Kigali, Rwanda — June 21, 2025 — In a gathering that signalled shifts in how African universities could be better serving students on the continent, some 300 education leaders, faculty, students, and development partners from 16 countries met in Kigali for the 2025 June Convening of The Education Collaborative. The four-day convening culminated in commitments to reshape student development as a driver of institutional transformation across the continent, from designing career-focused curriculum and embracing AI use, to pan-African mobility and inclusiveness. 

Since its founding in 2017, the Education Collaborative has grown into a pan-African network of institutions committed to transforming higher education systems on the continent.  The Collaborative’s flagship biennial convening gathers hundreds of educators to plan and discuss implementation for reforms in African higher education. Held for the first time outside Ghana in the Collaborative’s eight-year history, the Kigali convening brought together 74 institutions under the theme: Recentering Student Development: Reflecting, Mobilising, and Realigning for a Transformational Student Experience.

“Our universities must evolve beyond their traditional mandates,” said Rwanda’s Minister of Education, Hon. Joseph Nsengimana, during his opening address at the convening. “They must become platforms for innovation, leadership, and continental collaboration—incubators of the very transformation we seek across Africa.”

From Competition to Collaboration
Throughout the week, leaders shared case studies, challenges, and frameworks for student development, with a focus on co-creation and peer learning. One of the convening’s most anticipated sessions featured student government leaders from across the continent, who shared candid stories of success, struggle, and opportunity in student engagement. The key questions across all sessions were:  

• Reflecting: What practices currently work in student development and what do not?   
• Mobilising: How do we close the gaps in our student development services through collaboration?   
• Realigning: What policies and strategies must be realigned?   

“Most of us go to many conferences, and then we return to business as if nothing happened,” shared Nathalie Munyampenda, CEO of Kepler College, a member institution of the Education Collaborative network. “This Collaborative is one of the few places where competitors work together to improve collectively. That’s the best way. As much as we are competitors, the bigger mission of younger people in Africa getting an education and a dignified life is so heavy and urgent that we must work together as much as possible. The Education Collaborative understands this.”

From Dialogue to Action
Organised in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation, Ashesi University, Covenant University, and the University of Embu, the convening is happening at a time when universities worldwide grapple with questions around relevance, equity, and student success. While discussions centred on African institutions, organisers emphasised that the lessons emerging from Kigali are globally relevant and suggest a different kind of response—one led from the ground up, shaped by local context, and driven by collaborative intent.

By the close of the Convening, all institutions had committed to: 

• Launch two student-centred initiatives per institution, with named champions and accountability frameworks.
• Integrate AI tools into curricula and student services, supported by faculty training and change management.
• Adopt holistic metrics that include mental health, career readiness, and civic engagement alongside academic performance.

Expand intra-African mobility, increasing faculty and student exchange across institutions on the continent.

“What does it mean to be in the right place, at the right time, with the right people?” asked The Collaborative’s Executive Director, Rose Dodd, in her remarks. “[At this convening] are people who already know what it takes to change the story of higher education in Africa. Not by copying what others have done, but by showing what’s possible when African institutions lead together. The real test of this network is not how many universities we convene, but how many students we uplift and how many futures we help take root, right here on this continent.”