The University of Abomey Calavi (UAC), Benin, a key partner in the e-learning implementation, has shared the lessons learned from their work package under the Africa Digital Campus (ADC) project. During a presentation at the Digital Education Day (a side event of WACREN 2024) at the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) in Abuja, Prof. Eugene Ezin of UAC discussed how the institution is transforming challenges into success stories leveraging the opportunities and resources provided by the ADC project. 

The Africa Digital Campus project, a game-changer in the e-learning landscape, has enhanced e-learning capacities in Burkina Faso and Benin. Coordinated by WACREN and IRD, with delegated funds from the European Commission via the French Development Agency (AFD), ADC has taken significant strides in leveraging digital solutions to bolster resilience in education, health, and MSMEs within member states of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OEACP).

In Benin, ADC has made a tangible difference by supporting the training of hundreds of teachers in designing courses. It has also built a community of trainers for peer review, mentoring, coaching, and assessment. It also provided digital infrastructure for producing course videos, demonstrating its commitment to practical support and capacity building.

Under the project, close to a hundred teachers have been trained in course design. Course experts from within the ADC project partners’ ecosystem have validated more than half of the courses designed by the teachers. 

According to Prof. Ezin, the journey from challenges to success has been rife with invaluable lessons. At the institutional level, ensuring success has necessitated strengthening decision-making processes within steering committees, providing requisite infrastructure, fostering conducive student working environments, and identifying and empowering committed teachers. Moreover, disseminating the economic model has been imperative for sustainability.

On a broader project scale, Prof. Ezin emphasised the importance of teacher commitment and capacity building. He added that ADC’s success in fostering effective digital transformation has hinged on continuous learning initiatives, strategic coaching, competition frameworks, and mobilisation efforts.

Several conference participants expressed a palpable sense of interest and enthusiasm in the ADC project. Representatives from Mali, Nigeria, and The Gambia expressed their eagerness to join ADC and showed particular interest in the project’s campus network and e-learning infrastructure. This growing momentum for collaboration is a testament to the project’s success and potential.

 

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