BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//CERN//INDICO//EN BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Positioning Your University for Global Visibility DTSTART:20250506T090000Z DTEND:20250508T170000Z DTSTAMP:20260315T023000Z UID:indico-event-3@indico.aau.org CONTACT:salarry@aau.org\;+233 266 690 005 DESCRIPTION:Introduction\nUniversities and other tertiary educational inst itutions\, anywhere in the world\, play a pivotal role in driving economic growth. They produce a skilled labour force and foster productivity and c ompetitiveness across industries through research and development. Additio nally\, they often collaborate with businesses\, governments\, and communi ties to address societal challenges\, translating academic insights into p ractical solutions that boost economic activity. By nurturing entrepreneur ship and providing lifelong learning opportunities\, universities also emp ower individuals to adapt to economic shifts and contribute to sustainable development. \n \nA university's visibility is enhanced through a variet y of avenues\, each contributing to its reputation\, reach\, and influence . One such is consistently high performance in global and national univers ity rankings through research excellence\, quality teaching\, and graduate employability. Participating in groundbreaking projects\, hosting confere nces\, seminars\, and public lectures\, and strong collaborations with ind ustry\, governments\, international partners\, and alumni networks\, eleva te a university's profile and position it as a thought leader in various f ields.\n \nA strong digital presence\, boosted by a constantly updated an d engaging website showcasing the publication of research outputs\, and ac tive social media channels\, helps universities reach a broader audience a nd engage with their stakeholders.\n \nDespite having over 15% of the wor ld's population\, the research outputs from African tertiary education ins titutions are just around 1%.[1] This is characterized by known challenges such as limited resources\, poor industry collaboration\, and slow adopti on of emerging technologies\, which hinder their full potential. This poor visibility is reflected in global university rankings. In the 2025 Times Higher Education Ranking\, the top-rank university in Africa\, the Univers ity of Cape Town was ranked 180th in the world. The second and third\, Ste llenbosch University and University of Witwatersrand\, respectively\, were ranked between 301 – 350 globally[2].  \n \nWhile these global univer sity rankings may not always be beneficial for African universities due to real inherent biases such as the methodological approach (including using research outputs and citations in high-impact journals which African univ ersities struggle to compete on these metrics due to underfunding)\, more focus on English-language research\, and neglect of local and regional imp act where African universities often excel in these\, the rankings are ben eficial and influential as they provide some useful benchmarks that can bo ost the visibility of African universities and thereby support their effor ts in attracting international students and partners. The rankings also ho ld the potential to motivate universities to innovate and improve their te aching and research practices as well as attract investment in higher educ ation and research. \n \nThe Workshop series\nThis workshop aims to empow er universities and other higher education institutions in Africa to enhan ce their international presence\, relevance\, and global competitiveness t hrough innovation\, partnerships\, local relevance\, and responsible techn ology integration. \n \nSpecific Objectives  \nThe specific objectives o f the workshops are:\n1.     Empower universities through their brand ambassadors (leaders and researchers) to give more visibility to their res earch outcomes\, including empowering researchers to assume greater roles as principal investigators\n2.     Train participants on the short-ter m to long-term strategies to promote and sustain their presence in the glo bal knowledge pool\n3.     Enhance universities' branding through thei r websites\, and social media platforms. \n4.     Empower Internationa lization / International Offices within African universities with the skil ls set to support their internationalization drive\n \nThe Workshop Durat ion and Structure\nEach workshop will run over three days and is structure d to offer participants a thorough\, engaging\, and hands-on experience to strengthen their universities' branding\, knowledge generation\, and visi bility.\n \nModes of Presentation and Facilitation\n·       Pre-Wo rkshop Exercises: Participants gather data on institutional strategic plan s\, internationalization policies\, publishing policies\, IPR policies\, e tc.\n·       Lead Lectures: Delivered by renowned experts on intern ationalization\, institutional branding\, and publication.\n·       Plenary Discussions: Sharing insights and recommendations for common chal lenges.\n·       Case Studies: Examination of globally ranked unive rsities’ strategies for alignment at multiple levels.\n·       Gr oup Work: SWOT (Strengths\, Weaknesses\, Opportunities\, and Threats) and PESTEL (Political\, Economic\, Social\, Technological\, Environmental\, an d Legal) analyses for participant institutions\, and development of draft guidelines for institutional branding.\n·       Post-Workshop Assig nment: Proposed Theory of Change through a 6–12-month SMART (Specific\, Measurable\, Achievable\, Relevant\, and Time-bound) action plan to be sub mitted to the AAU for effective monitoring.\n \nTarget Audience\n·        University Policy Makers (e.g.\, University Councils and Board Memb ers\, and Heads of Regulatory Agencies)\n·       University Leaders hip (e.g.\, Vice-Chancellors\, Rectors\, Presidents\, and their Deputies)\ n·       Staff of University International Offices\n·       Deans of Faculties and Heads of Departments\n·       University Tec hnical Staff (e.g.\, IT Directors\, University Librarians\, etc.)\n·        Academic Researchers\n \nPlease note\n·       Each worksh op will take not more than 35 participants\n·       Participation w ill be on a first-come-first-serve basis\n·       For effective imp act\, universities can sponsor more than one participant to each workshop\ n \nRegistration Fee\n·       US$700 for AAU member institutions\; and\n·       US$800 for non-AAU member institutions.\n \nExpected Outputs \n·       Development of adaptable frameworks to increase African universities' global scholarly output through publications\, citat ions\, etc.\n·       Arrangements to link participating universitie s with renowned universities that have built a niche around internationali zation for experiential learning.\n \nExpected Outcomes\n·       R eviewed universities’ strategic plans that align their missions with nat ional\, regional\, and global development goals.\n·       Well-plac ed universities on a path of international visibility \n·       Con tinuous networking among participating universities for enhanced relevance to national\, regional\, and global development agenda.\n·       S trengthened professional networks and new connections.\n·       Enh anced insights into international trends and best practices.\n \nNB: Ther e can be special arrangements for institution-specific training of its fac ulty upon request. To be cost-effective\, not less than 20 participants wo uld be required to attend.\n \n\n\n[1] https://www.researchgate.net/pub lication/327323072_Repositioning_Africa_in_global_knowledge_production\n\n \n[2] https://www.timeshighereducation.com/student/best-universities/best- universities-africa\n\n\n\nhttps://indico.aau.org/event/3/ LOCATION:Conference Room (Accra\, Ghana) URL:https://indico.aau.org/event/3/ END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR