CONCORDIA AFRICA INITIATIVE
Building transformative relationships for a just and sustainable world
The Concordia Africa Initiative seeks to establish relationships and learn from Africa through unique collaborations that focus on youth employability and entrepreneurship.
The initiative is divided into three streams, each with a specific focus and set of activities.
Entrepreneurship
AFRISE
AFRISE focuses on supporting young African entrepreneurs and providing them with a range of dedicated activities such as:
- Mentorship
- Business incubation
- Access to networks of experienced business leaders
This support is complemented by business incubation programs that provide entrepreneurs with training and global networking opportunities.
Next-gen education
FUTUREWISE
FutureWise centers on collaborating with African institutions on adopting next-gen programming to reduce the gap between graduation and employment rates in Africa.
To address this challenge, the Africa Initiative works together with international education associations such as Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie, Association of Commonwealth Universities) as well as foundations, and African universities to develop next-gen programming that includes:
- Cooperative education
- Applied research
- Case competitions
- Hackathons
- Online learning
- Other experiential learning and next-gen programs to help students be ready for the job market as they graduate.
Collaboration
Photo by Lisa Graves
SCHOLARLY COLLABORATION
Scholarly collaboration is critical to the development of new knowledge and the advancement of science and technology. This stream will include the exchange of scholars, artists, and students between Africa and Concordia, as well as fostering the development of new research and scholarship.
By promoting collaboration between African universities and their counterparts at Concordia, the programs to be developed under this stream will help to accelerate the pace of innovation and promote the exchange of ideas and best practices.
