Africa Student View
Kwanele Nyembe, the student who was crowned South Africa’s National Poetry Slam champion during the Poetry Africa Festival in October 2022, has his eye set firmly on the first prize at the 2023 World Slam Poetry competition in Brazil later this year.
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Algerian students from the Université Djillali Liabes have successfully invented a revolutionary process in the exploitation of renewable energy at a time when solar power has become one of the much-needed alternatives to fossil fuel-generated electric energy. The technology they developed focuses on the maintenance of solar panels.
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Child marriage is one of the most widespread forms of violence against children in Zimbabwe. A total of 5% of girls are married before the age of 15, according to UNICEF. Dr Julieth Gudo, a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Cape Town, who was pressured into child marriage at the age of 13, fought back.
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PHOTO A 25-year-old student from the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa has been channelling her love of science into nearby communities where she is raising awareness about careers for women in science and is providing girls with information about the scope of science qualifications they can pursue.
PHOTO The African Institute for Mathematical Sciences, a network of six centres of excellence which are based in South Africa, Senegal, Ghana, Cameroon, Tanzania and Rwanda, has been nurturing innovative, critical thinkers who can drive the continent’s science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, agenda.
A young Cameroonian university student has won multiple awards for an app that provides secondary school students with examination resources. Felix Fomengia, a masters student at the University of Buea, a tech entrepreneur and innovator, is now focusing on the tertiary education sector.
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PHOTO After noticing several suicides on campus every year and little mental health support from the university authorities, a student at Zimbabwe’s National University of Science and Technology, Lancelot Matange Jnr, decided in 2019 to take action to prevent the unnecessary loss of lives. Now in his final year, Matange is using a YouTube channel to reach his peers.
PHOTO A group of final-year students at the University of Rwanda’s College of Education have clashed with the institution’s administrators because they have to repeat their last academic year after missing a crucial deadline. Students have blamed poor communication and connectivity, but administrators say they were negligent.
Breaking generational curses is not easy. It comes with battles no one ever prepares you to fight. That is why graduating was my proudest moment, because everything that had worked against me had failed, writes a student who, earlier, became the first in her family to obtain a university degree.
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PHOTO Government-sponsored students in Rwanda have called for an increase in their living allowance following a sharp increase in the market price of almost every commodity that has left many Rwandans struggling. The students who receive support under the Ubudehe programme come from poor families.
PHOTO When the boat that students Joseph Nguthiru and Charles Kinyua were travelling on got stuck in water hyacinth during a field trip on Kenya’s Lake Naivasha in June 2021, little did they know it would set them on the path to becoming global engineering award winners.
Student services in many universities globally now include college mobile apps that enhance the student experience, but not all Zimbabwean universities are using them, according to Dr Vusumuzi Maphosa, the information and communications technology director and app developer at Lupane State University in Zimbabwe. Many universities still rely on websites.
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PHOTO Employers worldwide are battling with the divide between the skills they require and what would-be employees are bringing to the workforce. According to a recent survey, a staggering 89% of executives struggle to find graduates with the right mix of soft skills like teamwork, communication and adaptability.
PHOTO At the start of a month-long strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities in Nigeria, the testimonials of students affected by the prolonged labour action in 2020 raise questions about the ethics of lecturers’ actions. The union believes it is the only way to improve public higher education.
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PHOTO A new university ranking system aims to serve as a catalyst for positive transformation in higher education, ensuring that universities create an environment grounded in integrity and sustainability that inspires and supports students and staff in the development of novel solutions to global challenges. Promoted by Globethics.net.
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PHOTO In the publication of its first progress report on its contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals, the University of Pretoria is navigating new territory at the same time as it is acknowledging its clear stewardship role in protecting the environment and biodiversity. Promoted by the University of Pretoria.
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PHOTO Water scarcity has long been an issue in countries such as the United Arab Emirates. But the country’s National Water and Energy Center, based at the United Arab Emirates University, is providing solutions for the efficient exploration, development, use, storage and sustainability of the precious resource. Promoted by United Arab Emirates University.