Continental university hub seeks academics across Africa

The Pan African University’s Institute of Basic Sciences, Technology and Innovation or PAUSTI, based in Kenya, is seeking to boost its faculty by recruiting up to 32 short-term lecturers from across the continent to teach for periods ranging from four to 16 weeks.

The institute is one of five nodes of the African Union-owned institution that form a postgraduate training and research network aimed at producing high-level skills and relevant research for the continent. It is based at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology. The other operational nodes are in Algeria, Cameroon and Nigeria.

PAUSTI wants to boost its teaching capacity during the first semester of the 2016-17 academic year – between April and July – in various disciplines offered by the institute.

Lecturers recruited will teach in mathematics, electrical and civil engineering, molecular biology and biotechnology. Other fields of expertise seeking lecturers are history of Africa, and gender and human rights, which are offered as common units.

Applicants must be senior lecturers or above at a recognised university with a minimum of five years' experience in the relevant field and must possess excellent English skills, said a statement posted on the university’s website.

Knowledge of accreditation and quality assurance standards and processes as well as experience in a higher education research environment in Africa will be considered assets.

Unlike many universities in Kenya, which pay around US$20 to US$30 per hour, PAUSTI will pay higher honorariums of US$60 per hour, and will meet visa and travel expenses and pay subsistence allowances.

To achieve gender balance, qualified women candidates are being encouraged to apply.

“In the framework of the African Union Gender Policy, the Pan African University strives for gender equality on all levels and in all university functions, to fully use the potential of both men and women. It would therefore like to encourage qualified female candidates to apply,” said the statement.

The Kenyan institute is considered the most successful of the continental university’s nodes, having so far graduated two batches of masters students.