeholders of higher education in Eastern Africa, in particular, from governments (ministries responsible for higher and tertiary education), higher education institutions, development partners, quality assurance council/agencies, NGOs, funding agencies, private sector associations and employers, and relevant institutions, including UNITWIN/UNESCO Chairs, as well as students and graduates, as related to the content of the work.

3. Scope of the study

The scope of study will include the following:

  1. Conduct an analytical study to generate information on the gaps, challenges, and opportunities
    for enhancing youth skills development through higher technical education
  2. Engage with key stakeholders of higher education, particularly in Eastern Africa, to obtain
    information to complement the analytical study
  3. Identify opportunities for leveraging government-industry-university linkages as well as enablers
    and success factors for enhancing youth skills development through higher technical education
  4. Develop recommendations for enhancing youth skills development through higher technical
    education, upholding the principles of inclusiveness, relevance and gender equality

The study team/individual is expected to propose the best approaches for undertaking this analytical study. The proposal should detail the methodology proposed and all the costs associated with conducting the study.

4. Key Deliverables

The key deliverables will include:

  1. Inception report: detailing the methodology including the main research methods, the sampling framework, proposed sources of data, procedures for data collection and analysis, and a draft but detailed table of contents. The proposed research tools will be discussed by the UNESCO Campus Africa/CFIT III Makerere Team before study commences.
  2. Revised first Draft Final Report, incorporating suggestions and recommendations from a reference group. A second round of revision may be required before the final version of the Final Report can be produced.
  3. A final report (one electronic copy in PDF Format and one in WORD format) with key findings and recommendations.
  4. An electronic copy of all data collection tools and the analytical study data set
  5. A final presentation of the overall findings to stakeholders for validation

5. Duration of the study

The final report of the analytical study is due by Friday 22 September 2023. The duty station is Makerere University as it is expected that capacity for such studies is available.

6. Qualifications and Expertise

  • Post-graduate degree in engineering, economics, statistics, social sciences, education, or related field
  • Demonstrable experience in conducting analytical studies – particularly in the context of youth skills development
  • Good knowledge of Eastern Africa’s economy and relevant institutional frameworks
  • Ability to interpret results and provide practical recommendations
  • A good understanding of English language with excellent communication and report writing skills

7. How to Apply

Study teams or individuals interested in this opportunity should provide the following:

  • A technical proposal with detailed response to these terms of reference, with specific focus on the scope of work, methodology to be used and draft list of key stakeholders to be engaged
  • Initial high level work plan based on an outlined methodology and indication of availability to undertake the tasks within the specified timeframe
  • A financial proposal including a detailed budget breakdown for the different tasks in each specified work package

Applications should be sent via email to cedat.soe@mak.ac.ug by Thursday 17 August 2023.

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Special Exam Results -Diploma in Performing Arts 2025/26

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The results for the 2025/2026 special entry examination for the Diploma in Performing Arts held on Saturday 17th May, 2025. Candidates who scored a final mark of 50% and above passed the Examination and have been recommended to the university’s Admissions Committee for consideration.

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Mature Age Scheme Exam Results for 2025/2026

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The Office of Academic Registrar, Makerere University has released full results for the Mature Age Entry Scheme Examinations for the Academic Year 2025/2026 held on Saturday 14th December, 2024.

The Candidates who scored a final mark of 50% and above passed the examination and have been recommended by the Pre-Entry & Mature Age Committee to the University’s Admissions Board for Consideration.

The Aptitude Exam  Results for 2025/2026 Academic Year released in February 2025 can be found here.

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Call for Application: 2025 SNRM session 4 Summer School

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Participants in focused group discussions. Leiden-Delft-Erasmus East Africa Research Network (LEARN) in collaboration with the Urban Action Lab at Makerere University a workshop to deliberate strategies for mitigating the impacts of climate change in urban centres in the East African Region, Theme: “Resilient Urban Futures: Adapting Livelihoods to Climate Change”, 4th-5th September 2024, School of Public Health Auditorium, Kampala Uganda.

Context:
Natural resources in Africa are being depleted at an alarming rate due to several factors, including unsustainable human activities, climate change, and population growth. A primary condition of sustainable development is to ensure that the pressures do not exceed the environmental limits, and that demand for the resources does not exceed levels that can be sustainably provided by nature. Therefore, there is a pressing need for transformative, systems-thinking approaches and tools that can tackle the diverse challenges facing these systems. In Africa, this need is compounded by a lack of data and monitoring, which significantly hinders sustainable decision-making.

