Approaches to retooling University faculty in innovative pedagogic approaches to develop the creative and innovative potential of young people

Globally, several higher education institutions are undergoing reforms to render instructional practices and educational systems more effective in generating the targeted type of graduate. The main stimulus for these reforms is the hypothesis that a country’s future economic well-being is reliant on the ability of that country’s population to innovate, be creative, and to analyze and solve problems. Amongst the several reforms includes the shift from subject matter specialists solely responsible for transmitting information, to facilitators in the educational process of the knowledge-based economy. Retooling university faculty in such innovative pedagogic approaches adequately prepares them to deliver training that enables graduates fit into the currently advocated knowledge-based economy through enhancing students’ abilities in problem solving, teamwork, learning to learn, and reflective thinking. Within the knowledge-based economy, universities and university faculty co-exist thereby necessitating faculty to adopt the same skills being developed in their students. This will enable them to inculcate qualities of flexibility, networking, creativity, and innovative thinking into students. Additionally, there is evidence that application of experiential learning approaches including community engagement is not institutionalized in several universities, thus limiting the attainment of critical and reflective thinking amongst students. It is against this background that the Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM), aiming at strengthening the capacity of African agricultural universities and their graduates to transform agriculture and accelerate growth and development of sustainable livelihoods in Africa, undertook several measures to retool university faculty at Gulu and Egerton universities with appropriate skills of engaging communities and conducting research that addresses the needs of smallholder farmers, and that facilitates entrepreneurship development at community level. This paper explores strategies for inculcating the creativity, innovation, and critical and reflective thinking paradigm unto learners for the attainment of lifelong learning abilities. Key words: Community engagement, Egerton University, experiential learning, Gulu University, TAGDev