Prof. Maina Mwangi Secures €789,900 Grant for Transformative Agricultural Education Project(UPLIFT-Ag).
Prof. Maina Mwangi, a professor at Kenyatta University, has secured Euros 789,900 in grant funding from the European Education and Culture Executive Agency Erasmus+ capacity building program for higher education. The funds will support a new research project titled “Universities Promoting Linkages for Impactful Training, Innovation and Technology Transfer in Agriculture (UPLIFT-Ag).”
The three-year project will be coordinated by Kenyatta University and implemented jointly with 9 other universities across Africa and 3 universities in Europe. The lead industry partner is the Agriculture Sector Network of the Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA).
UPLIFT-Ag aims to improve the relevance, quality, modernization and responsiveness of agriculture higher education programs in Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi and Zimbabwe. A key goal is to help universities in these countries establish more effective academia-industry partnerships to increase real-world impact.
Specific activities will include adopting improved teaching methods and innovative curriculum systems, providing more experiential and entrepreneurial learning opportunities, and enhancing technology transfer between universities and the agriculture industry.
“This grant provides an exciting opportunity to transform agriculture education in sub-Saharan Africa. By linking universities more closely with private sector partners, we can ensure graduating students have the skills and mindsets needed to drive innovation in local agriculture industries ,” said Prof. Mwangi.
The project will also support regional networking and sharing of best practices in areas like curriculum reform, digital learning, and university-industry collaboration. A series of capacity building workshops will provide training for over 1,000 university administrators, academics and students over the three years.
Prof. Mwangi expressed gratitude to the European funding agency and Kenyatta University for supporting the project. “With these resources, we can make great strides towards modernizing agriculture higher education to be more relevant and impactful. This will ultimately contribute to food security, economic growth and job creation across sub-Saharan Africa.”
The UPLIFT-Ag project is set to officially launch in mid-2024, with preparatory activities beginning immediately. Prof. Mwangi will serve as the overall coordinator, overseeing activities at all partner universities across the four African countries.
