UPHF welcomes delegation from the University of Strathmore, Kenya, and travels to Toulouse for EAIE 2024

On September 23 and 24, 2024, representatives from the University of Strathmore, Dr. Julius Butime, Director of the School of Engineering and Eric Saulo, Director of Partnerships and Internationalization traveled to Valenciennes to take part in the 4th workshop of the internationalization component of the I-UMEME project (1).

This workshop was held as a continuation of the program established for 2024, including two online sessions and a face-to-face meeting at Strathmore University, which had provided an overview of current internationalization practices in both countries and establishments deciphering the ecosystem within SU and higher education in Kenya and the East African region. Finally, discussions centered on international rankings and European funding open to Africa had also fueled the exchanges.

The program included several reflection and presentation sessions:
- A collective debriefing workshop following joint participation in the EAIE (see below).
- A presentation on the internationalization of LAMIH by Pr. Thierry Delot, and a visit to PSHITT by Gérald Conreur
. - A presentation of internationalization trends including European Universities, including EUNICE, by Pr. Sébastien Grondel, as well as the BRIDGE program
. - A working session dedicated to the preparation of the project deliverable to be presented next spring to the governing bodies of both institutions.

Meetings with Armel De La Bourdonnaye, director of INSA Hauts-de-France, Véronique Sanguinetti, head of international development at IAE and Strathmore students currently on exchange at UPHF were also organized.

A comprehensive program that enabled SU representatives to understand even a little more about the UPHF ecosystem and identify new collaborative projects.

This workshop took place downstream of the participation of SU representatives at the EAIE conference in Toulouse from September 16 to 20, a first for the institution.

The Pôle de Relations Internationales team and SU were able to exchange views on their respective experiences at the EAIE and learn from best practices. The European Association for International Education is an organization dedicated to the internationalization of higher education, offering training, conferences, publications and networking opportunities. The event brings together 7,000 international education professionals each year to discuss new dynamics and best practices in international cooperation, and serves as the must-attend event in Europe at the start of the academic year for those involved in international relations.

This year, the school was represented by members of UPHF's Pôle de Relations Internationales and also by V. Sanguinetti, head of international development at IAE. INSA Hauts-de-France was represented by C. Morin, Director of International Relations and members of INSA's International Relations Department.
No fewer than one hundred participants attended the event. No fewer than forty meetings were organized with international partners and potential partners, and a dozen sessions on internationalization were attended.

An Africa-France Seminar also highlighted the with this continent of strategic interest to France with a particular focus on higher education, research and academic mobility.
Exchanges presented various partnership initiatives and support mechanisms for collaboration between academic institutions. The seminar also provided an opportunity to explore funding opportunities to strengthen cooperation between UPHF, INSA Hauts-de-France and the University of Strathmore.

(1) The I-UMEME project, coordinated by UPHF, is a project funded by the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs (MEAE) under the ADESFA (Appui au Développement de l'Enseignement Supérieur Français en Afrique) call for projects. ADESFA projects are designed to support academic cooperation initiatives between French and African establishments, to keep pace with the upscaling of existing African training provision.
The I-UMEME project aims to meet the need to acquire professional knowledge in electrical risk management through the development of a teaching kit, provided by the IUT's Electrical Engineering and Industrial Computing department, as well as supporting the University of Strathmore in the development of its internationalization strategy.