Enhancing Higher Education e-learning structures and modules in conflict regions of East Africa

ongoing

Instability linked to their transitional status and internal military conflicts in Sudan and South Sudan are becoming endemic, in a manner that universities have to close for long periods of time, their lecturers and students migrate to other areas of the country, to other neighbor countries, or even to join the conflict. These circumstances create a situation of total discontinuity of the Higher Education journey for many students, with the subsequent lack of specialists and technicians needed to reconstruct the country and to avoid a total foreign dependence during periods of relative calm or low military activities. This endemic situation has made that some local universities start organizing common efforts to create structures and capacities for delivering e-learning modules, at least in some transversal educational areas, to try to continue delivering academic activities in the midst of conflictual situations. However, the lack of digital skills or specific competences to organize e-learning activities, makes necessary the cooperation and support of foreign universities with experience in the development of e-learning capacities and online educational materials and modules, such as European universities, but also from neighbor countries with more political stability, such is the case of Kenya. The main goal of this project is to develop structures and capacities for creating and teaching e-learning modules, considering the limitations of the universities in the region due to endemic military conflicts and their low level of development. This would allow universities in Sudan and South Sudan to manage situations of conflict and instability and to continue with academic activities in their midst, even if the students are scattered in remote areas of the country or in different countries, and to develop the digital skills of both teaching staff and students.