About Us

HEEFA has been developed by the International Association of Universities (IAU), supported with technical assistance from the IAU Reference Group on Higher Education and EFA. This Portal is part of a larger and comprehensive IAU project on strengthening the contribution of higher education and research to EFA and related MDGs, which includes funded in part by the Swedish International Development Agency (Sida). HEEFA aims to serve as an entry point for the all interested parties to participate in and reinforce the work being undertaken by higher education in Education For All (EFA) and education-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and for the higher education community to learn more about EFA The uniqueness of the Portal is it attempts to raise awareness among those working in higher education and other interested stakeholders (IO, NGOs, Ministries of Education, school administrators and teachers) on the important role that higher education can play in achieving EFA goals in the overall aim to strengthen the linkages between higher education and EFA. Despite calls for a holistic approach in education, higher education and research have been quasi-absent in the EFA movement, working often in isolation. To assist in bridging these two sectors, this platform provides access to systematic organised data on higher education projects, results, experts and bodies active in EFA.

Background

With the launch of the Education For All (EFA) movement in 1990, education has increasingly become a major issue at both the national and international levels. International organisations, governments, civil society and increasingly the private sector have centrally positioned education development in their policies and strategies. The UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) comprise two of its objectives: universal primary education and gender equality. Most recently, the 2008 World Economic Forum declared education development as its first priority. This global commitment and importance admonished to education reflects the realisation that sustainable economic development necessarily requires a critical mass of an educated workforce. Indeed, education does also impact all sectors: health, democracy, security, etc. But, even if some voices advocate a holistic approach in education, higher education and research are quasi-absent from these movements. Furthermore, there exists relatively little systemic research, data and discussion about higher education involvement in these movements and how to enhance it. IAU believes that higher education and research engagement is of critical importance to overall sustainable quality education development for three main reasons:

• Initial and ongoing teacher training often falls under the responsibility of higher education;
• Research on pedagogy, curriculum, learning outcomes, educational management, etc. are carried by essentially faculties of education; and
• Impact of achieving EFA and MDGs on higher education and on society in general remains relatively under-estimated.

In 2005, IAU launched a Pilot to investigate and demonstrate how inter-university linkages and research cooperation between industrialised and developing countries contribute to achieving EFA goals, culminating in an Experts’ Seminar held in Maputo, Mozambique, January 2007. Participating experts and cooperation agency representatives alike deemed higher education involvement in EFA as insufficient, identifying IAU to spearhead the next phase and to act as global convener for further discussions. Observed obstacles to strengthening linkages between higher education and research activities and the EFA movement were: The lack of adapted and better focused information on EFA and Poor dissemination of existing involvement and results of projects undertaken by the higher education sector In 2008, IAU launched a project, embracing both EFA and education-related MDGs and developed around two principle activities: capacity building and information tools. To raise awareness of the important role that higher education can play in EFA, The Higher Education and EFA Portal has been developed to address the need for (1) systematic organised data on what EFA and MDGs encompass and (2) documented work and results being undertaken by higher education and research in EFA-related areas. The terminology and principle ideas of EFA are “decoded” for a better understanding of this movement encompasses while users have access to systematic organised data on projects, experts and bodies active in EFA. As an international network of HEIs, known for its role as a clearinghouse of authoritative and accurate information, IAU is well-placed to develop information tools on higher education research and provides access to such a resource to scholars, researchers, policy makers, NGOs and interested individuals around the world.

International Association of Universities

The International Association of Universities (IAU), founded in 1950 under the auspices of UNESCO, is an international NGO, which brings together higher education institutions and organisations from over 130 countries for reflection and action on common concerns. With its extensive geographical coverage and diverse activities, the IAU aims to represent and defend the interests of higher education in the world, giving expression to the obligation of higher education institutions as social institutions, and contributes, through international cooperation, to the overall strengthening of higher education. Institutions and associations wanting to join IAU can read more at: www.iau-aiu.net

IAU Reference Group on Higher Education and EFA

The Reference Group is composed of the following individuals: Ad Boeren (Netherlands Organisation for International Cooperation in Higher Education, Netherlands); Alejandro Chao Barona (University Autonoma del Estado de Morelos, Mexico); Alice Sena Lamptey (Working Group on Higher Education, Association for Development of Education in Africa, Ghana); Eric Quaye (University of Cape Coast, Ghana); Heribert Hinzen (Institute for International Cooperation of the German Adult Education Association, Germany); Ian G Macfarlane (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Netherlands); Inocente V. Mutimucuio (Universidade Eduardo Mondlane, Mozambique); Jim Greenlaw (University of Ontario Institute of Technology, Canada); Juma Shabani (UNESCO Central and Western Africa Cluster Office, Mali); Montanus C.Milanzi (Mzumbe University, Tanzania); Neerja Sharma (University of Delhi, India); Orlando Quilambo (Universidade Eduardo Mondlane, Mozambique); Terry Russell (University of Liverpool, UK); Thierry Karsenti (Agence universitaire de la Francophonie, Canada); and William K. Cummings (George Washington University, USA). It is chaired by Olive Mugenda, Vice-Chancellor, Kenyatta University, Kenya and IAU Vice-President.

Partners 

This project has been supported in part by the Swedish International Development Agency and the Working Group on Higher Education of the Association for the Development of Education in Africa.