Africa: Groups sign MoU on engineering education, workforce development

The NEPAD Agency, a technical agency of the African Union and IEEE, the world’s largest technical professional organisation dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity, have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), the first of its type for IEEE within Africa.

Under the multi-year agreement, the organisations will collaborate on initiatives focused on workforce development through engineering capacity-building and educational activities, technical, scientific, and engineering policy development, and research and development to increase access to technical information. The MoU signing took place at the Smart Africa Transform Africa Summit 2017.

NEPAD Agency and IEEE are well positioned to work together as both organizations share the common goal of capacity building in engineering, with the focus on Africa’s next generation. The signing of this MoU at the Smart Africa Transform Africa Summit signifies the priority of this mutual goal.

“IEEE is very proud to enter into this agreement with such a prestigious organisation as NEPAD Agency and looks forward to collaborating in many ways to provide educational support and technical development for the engineering profession throughout Africa,” said Karen Bartleson, President and Chief Executive Officer of IEEE.

“Workforce development in engineering is crucial to Africa’s development, especially for the infrastructure sector. NEPAD Agency welcomes the partnership with IEEE and looks forward to implementing joint initiatives that will contribute to regional integration and the aspirations of Agenda 2063, Africa’s long-term continental strategy for transformation,” Dr Towela Nyirenda-Jere, Principal Programme Officer in the Regional Integration, Infrastructure and Trade Programme remarked, in a statement on behalf of Dr Ibrahim Mayaki, NEPAD Agency’s CEO.

IEEE will be assisting in the delivery of the African development agenda of NEPAD Agency for the attainment of the African Union Agenda 2063 and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. As one of the world’s largest engineering publishers, a major supporter of educational resources, a widely known developer of global technical standards, and a respected voice for the global engineering community, IEEE is well positioned for this collaboration.