RU VC speaks at the QS Africa Forum 2024
The QS Africa Forum 2024 featured a panel discussion titled “Nurturing the Entrepreneurial Mindset in Education” which took place on September 10, 2024, from 16:00 to 17:00 Ghana Time.
The panel explored Africa’s dynamic entrepreneurial landscape, reflecting the innovative spirit of its people. Entrepreneurship, encompassing both small-scale ventures and high-growth startups, had the potential to generate jobs, stimulate economic growth, and address societal challenges. To fully harness this potential, the role of education in fostering an entrepreneurial mindset was deemed crucial.
Discussions focused on how education could cultivate entrepreneurial thinking by equipping learners with the necessary knowledge, skills, and resources to establish and scale their ventures. Key topics included integrating entrepreneurship into curricula, promoting collaborations between universities and industries, and creating supportive ecosystems for startups. By prioritizing entrepreneurship education, Africa aimed to cultivate a generation of job creators, innovators, and problem solvers who could drive economic transformation across the continent.
This year’s theme, “Empowering Africa’s Youth: Integrating Entrepreneurship, Future Skills, and AI/Technology in Education for a Sustainable Future”, resonated deeply throughout the discussions led by our esteemed speakers. It was truly inspiring to witness partnerships form and grow as we brought together over 181 higher education leaders in person, joining from 26 countries.
Key takeaways from the QS Africa Forum
Empowering Africa’s Youth for the Future: The forum highlighted the critical role of education in equipping young Africans with the skills and knowledge needed to thrive in a future shaped by entrepreneurship, AI, and technology.
Generative AI and the Future of Work: Experts emphasized the importance of fostering analytical skills, problem-solving, and active learning to prepare students for advancements in Generative AI.
Africa’s Leadership in Higher Education: The forum showcased the potential of African institutions to be global leaders in innovation and development.
Fostering International Collaboration: Data showcased African universities’ strength in fostering positive global partnerships, highlighting their potential for interregional dialogue and knowledge exchange.
Building a Sustainable Future: Discussions addressed the importance of integrating sustainability principles into the curriculum to prepare future generations to address environmental and social challenges.
Harnessing Technology for Transformation: Panels explored how institutions can leverage AI and technology to deliver a more transformative and engaging educational experience.
Nurturing the Entrepreneurial Spirit: The forum emphasized the need to cultivate an entrepreneurial mindset within educational frameworks, equipping students with the tools and resources to create jobs and drive economic growth.
Interregional Dialogue: Interregional collaboration in higher education is essential for amplifying universities’ roles in driving innovation, regional integration, and sustainable development through knowledge exchange, addressing global challenges like climate change and social inequality.
Successful partnerships across regions require supportive policies, effective resource allocation, and inclusive participation, with case studies offering practical insights into how universities can lead transformative global change.
Prof. Gateru highlighted the initiatives at RU that are geared towards improving the entrepreneurial capacity of RU students. These include the RFC on Innovation and Entrepreneurship which all students are required to undertake, the Market Days held on campus, the Monthly Innovation Forums at the RU i-Centre, among others. He gave an account of how the AESU project at RU has transformed the entrepreneurial prowess of RU students, having mentored over 40 student businesses, with a 3rd cohort being on boarded currently.
Our VC challenged universities in Africa to think beyond simply churning out graduates without caring where they were going or whether the jobs were there or not. He indicated that this is the reason that RU maintains small classes to ensure impact on every student. He illustrated how RU tracks its graduates through Tracer Studies which show that over 90% of RU graduates secure something to do within one year of graduation, be it employment, entrepreneurship, or further studies. Out of these, close to 20% of RU graduates start businesses, which is a rate that is above average. The VC painted a vivid picture of how African economies were not expanding in tandem with the rate of students graduating, implying that universities in Africa need to not only create job seekers, but more so job creators. The QS Africa Forum 2024 attracted participants from across the world.
About QS
QS Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) is a global organisation that offers data, expertise, and solutions for the global higher education sector. For more information about QS please visit their website: www.qs.com
