Professor Lelanie Smith, Co-founder and Co-Director of the Engineering Education Research Network Africa (EERN-Africa), recently secured support from the Intra-Africa Mobility Scheme of the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). The consortium, which formally established through connections made via the EERN-Africa network, came together to apply for this funding.

The capacity-building for Engineering Education (CB4EE) project focuses on developing transformative research capacities and co-creating actionable knowledge to support systemic change in engineering educator development and address modern global challenges. African institutions currently lag behind in integrating climate change knowledge into engineering education, a gap this project aims to fill. Engineering work is crucial to achieving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with the quality of engineering graduates acting as a key enabler for ethical and sustainable development.

This project leverages existing expertise through partnerships between African universities and a European Union (EU) partner. Key partners include the University of Cape Town’s Centre for Research in Engineering Education (CREE) and the University of Pretoria’s integrated curriculum project in South Africa, the Mbarara University of Science and Technology in Uganda, the Murang’a University of Technology and Strathmore University in Kenya, the University of Lagos in Nigeria and the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden.

By fostering collaboration and promoting research in engineering education research, the CB4EE project seeks to drive transformation and internationalisation in engineering education on the African continent. This initiative provides engineering educators from African countries with opportunities to broaden their perspectives, gain exposure to international best practices, and contribute to the advancement of engineering education both locally and globally.

The consortium recently met in Brussels to engage with European partners and other successful consortium members, laying the groundwork for transformative initiatives.