| Project Detail |
The Bank’s support for Phase II of the PAU will sustain the gains made in Phase I, thereby providing high-level STEM skills needed for Africa’s economic transformation. The Project design is anchored on the findings of the feasibility study commissioned by the Bank and will contribute to the objectives of the AU Agenda 2063 Second Ten-Year Implementation Plan (2024-2033), seeking to ensure that the most secondary and tertiary education graduates are in STEM-related disciplines. The AUC Ten-Year Implementation Plan also seeks to increase Africa’s contribution to the global scientific research output, which is expected to translate into innovation and production and thus build expertise in various areas, including fragility, conflict sensitivity, peacebuilding and challenges of climate change and displacement. This will be achieved while addressing more forcefully issues of diversification of employment opportunities through entrepreneurship, incubation, and gender equity issues in accessing well targeted training sectors. The project contributes to climate finance, with 3 million USD of the total approved amount dedicated to adaptation. Project Objectives The Project’s development objective is to increase the stock of higher-level skills, especially in STEM, required for Africa’s economic transformation. This will be achieved by ensuring that the PAU is established and operational in its complete configuration as a recognized full-fledged university system. The PAU will improve regional cooperation and coordination in higher education to enhance the relevance of skills and research produced to Africa’s development needs. Beneficiaries PAU will serve all African countries, representing a population of 1.4 billion people, through developing skills in specific thematic areas. In particular, the University and its Institutes is critical for skilling the youth in Africa, who are expected, by 2030, to make up to 42% of the world’s youth and account for 75% of those under the age of 35 in Africa18. The host countries of the PAU Rectorate and the three Institutes, Algeria, Cameroon, and Kenya are the actual geographical locations. The AUC, located in Addis Ababa, is the coordinating agency. The scholarship programme will provide financial support to 1420 MSc and PhD students, with 40% of women admitted to the PAU. It is expected that 1136 young students will graduate (896 with MSc and 240 PhD), creating more than 900 jobs for youth, including 300 green jobs. PAU graduates are generally employed in academia (teaching and research), private sector companies and various government entities in charge of sector policies or start their own business. Their insertion in the job market is facilitated by the fact that, through the innovation and entrepreneurship centre (iHub) installed in each of the institutes in collaboration with the private sector, students receive entrepreneurship training, conduct R&D with the private sector, develop solutions and prototypes which could pave the way for start-ups. The students will be drawn from across 54 African countries, including those from fragile contexts/transition states, forcibly displaced persons (refugees, IDPs, returnees), host communities and other marginalized groups (e.g. persons with disabilities, first-generation students). Through gender sensitization and awareness raising about the PAU, the AUC and the Rectorate will endeavour to attract female students to reach parity in student admissions. The project will provide research grants and African researchers resources to improve their research productivity and publications. This project also aims at fostering the mobility of African researchers, men and women. Higher education faculty members and researchers will benefit from PAU through the exchange programmes and interactions with academia and scientists from African institutions and abroad. |
