Preparing Africa’s graduates to drive economic growth Neil Butcher

An Introductory Caveat I imagine an African university environment in which students will have ubiquitous access to broadband connectivity, as well as the devices required to connect to and use the Internet effectively It is essential to construct a vision of Africa’s future that is not bound by current constraints, but rather that imagines anything to be possible, as visions bound by constraints are at least part of the reason why we find ourselves in our present situation in Africa ICT as a social phenomenon – and particularly growth of Web 2.0 platforms – is driven by assumptions that participants (not users) are able to be online, in a broadband environment, 24 hours a day If African higher education students cannot be, they can not become truly ICT-savvy

Shifting the Focus University curriculum transformation processes make providing short-term predictions on skills needs of marginal value Current employers’ business models have demonstrated limited – if any – meaningful ability to drive sustained economic growth across the continent Most countries have not yet carved out economic niches for themselves that will differentiate us as a continent and enable us to occupy a meaningful/equal place at the global economic table Need to produce economic, political, and intellectual leaders who will create new opportunities and businesses that enable African economies to find their niche and compete effectively globally

Public Spending and Economic Development Aid and revenue from minerals/oil prevents authorities from having to make economic growth happen so that they can tax people and make more money to run their governments This is not sustainable, as it disenfranchises people and does not build tax revenues to grow build spending Need to focus attention on producing people who can drive economic development that is ‘of the people, by the people, for the people’.

What are the Key Skills Required? Basic:  Ability to read: as information dissemination speeds up (predominantly using text), the ability to process information by reading with comprehension grows increasingly important  Ability to write: electronic dissemination of information increases the importance of writing clearly and persuasively  Mathematical literacy and the ability to understand abstract models: computerization of processes increases the conversion of concrete processes into abstract models, thus making this skill increasingly important[1][1] [1] Skills on this and the next slide paraphrased from: Levy, F. & Murname, R. 2006: How Computerized Work and Globalization Shape Human Skill Demands. Unpublished paper.

What are the Key Skills Required? Advanced:  Expert Thinking: the ability to solve problems that lack explicit rules-based solutions, as well as the ability to identify which rules-based solutions can be applied to solve specific problems  Complex Communication: making effective oral and written judgements, and eliciting information from others The biggest obstacle to teaching these skills is assessment strategies that emphasize recall of facts rather than these critical skills

The Importance of Creativity Other than raw materials, the continent’s only meaningful untapped resource is its people, yet education often stifles creativity Higher education has a critical role to play in fostering creativity, encouraging learners to be willing to be wrong, and developing intelligence in all its forms These key attributes will be an essential requirement for our future economic, political, and intellectual leaders.

Key Roles of Educators The online world poses as many challenges as opportunities – we need to focus educators on mentoring learners to cope with these challenges:  Fostering coherence and discipline in thinking  Navigating the ethics of a world with no apparent limits  Coping with the challenges of ‘unlimited’ choice  Encouraging learners to become creators in the educational environment

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.5 License.Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.5 License