10 - The future of European studies and higher education reform in Africa

Summary

European studies in the next 50 years will see humanities and social studies scholars working with colleagues in professional schools to bring more Bologna Process reforms to Africa. Africa has already adapted the Bologna-style bachelor’s, master's and doctoral degrees. Reforms of Francophone Africa's grandes ecoles in business and engineering have added doctoral and bachelor's programs to the traditional master's degrees, and they are expanding to continuing education, online degree programs, and English-only programs and tracks. The future of European studies in Africa will expand applied research and applied teaching, learning, and assessment with African partners. Faculty and students interested in European international business, health care, sustainable development, and peacebuilding will engage in public–private partnerships where Africa serves as a laboratory. Making Africa a more prosperous, healthier, and stable continent will also help to reduce migration and improve social justice in Europe.

Bringing the Bologna Process to Africa

As an expert on France, I summarized French successes and challenges in developing the Bologna Process in higher education in earlier publications. French Presidents François Hollande and Emmanuel Macron successfully expanded interdisciplinary master's degrees delivered in more than one language. They launched online education initiatives and encouraged public–private partnerships. The greatest challenge was the inability to serve all qualified students seeking university admission. A cumbersome centralized system for faculty recruitment still poses obstacles to allowing competitive international salaries. A centralized Ministry of Higher Education awards tenure (titularization) and approves endowed chairs.

Francophone Africa admits an even lower percentage of qualified students, and recruiting and retaining faculty stars are beyond reach. Europe's goal to climb university rankings resulted in new centers of excellence, in funding reforms that create tiers of institutions based on mission, and new funding sources to support the highest levels of international research. My work in Francophone Africa, where higher education follows a French model, encountered even greater obstacles to building a strong and independent university system. In the future, European studies scholars with the right political, linguistic, and intercultural expertise will have opportunities to transform African higher education using models that worked in Europe.