Share Africa

Today, the final conference of the SHARE_Africa project brought together academic leaders, institutional representatives, and students to reflect on the outcomes of a significant initiative in international higher education cooperation.

Launched in 2019 by a consortium of six major Italian universities, with the support of the Ministry of University and Research and the Conference of Italian University Rectors (CRUI), SHARE_Africa was designed to strengthen collaboration between Italian and African higher education institutions. The project promotes innovative, transnational approaches to education, with activities spanning from North Africa to Sub-Saharan regions.

The conference program included institutional addresses and contributions from representatives of partner universities and international stakeholders, alongside the participation of students involved in the project. A key moment of the event was the awarding of certificates to African students, recognizing their academic achievements within the SHARE_Africa framework.

Discussions during the central roundtable focused on the project’s results, particularly its blended learning programs and the development of long-term academic partnerships. A major objective highlighted was the creation of a transnational Italian campus in Africa, aimed at delivering undergraduate, postgraduate, and advanced training programs in collaboration with local institutions.

Earlier sessions also provided an opportunity for PhD students and program coordinators to share feedback on their academic and research experiences, contributing to the ongoing improvement of the initiative and the strengthening of its academic network.

Overall, SHARE_Africa represents an important step toward building sustainable educational partnerships, enhancing local expertise, and fostering new professional opportunities, while addressing the challenges of brain drain and supporting shared development between Italy and Africa.

Download the flyer (only in Italian)

Full MOOC Program Now Available
The full MOOC offering of the SHARE_AFRICA – Science Hubs for Advanced Research & Education with Africa project is now available.
The courses are accessible via the federica.eu platform and represent a key component of the project’s training activities, targeting early-career researchers and academic staff.
The initiative builds on the experience of the IHEA Foundation – Italian Foundation for Higher Education in African Countries, which promotes an innovative, collaborative and co-creation-based approach to transnational higher education across the African continent.

It brings together six Italian universities – University of Bologna, University of Florence, Politecnico di Milano, University of Naples Federico II, University of Padua, and Sapienza University of Rome – in collaboration with 50 African higher education institutions, with a particular focus on Tunisia and Ethiopia. Federica Web Learning – University Centre for Innovation, Experimentation and Diffusion of Multimedia Learning at the University of Naples Federico II – coordinated the production of the MOOCs, drawing on over twenty years of experience as a leading provider of digital higher education in Europe. It provided instructional design support and oversaw the development of the courses in collaboration with the partner universities. The MOOCs are designed to extend access to learning content and support the activities developed within the Blended Executive Program.

The program is structured into:

● MOOC Common Modules, focused on developing transversal skills for research and academic cooperation, combining online learning with in-person activities
● aBlended Executive Program, consisting of highly specialized courses delivered by university professors and internationally renowned experts

The MOOC program includes:

● Multilateral Cooperation for Cultural Heritage and Sustainable Development in Africa (Sapienza University of Rome)
● From Idea to Impact: Tips for Writing Your European Research Proposal (University of Bologna)
● Funding Opportunities and Research Proposal Preparation (University of Naples Federico II)
● Mastering Scientific Publishing: Turning Research into Impact (Politecnico di Milano)
● Sustainable Development and the Africa Challenge (University of Florence)
● Ethics of Research and Technology (University of Padua)

The following new courses are also available:

● Innovative Technologies for Sustainable Water Management (University of Naples Federico II)
● Cultural Heritage and Sustainable Tourism (Sapienza University of Rome)
● Sustainable Business for New Challenges (University of Florence)
● One Health, Global Health, Planetary Health (University of Padua)
● Precision Agriculture and Sustainable Food (University of Bologna)
● Strategic Energy Planning and Industrial Ecology for Local Sustainable and Just Development in an Era of Geopolitical Uncertainties (Politecnico di Milano)

Evelina Bruno, Instructional Designer and e-Learning Specialist at Federica Web Learning, and Project Manager for the SHARE_Africa MOOC production, commented:

These MOOCs have represented a significant challenge for Federica Web Learning. Despite over twenty years of experience in project management within digital education, these courses addressed a highly heterogeneous target audience, consisting of early-career researchers from various countries across the African continent, and required a dual mode of delivery.
They were designed to be used both during in-person classroom sessions at African universities, within a blended learning framework, and subsequently made available to all online users, with a view to long-term sustainability and the creation of an enduring intangible resource.
An engaging challenge—one that we consider successfully met. With the completion of the program, SHARE_AFRICA reinforces its commitment to fostering collaborative learning pathways, knowledge exchange, and long-term academic cooperation between Italian and African institutions.