African economies are growing and technological change is the engine of growth.
To sustain growth, however, Africans need new skills, education and knowledge to match the challenges and technology of tomorrow. African students need the skills and capabilities employers will demand and markets will prize in the future.
To meet this challenge, EPICA, a new strategic partnership between Europe and Africa, has been launched. It is bringing together businesses, organisations and universities in both Europe and Africa to design an innovative, scalable ePortfolio, which will improve the quality, visibility and availability of new skills. This joint effort is made possible by co-funding from the European Commission's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme.
EPICA will help:
UNIVERSITIES AND COLLEGES to improve teaching methods to respond to the demand for more highly skilled workers
STUDENTS AND WORKERS to obtain more visible, transferable skills, acquired in both formal and informal education
EMPLOYERS AND BUSINESSES to identify and recruit the most suitable candidates for jobs
EPICA's market-centred approach will ensure that end-users are involved in the whole process and the ePortfolio meets their requirements.
With leading participants in EPICA's pilot phase and onwards, including the Makerere University of Uganda, the Maseno University of Kenya and the Open University of Tanzania, the scheme will provide the initial data to evaluate end-users' behavioural responses, creating the basis for an "ePortfolio Implementation Pack" and the development of a robust model, which will involve sub-Saharan companies in the commercialisation process and ensure both take-up and sustainability.
The EPICA Consortium is formed by the following organisations; African Virtual University, Kenya; International Council for Open and Distance Education, Norway; ICWE, Germany; Makerere University, Uganda; Maseno University, Kenya; MyDocumenta, Spain; Open University of Tanzania, Tanzania; and Open University of Catalonia, Spain.
Project Data Information
EPICA is a Horizon 2020 Innovation Action (IA), funded under the call ICT-39-2016-2017: "International partnership building in low and middle income countries"
Period: 1 January 2018 – 31 December 2020
Project budget: 2,170,675.00 €
EC Contribution: 1,897,450.00 €
Coordinator: International Council for Open and Distance Education (ICDE), Norway
Contact details: For any inquiry about the project, please email contact@epica-initiative.africa
Project website: https://www.epica-initiative.com/