Zimbabwe Programme

BACKGROUND and AIMS

CARA's Zimbabwe Programme was launched in 2009, in response to a marked increase in the number of academics fleeing Zimbabwe and reports of the dramatic decline in the quality of the higher education sector.

The Zimbabwe Programme aims to support the resurgence of Zimbabwe’s higher education sector as a beacon in southern Africa, central to which is the mitigation against the permanent and catastrophic loss to Zimbabwe of a major part of its academic capital that has been deprived of an academic future in country.

PROGRAMMES 

CARA/IOM Higher Education Consultations:

In early 2010, CARA and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) carried out the Zimbabwe Higher Education Consultations in Zimbabwe, the UK and South Africa, facilitating stakeholder discussions on the critical areas affecting Zimbabwe's academics and universities. These meetings resulted in the publication of a Consultations Findings Report detailing what role the Zimbabwean diaspora could potentially play in rebuilding Zimbabwe's higher education system.

In response to the results of the Higher Education Consultations, the programmes summarised below were launched in early 2011.

Faculty Grant and Re-engagement Fellowship Programme:

A Grant and Fellowship Programme was launched in January 2011, with generous support from the Nuffield Foundation, to support beleaguered academics and the higher education institutions in country, piloted through the subjects of Health and Natural Sciences. The first year of the Grant and Fellowship Programme has received wide interest and seen very encouraging results. One of the objectives of this programme is to enable academics in the diaspora to 'up-skill' and/or identify areas in their home country where they could advance social wellbeing with their academic expertise and experience. Another objective is to support Zimbabwean Health and Science Faculties with the provision of teaching and research resources to develop the next generation's educators and professionals.

Virtual Lecture Hall Programme:

A Virtual Lecture Hall Programme, made possible through the generous support from Econet Wireless, has recently been set up at the University of Zimbabwe. This project aims to utilise virtual means to enable academics in the diaspora to reconnect with the College of Health Science and the Faculties of Science and Veterinary Science at the University of Zimbabwe, thereby improving standards of teaching and research, and facilitating increased networking and collaboration.

 

For further information on these projects, please contact CARA's office on 0207 021 0880 or zimbabwe.cara@lsbu.ac.uk.