This year’s Times Universities’ Africa Universities Summit 2025 brought together cross-continental partners from higher education, industry, policy, and civil society to discuss the greatest challenges and opportunities facing African higher education and broader society.
More than 350 delegates attended the summit, which took place in Kigali, Rwanda, from March 18 to March 20, 2025, under the theme “United Leadership: Harnessing African Education for Sustainable Growth.”
The leaders, experts and change makers explored the importance of equitable partnerships for Africa, promoting sustainability in higher education, harnessing digital transformation for good, and improving the quality of research and employability.
The Times Higher Chief Global Affairs Officer, Phil Baty, said Africa is vital to the world’s future success.
“We are delighted to host such a timely and relevant event to explore development in the higher education and sustainability sectors.
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This event in Kigali was a real highlight, and outstanding leadership was gathering to showcase the growth of this exciting emerging education hub and Africa’s position at the centre of this,” he said.
The forum’s keynote speakers included Dr Philip Cotton, Vice Chancellor of the University of Global Health Equity; Dr Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Chancellor of the University of Johannesburg; and Dr DeWayne Frazier, President and Vice Chancellor of the American University of Nigeria.
Mount Kenya University (MKU) and Mount Kigali University (Rwanda) are Kenyan-based. The Vice-Chancellor, Prof Deogratius Jaganyi, is represented by Prof Peter Wanderi, Principal of Corporate Services, Marketing, Communication, and Alumni Relations.
A group of marketers and exhibitors led by Boniface Murigi, Director of Corporate Affairs and Communication, and staff from MKU Rwanda also joined the MKU team.
During the meeting, a Letter of Intent/Expression of Interest was signed between MKU (Kenya), MKU (Rwanda), and Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University (PSAU) of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The letter was signed jointly by Prof Jaganyi, Vice Chancellor MKU, Kenya, who also represented Vice Chancellor MKU, Rwanda, and Prof Rayed Alyousef, Vice-President of Research and Postgraduate Studies (PSAU).
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The agreement focuses on a wide range of interests, including research and innovation, capacity building, policy advocacy and knowledge exchange, community engagement and outreach, innovation and entrepreneurship, and governance and oversight.
The university team also attended a round table meeting organized by PSAU’s team. During that roundtable meeting, Prof Jaganyi asked for clarification on PSAU’s membership with the United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI) and invited PSAU to join Mount Kenya University UNAI SDG9 Hub group of universities.
Other sponsors and partners in the summit were Covenant University (Nigeria); Elsevier (a global leader in information and analytics); Carnegie Mellon University Africa; the British Council, Instructure (Canvas makers) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
Notionwave DMCC (an AI solution provider) and Schmidt Science Fellows, a maths, technology and science postdoctoral fellowship awarded annually since 2018 by Schmidt Futures, in partnership with the Rhodes Trust, also sponsored the conference.
Also in the lineup was Honoris United Universities group, which specializes in private higher education and professional education on the African continent. It owns several higher-learning institutions in Morocco, Nigeria, Tunisia and South Africa.
By Kamau Njoroge
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