The 2019 Siyaphumelela Conference, hosted by the South African Institute for Distance Education or SAIDE, which manages the Kresge Foundation-funded Siyaphumelela project in South Africa, was held in Johannesburg from 25-27 June. The conference explored several themes around the use of data analytics to promote student success.

Francis Kokutse The Association of African Universities has asked the African Union to show the necessary support for the Continental Education Strategy for Africa in order to make it work, arguing that, three years into the launch of the strategy, the African Union is yet to back it with the “appropriate level of funding”.

The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) Young Scholars in Africa Conference, held in Nairobi, Kenya, from 1-3 March, aimed to identify and tackle the reasons behind Africa’s shortage of young scientists and scholars, a situation which impedes socio-economic growth and fails to provide the rapidly growing higher education sector with the necessary human resources and to build up adequate research.

The annual leadership retreat facilitated by Inyathelo: The South African Institute for Advancement, aimed at university vice-chancellors and other educational leaders, was held from 21-23 January in Cape Town. While issues relating to long-term sustainability of higher education institutions topped the agenda, a number of burning issues such as race and inequity in the sector were also considered.

A workshop in Cape Town, a conference in Stellenbosch, and a recently published volume on the contribution of universities to place-based development form the basis for this edition’s special report examining the opportunities for South African universities – like their counterparts around the world – to embrace the roles of place-makers, engines of innovation and economic development, and centres of knowledge-production which seek to inform local decision- and policy-making.

The Sixth Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM) Biennial Conference, also known as the African Higher Education Week, took place in Nairobi, Kenya, from 22-26 October under the theme “Aligning African universities to accelerate attainment of Africa’s Agenda 2063”. The conference brought together stakeholders in higher education and agriculture from across the continent.

The eLearning Africa Conference, the largest in Africa on learning, training and technology, was held in Kigali, Rwanda from 26-28 September under the theme of “Uniting Africa”. The conference, which attracted hundreds of experts, focused on how technology can break down barriers, enabling Africans to share knowledge, learn and prepare for the future. University World News was there as a media partner.

The South African Technology Network, a consortium of technology-focused universities, held its annual international conference in Durban from 11-13 September on the theme “Fourth Industrial Revolution – The role of universities”. The conference explored how institutions in other countries are addressing the challenges presented by the fourth industrial revolution as well as the changing demands of industry and business in South Africa and around the world. University World News was there as a media partner.

The Southern African Society for Cooperative Education’s third Work-Integrated Learning (WIL) Conference took place near Durban, South Africa, from 18-20 July 2018 co-hosted by a range of universities of technology and technical and vocational education and training institutions. This year’s theme was ‘WIL: Policy to Implementation’ and focused on challenges facing the implementation of WIL, employability of graduates and curriculum issues including assessment and decolonisation of education.