| Organisation | Association of African Universities |
| Alternate Name | |
| Abbreviation | |
| Parent | |
| u.r.l. | |
| info@aau.org | |
| Country | Ghana |
| Location | Accra |
| Address | African Universities House, 11 Aviation Road Extension, Airport Residential Area, Accra, Ghana, Accra |
| Postal Address | P. O. Box AN5744, Accra-North, Ghana. |
| Telephone | +233-21-774495/761588 |
| Management u.r.l. | |
| Fax | +233-21-774821 |
| Sector | Universities |
| Organisation Type | African Public Sector |
| Status | Established 1967. active |
| Stated Role | The Association of African Universities (AAU) is the apex organization and forum for consultation, exchange of information and co-operation among institutions of higher education in Africa. It represents the voice of higher education in Africa on regional and international bodies and supports networking by institutions of higher education in teaching, research, information exchange and dissemination. <P>The AAU, whose headquarters is in Accra, Ghana, was founded in Rabat, Morocco on November 12, 1967, following recommendations made at an earlier conference organized by the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Antananarivo, Madagascar in September 1962 for the formation of such an apex organization. The Antananarivo recommendations were taken up by a preparatory Committee of the heads of African institutions of higher education, which met in Khartoum in September 1963 and drafted the founding constitution of the Association. <P>With an initial membership of 34, the Association now has 199 members drawn from 45 African countries, cutting across the language and other divides. In its 40 years of existence, the Association has provided a platform for research, reflection, consultation, debates, co-operation and collaboration on issues pertaining to higher education. It has provided a range of services to its members and served African higher education in a variety of ways. It has established and increased its role in the five sub-regions of Africa and is thus able, at reasonable notice, to assemble teams of experts in relevant fields from the sub-regions. The Association possesses a unique capacity to convene higher education institutional leaders and policy-makers from all parts of the continent and on key issues related to African higher education and development, as demonstrated in the WTO/GATS workshop held in Ghana in April 2004. In addition, the Association provides leadership in the identification of emerging issues and support for debating them and facilitating appropriate follow-up action by its members, partners and other stakeholders. <P> |
| Activities | Programmes and Services <P>In pursuit of these objectives, the AAU runs the following programmes and services: Study Programme on Higher Education Management in Africa; International Fellowships Programme (West Africa Region); Staff Exchange; AAI/AAU First Data Western Union Fellowship; Association for the Development of Education in Africa’s Working Group on Higher Education (ADEA/WGHE); and the Roster of African Professionals (ROAP). <P>Subject to funding, the following programmes and services will be restarted: Higher Education Leadership Development Workshops (formerly Senior University Management Workshops (SUMA)); Networks for Regional Cooperation in Graduate Training and Research; and Database of African Theses and Dissertations (DATAD). <P>In response to very great demand, programmes have been developed in the following areas: African Universities Responding to HIV/AIDS; Coordination of Information and Communications Technology Initiatives; and Developing Quality Assurance Systems in African Universities; |
| Geographical Focus | |
| Notes |
| Current Positions | |||
| Position | Name | From | To |
| Vice President | Prof. Amail Shamsudeen | 2007 | |
| Head of Communication | Dr Hoba Pascal | 2007 | |
| Budgets | ||||
| Donor | From | To | Budget ($) | Note |
| Association of African Universities | 2007 | 7,000,000 | Strenghen the capacities of the institutions and to act ac catalysts for poverty eradication and sustainable development | |
| Links to Related Organisations |
| Parent Tree |
| Subsidiary Organisations |
| Sibling Organisations |
| Associated Organisations | Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency - SIDA |
| International Fellowships Program-West Africa |
| Donor Recipients | Association of African Universities |
| Roster of African Professionals |
| Past Positions | |||
| Position | Name | From | To |
| Secretary-General | Cheikh Sy | 1970 | 1972 |
| Record last updated on 05 DEC 2007 |