Project title: Universities Employability and inclusive development
Duration: 3 years
The British Council commissioned the Institute of Education of the University of London (IoE) and University of Ibadan to carry out a study tagged: ‘Universities, employability and inclusive development’. The project focuses on the contribution that universities can make to graduate employability in Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa, and for comparative purposes, the UK.
The research is designed to assess the overall situation in the selected countries and identify recent initiatives that have sought to address the challenges e.g. attempts to reduce inequalities in access to higher education, improve quality and ensure relevance. It has drawn on national statistics where these are available, and four selected representative universities in each country are taking part in the in-depth case studies. The project is also assessing the key role of university partnerships – with a particular focus on how UK universities might collaborate with universities in Sub-Saharan Africa on these pressing agendas.
By the end of the project in 2016, British Council in partnership with the research team will have identified how universities in the five countries have been contributing to the preparation of graduates for work and participation in society, what the outcomes are and reasons as to how these outcomes have come about.
Collectively with government, policy makers, employers, graduate and students we will need to find strategies to address these issues head on.