Enhancing internationalization and quality of African universities through academic mobility: Experiences from RUFORUM

Academic mobility is a globally accepted mechanism for internationalizing higher education and producing a globally competitive workforce. The Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM) has facilitated academic mobility in Africa since 2009 to strengthen capacity of African universities to build their own human resource. To date, 60 universities in Africa have committed to academic mobility through the RUFORUM Network. Capacity gaps in the agricultural sector were mapped and nine PhD and five MSc regionally accredited Programmes were developed. Todate 521 student mobilities and 110 staff mobilities have been supported. Students and staff have benefited from exposure to diverse cultures and environments, created research networks through conferences, and are now working in different parts of the Continent. Universities are now exchanging staff to deliver guest lectures and build programmes for building capacity and internationalizing programmes. Success registered is attributable to institutional ownership of programmes by the Vice Chancellors, subsidized cost of training, regionally recognized curricula and a strong coordination mechanism. Challenges encountered included variation in curricula for mobilities beyond the nine programmes posing a challenge of recognition and equation of degrees. A majority of African universities lack organized logistical facilities such accommodation, language and cultural orientation support, visa processing and ticketing, office space etc. for visiting students and staff. Operationalization of a harmonized credit accumulation and transfer, subsidized fees, electronic and blended learning, strong international offices, institutional support and networking for lesson learning with an independent coordinating institution will enhance the contribution of academic mobility to improved quality of higher education in Africa.