The Conference, whose theme was “Managing the Learning Process: Systems Approach to Teaching and Learning”, sought to promote Academic City’s mission to provide and support quality education in Africa. The Conference featured sessions, which were led by key members of Academic City’s leadership team and were aimed at exposing the participants to a variety of elements crucial for ensuring a holistic student development.

Dr. Fred McBagonluri, President of Academic City, led a Systems Thinking Workshop, which gave participants the opportunity to understand the connection between the importance of systems thinking in our daily lives and how its absence causes significant failures. The workshop gave participants a better appreciation of applying systems thinking to the teaching and learning environment to improve the delivery of education.

This workshop was followed by a presentation by Ruth Kwakwa, Dean of Student and Community Affairs, which highlighted the need for a shift in defining student success by focusing on the dynamic perspectives and interests of students instead of relying solely on the traditional and fixed views of success. Participants, through this presentation, learned to embrace the essence of redefining success according to each student’s needs to make it easier for students to enjoy their education and chart their career paths.

As part of Academic City’s effort to promote a STEM-based education, Dr. Raymond Dumeh, Mathematics lecturer, co-led a session to demystify the concerns and fears about a STEM education alongside Julian Bennett, Engineering Lecturer, who used a STEM activity to educate participants on simplifying STEM concepts to make learning more impactful and exciting.

The day ended with an insightful workshop on design-thinking led by Academic City’s Director of Strategy, Sunitha Jenarius, with the goal of empowering the participants to develop new and innovative solutions to simple problems through a process that enables them to discover the unmet human needs for problems identified.

The Conference served as a great opportunity for representatives from each institution to network among themselves and with the Academic City team to build strategic, long-term partnerships. Academic City remains committed to helping stakeholders to understand its mission and vision to redefine tertiary education on the continent.