[Press Release] RUFORUM: Development of African Tailored Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs)

08th April 2020
by secretary

Agrinatura News

Development of African Tailored Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs)

Announcement of the eight courses to be developed into MOOCs

Kampala 08, April 2020 The Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM) in partnership with Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P) is implementing a Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) capacity building initiative targeting the members of the RUFORUM network. RUFORUM is a network of 126 universities in 38 African countries mandated to strengthen the quality and relevance of undergraduate and postgraduate training and research in African higher educational institutions in agriculture, science, technology and innovation fields. UM6P, a RUFORUM member university, was setup by OCP Group, a world leader in Phosphate based fertilizers. It is oriented towards applied research and innovation with a deep focus towards Africa.

The aim of the RUFORUM-UM6P MOOCs initiative is to build the capacity of African universities to develop massive open online courses (MOOCs) and encourage adoption of online learning and new educational technologies in member universities academic programs.

We recently administered a survey which was intended to gather views from the experts within the network in order to identify relevant courses responsive to Africa’s most critical challenges in Agriculture domain. We analysed the survey feedback and published an analytical report (available online here) which was then used for selecting the following initial eight (8) Masters Programmes for delivery as MOOCs.

1. Masters in Agribusiness Management
2. Masters in Agricultural Innovations and Entrepreneurship
3. Masters in Fertilizer Science and Technology
4. Masters in Climate Change Smart Agriculture
5. Masters in Food Systems and Policy Analysis
6. Masters in Research Methods
7. Masters in Monitoring and Evaluation
8. Masters in Agro-informatics

The next step will be to engage experts in the above fields to develop content that can be digitized. Each University will adopt according to its own needs. For more information regarding this initiative, please contact f.otto@ruforum.org or Sara.AOUAD@um6p.ma

RUFORUM:

Established by African university Vice Chancellors in 2004, the Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM) is a consortium of 125 African universities operating in 38 countries on the continent with a vision to create “a vibrant agricultural sector linked to African universities which produce high-performing graduates and high-quality research responsive to the demands of Africa’s farmers for innovations and able to generate sustainable livelihoods and national economic development”. RUFORUM Secretariat is hosted by the Ministry of Education and Sports in Uganda with Secretariat at Makerere University in Kampala. In 2014, RUFORUM signed an MoU with the African Union Commission to support implementation of the Science, Technology and Innovation Strategy for Africa (STISA 2024) Priority One on reducing poverty and ensuring food and nutrition security. As of August 2019, RUFORUM has supported the training of 1,919 MSc and 526 PhD graduates of whom 94% work in their home countries or region, generated over 300 agricultural technologies and mobilized over US$208 million for strengthening postgraduate education in Africa. Please visit www.ruforum.org for more information. For additional information, photos and interviews, contact the RUFORUM Corporate Communications & Advocacy Officer below; Name: Maureen Agena Corporate Communications, & Advocacy Officer Email: communications@ruforum

Name: Maureen Agena; Corporate Communications, & Advocacy Officer Email: communications@ruforum.org

[Press Release] RUFORUM: Development of African Tailored Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs)

Development of African Tailored Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs)

Announcement of the eight courses to be developed into MOOCs

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