Welcome Message from IIE Sub-Saharan Africa

Director, Cheryl Francisconi

   

Staff of IIE Sub-Saharan Africa Office

 

From left:  U.S. Amb. Donald Booth, Education Minister Demeke Mekonnen, IIE President Allan Goodman.

On December 10-11, 2010, IIE-SSA hosted an important  two-day higher education conference entitled  "Building Sustainable U.S.-Ethiopian University Partner-ships,"  in collaboration with the U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa.  The conference was attended by the U.S. Ambassador to Ethiopia H.E. Donald Booth, Ethiopia's Minister of Education Ato Demeke Mekonnen, State Minister of Education Dr. Kaba Urgessa and IIE President Dr. Allan Goodman. Ministry of Education officials as well as representatives from Ethiopia's 22 public universities and several private institutions were among the participants.

 

Ambassador Booth delivered the official welcome, and Ethiopia's Minister of Education Ato Demeke Mekonnen gave opening remarks. IIE President and CEO Dr. Allan E. Goodman presented the keynote address. Noted expert Susan Buck Sutton from Indiana University-Purdue University moderated a panel showcasing successful existing partnership models.  Panelists presented a detailed look at successful collaborations, including the longtime partnership between Haramaya University and Oklahoma State University; a partnerships on water resources between Bahir Dar University and Cornell University; and research partnerships between Brown University and Jimma, Haramaya and Addis Ababa Universities.

 

Participants at the two-day conference gained important practical tools to create and sustain successful partnerships including exchange programs and research partnerships.  The event also offered networking opportunities for institutions interested in creating linkages with their higher education counterparts and with other groups that support higher education development in East Africa and around the world.

 

The conference was adjourned by Ambassador Booth's announcement of a new seed grant competition to help build partnerships among Ethiopian and U.S. universities.

 

The U.S.-Ethiopia conference came at a particularly exciting time for U.S. institutions eager to strengthen their educational ties in the region. A rapid and unprecedented expansion of tertiary education is underway in Ethiopia, with thirteen new public universities opening in the past three years. Expanded access to quality higher education at home is a bold and visionary prospect for the next generation of Ethiopian leaders who will shape the country's future development and growth. 

 

   

The Rolex Awards for Enterprise Facilitated by IIE

 

This year, IIE is assisting The Rolex Corporation in identifying winners of the prestigious Rolex Awards for Enterprise.  The awards will be presented in 2012 to five outstanding individuals for their pioneering work in one of five areas:  Applied Technology, Cultural Heritage, Environment, Exploration and Discovery, Science, and Health. The winners will each receive a grant of $100,000 to support the implementation of their ideas. 

Projects may be submitted in almost any area of activity within the areas listed above, provided they have the potential to bring benefit to humankind. Projects are assessed on their feasibility, originality, potential for sustained impact and above all, on the candidate's own spirit of enterprise. Anyone of any age, nationality or background, can complete a pre-application form on the Rolex Awards website.

 

The final deadline for submitting a pre-application is 31 May 2011.  

 

For more information, go to www.rolexawards.com

 

Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center Residency Program

Call for Applications

Deadline: May2, 2011

 

Through conferences and residencies, the Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center, in Northern Italy, supports innovations that change the way we solve global problems.  At Bellagio, people of diverse expertise and backgrounds come together in a thought-provoking, collegial environment that helps promote impact on a wide range of world issues. 

The Residency Program allows for one-month of focused work, uninterrupted by the professional and personal demands of daily life, in a diverse and stimulating community of fellow residents. Residents include an international cohort of scholars, scientists, journalists, writers, artists, non-governmental organization practitioners and policymakers. In addition to time for writing, creativity and reflection during the day, building new connections and collegial interaction with other residents is an integral dimension of the Bellagio experience. Meals and informal presentations of residents' work afford an opportunity for dynamic discussion and engagement with each other. The combination of quiet time for individual, focused work and connections with such a diverse cohort is unparalleled.

Residencies typically last four weeks, and spouses/life partners may accompany residents.   Joint applications from co-authors are also welcome.

Applications for scholars' and artists' residencies are due by May 2, 2011, for residencies scheduled between February and August 2012. (Residency applications will be due on December 1, 2011, for the residency period of August through December 2012.) 

Applications from practitioners and for conferences are accepted on a rolling basis.  

 

To apply, and for more information, please visit

http://www.rockefellerfoundation.org/bellagio-center  

or

download a brochure at http://www.rockefellerfoundation.org/news/publications/rockefeller-foundation-bellagio-center