How African Universities are transforming towards technology and innovation

It is the age of transformation in the pursuit of technology and innovation. Technological innovation has become a necessity and the increased use of international networks and the internet has made it more important. Higher education has extended and Africa is now pursuing university education more towards technology and innovation.

The importance of studies related to technology and innovation has been increasing. Samuel is a 20-year-old technology enthusiast and keen to learn about artificial intelligence. He already got some basic knowledge in AI by learning from online academies, like Udemy, Coursera, etc.

He wants to get admission to a university where he can pursue his dream to become an AI expert. He is thinking of getting enrolment at the University of Johannesburg and for that, he has to shift to South Africa from Algeria. From this university, he will pursue his bachelor’s in Computer Science and will increase his expertise by acquiring a master’s degree in AI. Quite a long process to cherish the dream of his passion but most do not have the luxury to go through a long way.

This is not just a story of Samuel only, there are many other students in Africa, who want to establish a career in technology and innovation. They are ready to take on the challenges but they don’t have certain opportunities that they possess. They don’t have strong faith in the degree of the local universities because of the failing nature of the educational systems.

However, things are changing now. The higher educational institutes in Africa are now embracing the change for good. The COVID-19 pandemic was an eye opener for the

authorities as they understood the importance and opened immense opportunities to transform into technology and innovation. The government put in place a number of grants such as the SASSA application. These grants helped both individuals and educational institutions. However, African universities have since been encouraging systemic and smart interventions for the new generations.

According to Professor Barry Dwolatzky, the director of Innovation Strategy at Wits University, innovation is an effective arrangement of unique ideas and methods that will be beneficial for people from different spheres of life. With a collaboration of technology, things can be different across the various disciplinary sectors. Developing higher studies is imperative in Africa to take a position in global competition.

Every educational institute, especially the university holds the core responsibility to shift the youth towards innovation. It is high time to realise that higher educational institutes need to reform their structure and embrace digital transformation. The pandemic has given a lesson that it needs a change and standardising higher education can fulfil the need to move forward. Before the pandemic, the majority of African educational institutes didn’t feel the urge of embracing technological innovation.

The current realities of information and communication technology have a higher potential in Africa with the impact of globalisation. It enables the process of a knowledge-driven economy to accommodate the needs of students. The blend of emerging technology and the integration of innovative amplification is creating an impact on the education system by enhancing innovative interactive teaching, learning, and skill development post-pandemic. Even the teaching skills are being improved by giving the teachers to control the facility of student management through the learning process.

With the integration of technology and innovation, higher-order general cognitive abilities can be transferred according to the occupations. This cannot be learned in institutes but embracing social behavioural skills like collaboration, resilience, self-confidence, bargaining, and self-expression can be helpful. These skills eventually will help the students to implicate in regular life to grab learnerships and eventually opportunities in jobs or research centres.

Eventually, the digitalization of content curriculum and instruction has made some positive changes in African universities that have made storing and sharing information much easier for both students and teachers that encourages boundary-less use of knowledge and expertise. On the other hand, entailing newness to the courses in higher studies Africa has gone through barriers. Yet, it stuck to the plan and stayed with the students by introducing flexible and convenient programs in courses related to technology and innovation.

To make it more exciting for the students in Africa, the education system needs to be reinforced. The young generation loves experimenting with newer technologies and wants to gather knowledge through innovations. Therefore, education needs to transform into becoming increasingly technology-oriented. It needs to put emphasis on computer engineering programs and manage cloud computing skills and information security management.

The newer generation feels confident and comfortable working with mechanical tools and enjoys working with gadgets. Promote interactive learning, it will help the students to have more engaging courses to enhance their knowledge of technology and innovation.

Letting these youth work with things they are passionate about will create new job opportunities, build a career in technology, end up in scientific research associations, maintain efficiency, and enhance the growth of Africa’s economy.

Ensuring a quality education for the future generation will be helpful to emerge as a nation of highly qualified youths. The emergence of higher education in Africa emphasises setting a stable foundation for cutting-edge scientific research, enhancing knowledge in technology and innovation compelling a solution for social, economic, political, as well as environmental hazards.