Higher education research, development agendas in Africa. Where is the convergence? A literature review

Abstract

Purpose This paper aims to examine the possible link among the African Development Bank (AfDB), Results Measurement Framework 2016–2025 and the research published at institutions of higher education on the continent in the last five years. The unregulated commercialisation of higher education in most African countries has been prone to large-scale abuse through wanting curriculum development and processes accruing to competence, skills needy and job market disoriented graduates. Design/methodology/approach This study took a qualitative literature review analysis where research papers published in the last five years on higher education in Africa were searched. These were from Google and Semantic scholar and these were categorised in a detailed concept matrix. Findings Findings indicate that there is hardly a connection between the AfDB Group development agenda on the continent and the research conducted and published by institutions of higher learning on the continent. Practical implications Universities should prioritise a needs-based research agenda in their strategic planning and this implies commitment in terms of funding, human resource competency empowerment and partnerships with development agencies on the continent. African institutions of higher learning have not emphasised applied research practices to tackle pervading knowledge needs on the continent. Just like findings indicate, research in most of these institutions has been donor driven. Originality/value This study brings to speed the fact that if transforming Africa is going to take a strategic direction in the post-COVID-19 era, then partnerships between higher education institutions and development agencies operating on the continent will be an inevitable venture.

Positioning higher education institutions as work-based ICT-integrated learning theatres for employee mid-career development; a strategy for HR capacity building

“…This will culminate into more tangible steps towards improving academic training and work environments since it could evaluate, determine and benchmark the appropriate professional competencies and hence propel students into becoming successful participants in the twenty-first century workforce. Transforming underdeveloped societies like those in Africa requires well-planned strategic approaches like collaborations between educations institutions and organisations engaged in various socio-economic and research agendas (Degravel, 2011; Scott, 2015; Tumwebaze Alicon, 2022; Perera et al ., 2017; Cates et al ., 2021). When HEIs collaborate with employers to establish flexible postgraduate programmes to ease the process of mid-career development, employers will benefit through strengthening their HR capacity-building processes.…”

“…The employee in Uganda just like the rest of the world, is a victim of a highly metamorphic labour market, which is driven by dynamism in demand and supply of competencies, knowledge and skills. The unemployment problem is not only a threat to populations to African countries like Uganda but also in Europe since 2018 (Ornellas et al ., 2019; Olo et al ., 2022), the Arab World (ASDA’ A, 2019; Hassan and Dyer, 2017), however, the situation in Africa is alarming with serious cases of unemployment across the continent, catalysed by urbanisation (Tumwebaze Alicon, 2022). Unemployment is not only accruing from failure to access work due to mismatch in acquired and required skills, but also failure to keep up with the trending work demands, all of which are a product of disconnection between the education sector and employment world (Olo et al ., 2022; Tumwebaze Alicon, 2022).…”

“…The unemployment problem is not only a threat to populations to African countries like Uganda but also in Europe since 2018 (Ornellas et al ., 2019; Olo et al ., 2022), the Arab World (ASDA’ A, 2019; Hassan and Dyer, 2017), however, the situation in Africa is alarming with serious cases of unemployment across the continent, catalysed by urbanisation (Tumwebaze Alicon, 2022). Unemployment is not only accruing from failure to access work due to mismatch in acquired and required skills, but also failure to keep up with the trending work demands, all of which are a product of disconnection between the education sector and employment world (Olo et al ., 2022; Tumwebaze Alicon, 2022). The convergence zone for Employers and educators is that, much as the former should endeavour to empower potential recruits to get acquainted with work dynamics upon recruitment, the latter should have catered for the pre-professional career development to avoid career decision making difficulties (Olo et al ., 2022) (see Figures 1–4).…”

Data-Driven Insights: A Decade of Sol Plaatje University's Research Journey and Development

“…Marzocchi et al (2023) study extend the discourse by introducing research management and argues that, in addition to academics, research management professions should provide support in widening knowledge exchange. Auf (2022) and Eissler et al (2014) present a more egalitarian perspective by arguing for the creation of a global research environment, which will foreground issues of sustainable development, while ensuring researcher independence. Meyer et al (2022) point out that there has been criticism of the excessive influence of donors who support research.…”