In a nationwide competition organised by the Federal Foreign Office and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), the Oldenburg education scientists and their partners in East and South Africa came out on top. Among other things, the aim is to train future leaders.
"Centre of Excellence for Educational Research Methods and Management in East and South Africa (CERM-ESA)" is the title of the concept that convinced an international panel of experts. The project will initially run for four and a half years with a funding volume of around 1.3 million euros. The project leaders at the University of Oldenburg are the educational scientist Prof. Dr Karsten Speck and the ecological economist and Vice President for Early Career Researchers and Quality Management, Prof. Dr Bernd Siebenhüner.
"The success in the nationwide competition is a confirmation of the quality of the proposal, but also of the high level of expertise and the good reputation of Oldenburg's educational sciences," says Siebenhüner. The Centre will further internationalise both the Master's and doctoral programmes and promote exchange with the renowned African partner universities.
The plan is to establish a centre of excellence for educational research and management - including didactics - at the School of Education at Moi University in Kenya. In addition to the University of Oldenburg, the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (South Africa), the University of Dar Es Salaam (Tanzania) and the Uganda Management Institute (Uganda) are also involved. The University of Oldenburg can draw on many years of co-operation with the partners in the consortium.
The researchers at the Centre of Excellence for Educational Research Methods and Management in East and South Africa will carry out international comparative research projects in the school and higher education sector. The aim is also to qualify future managers in educational research and educational management in East and South Africa and to provide further training for academic and administrative staff at the partner universities. An "International Graduate School" is intended to institutionalise the jointly designed and implemented innovative study programmes. Scholarships are also planned for Oldenburg Master's students and doctoral candidates for stays of several months at the Kenyan-German Centre of Expertise.