Secretary General, Association of African Universities (AAU), Professor Olusola Bandele Oyewole has pledged to be accountable and professional as he served member universities, development partners, African Diaspora, Regional Offices, and all other African Higher Education institutions and stakeholders.
Professor Oyewole, who assumed as the 11th Secretary General of the Association stated this while rolling out his roadmap as scribe on October 1st, 2021.
He said: “It is my singular honor to send you this communication as I assume office as the 11th Secretary General of the Association of African Universities.
“I would like to pay tribute to my very able predecessor Professor Etienne Ehouan Ehile for leading our great association with dedication and commitment for the past 9 years. Indeed, I have big shoes to fill, and I will do my best to do so.
“Firstly, I hope that you, your families, universities, students, other educational institutions, and communities are safe during the persisting COVID19 pandemic.
“At the association, we consider ourselves one global team and I would like you to know that our empathy and compassion is with those who are impacted by the virus, and I extend my heartfelt wishes for recovery.
“As I assume my role as the secretary general, I re-assure you that as an association we take our role in supporting our member universities and African Higher Education institutions in general very seriously.
“I pledge to be accountable and professional as I serve our member universities, development partners, African Diaspora, Regional Offices, and all other African Higher Education institutions and stakeholders.
“I will have a special focus on the AAU membership by improving the services to existing members and also increasing the number of members through a demonstration of the value of joining the association.
“I will continue to support our North American office in Washington DC and strengthen the existing diaspora programs. Our East and North Africa Regional offices will continue to be supported as they are key structures for making our interventions relevant to our diverse regions.
“I will support our work towards setting the intellectual agenda by engaging our higher education intellects and audience to interrogate issues that underpin our continent’s socio-economic development.”
Furthermore, he pledged to further strengthen the association as a vibrant platform for collaboration through its COREVIP, diaspora homecoming and other high-level conferences and events that would bring university leaders and other higher education stakeholders together from around the world to promote collaboration and advance knowledge.
“The visibility of AAU will also be strengthened through the refreshing of our communication strategy to leverage our AAU Television, Social Media, Websites and Blog.
“During my term of office, I will support the bolstering of a favorable higher education policy environment to strengthen African Universities and increase our voice for higher education and our role as a proven champion of African Higher Education.
“Strengthening the capacities of our higher education stakeholders and institutions will continue to be our priority. We will innovate to deliver our traditional face to face workshops virtually.
“We will work towards building the capacities of the next generation of African leaders through different initiatives that include improving financing for higher education in Africa, strengthened research and academic mobility initiatives.
“During my tenure, the execution of the Continental Education Strategy for Africa will continue to be important, including our collaboration with the African Union Commission.
“The promotion of harmonization and standardization for competitiveness and collaboration will remain priority.
“Innovative resource mobilization for sustainability will underpin my partnership strategy during my term of office. I will seek collaborations and relationships with various development partners. I will also seek innovative partnerships for mutual benefits.
“We are where we are because of each of you, and I thank you for your support and loyalty to the association over the past 54 years. Do remember that we continue to value your questions, feedback, and ideas,” he concluded.