Investing in young scientists who are committed to take lead in sustainable management of Africa’s natural resources is very important. Capacity building of young scientists will enhance their knowledge and skill on sustainable natural resources and their involvement for implementation of the sustainable development goals (SDG’s) in Africa. To this effect, SNRM summer schools have been implemented in three sessions in 2019, 2020, and 2022 with support from Volkswagen Foundation; to build a critical mass of skilled and competent young natural resource scientists in Africa through training, capacity building and mentorship. Session 4 (2025) will target competent young scientists (MSc and PhD students) in Africa and Germany to further develop their knowledge and skills in systems thinking, advanced data collection and analysis, and application of emerging digital technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), internet of things (IoT), and embracing transdisciplinary approaches. In addition, we include an ideation workshop where students can work on real problems to come up with solutions for sustainable transformations in natural resource use.

Organizers: Leibniz Universität – Hannover (Germany), University of Antananarivo, University of Abomey Calavi (Benin), Makerere University (Uganda), University of Ghana (Ghana), University of Parakou (Benin), The Technical University of Kenya, with financial support from the Volkswagen Foundation (Germany).

Venue and dates: Nairobi, Kenya, 16-28 November 2025

Target: MSc and PhD students, early in the program of less than 35 years of age from any university/research institution in either sub-Saharan Africa or Germany with an interest in natural resources management.

Participants and Scholarships: The course is fully funded and open to 20 MSc and PhD students from Africa, and 5 from Germany. Funding will cover the costs of air ticket, accommodation, meals, visa, and transportation. However, participants will cover the cost of their travel health insurance.

Topics

SNRM Summer School Session 4: Transformative pathways in biodiversity management and conservation.
This summer school is designed to deliver four modules over a two-week period. The modules are designed to enable the students to acquire new ways of designing data collection protocols and analysis for transformative sustainable natural resources management.

Module 4.1: Data collection I
Skills in data collection for a transformative and sustainable management of natural resources (water, wildlife, forest, land, livestock, crops) monitoring and data collection techniques; remote monitoring tools, earth observation system data, e.g. satellite data sources, LIDAR, and UAV aerial images. Collect and analyse In-situ data on biotic and abiotic parameters, map and analyse data using R or Google Earth Engine, field data collection and retrieving data from online databases.

Module 4.2 Data management and processing
Introduction to tools and methods of managing large and diverse data sets of natural resources such as time series, spatial, directional, and multivariate data. Practicals will include data storage, organization and conversion into various formats using databases such as PostgreSQL and statistical programming software such as R and Python; scripts.

Module 4.3 Ecological monitoring, modelling and management
This module aims to teach participants how to anticipate and validate trends that can be observed in various ecosystems. Lectures include ecological monitoring and its design; population monitoring studies; metrics in population monitoring; methods for monitoring and assessing marine ecosystems; human ecology to socio-ecological systems; climate change impact of ecosystems; suitability assessments; overview of the principles underlying wildlife monitoring and prediction systems for climate change adaptation. Practicals will include field data collection (individual and group); ecological data analysis using R or PAST; modelling and experiencing the behaviour of complex systems using Vensim.

Module 4.4 Natural habitat restoration ideation lab
This module is designed to spur students’ innovation and creativity, and to help students comprehensively identify interdependencies across the 17 SDG goals. Participants will be trained on ideation processes for solutions and intervention for transformative natural resource management. They will work collaboratively in small groups on case studies and develop pathways of transformative sustainable natural resource management. Examples of projects include forest (mangrove) ecosystem and habitat restoration, improved technologies for agricultural production, nature-based solutions for improving water quality, and reversing land degradation.

Language: The course will be delivered in English. Participants are expected to be fluent in writing and speaking the English language.

How to apply

Applicants are kindly requested to fill in the application form available from https://snrmafrica.com/ and submit the following documents in English through the system.

  • a curriculum vitae (maximum 2 pages)
  • a letter of motivation (maximum 1 page)
  • a confirmation of university enrolment
  • a reference letter from the academic supervisor
  • project summary of MSc/ PhD project (1 page including objectives, methodology
    and key findings or expected outcomes).

Important dates
Application deadline: 30th June 2025.
Announcement of accepted applicants: 15th August 2025.
Confirmation of attendance by selected participants: 12th Sept 2025.
Summer school held: 16 – 28 Nov 2025.

Further information is available from

The secretariat info@snrmafrica.com
Dr Lydia Olaka lydiaolaka@tukenya.ac.ke
Prof. Dr. Hartmut Stuetzel stuetzel@gem.uni-hannover.de

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