African Cities Lab
The overall objective of the project is to create an African digital education Platform on urban development, offering quality MOOCs and online, continuing education training for professionals. It will also act as a forum for the exchange of digital educational resources and the management and governance of African cities to foster sustainable urban development.
Anchored on African soil, initially under the supervision of EPFL, the Platform will gather leading universities in the Anglophone and Francophone regions in order to create a network of institutions in digital education and have impact on the entire continent. African Cities Lab (ACL) is a joint initiative led by EPFL,
- the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (Ghana),
- the Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (Maroc),
- Sèmè City campus (Benin),
- the University of Carthage (Tunisia),
- the University of Cape Town (South Africa), and
- the University of Rwanda
to contribute to sustainable urban development on the continent.
The initiative, funded by the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), aims to create a digital education platform and its content on urban planning and urban development in Africa. The English-French bilingual ACL platform based on open edX and hosted by the partners in Africa, will offer quality MOOCs and online training for professionals. It will also act as a forum for the exchange of digital educational resources and the management and governance of African cities.
13 new MOOCs on urban development in Africa
The EXAF centre through the project African Cities Lab, finished the selection of a range of MOOCs for African urban development. 13 proposals were selected. Production will begin in 2022.
In March 2021, ACL launched a call for proposals to produce MOOCs on African cities and urban development, targeting an audience of professionals. 26 proposals were received and reviewed by external experts and the project’s scientific committee.
ACL project management is glad to announce that 13 proposals were selected for funding. The range of selected MOOCs spans a wide range of topics such as digitalization and data management, housing, climate and sanitation, finance, planning and eco-materials. 4 out of 13 MOOCs will be produced in French. The rest will be subtitled in French. The MOOCs will be produced by the following institutions:
- University Mohamed VI Polytechnic, Morocco
- University of Carthage, Tunisia
- Gret / Université Cheikh Anta Diop Dakar, Senegal
- Sèmè City, Benin
- University of Cape Town, South Africa
- Water Research Commission, South Africa
- Centre for Affordable Housing Finance, South Africa
- UN-Habitat, Kenya
- Ain Shams University, Egypt
Funding
This project is financed by the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs.
Contact
For more information about the project, please contact :
[email protected] – +41 21 693 20 47