UPLIFT-Ag
Universities Promoting Linkages For Impactful Training, Innovation and Technology Transfer in Agriculture
Agricultural universities in Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, and Zimbabwe are expected to offer top-notch education, research, and tech transfer. However, their curriculum doesn't meet employer needs, and they use ineffective teaching methods. They lack meaningful industry relations for effective teaching, research, and tech transfer. Also, they struggle to identify, protect, and commercialize intellectual property. Few have incubation centers and tech transfer offices, often underperforming. The "UPLIFT-Ag" project aims to boost their effectiveness by strengthening ties with agriculture stakeholders and introducing better teaching methods, including co-teaching with industry.
Driving Agricultural Innovation for a Sustainable Future
The UPLIFT-Ag project empowers agricultural higher education institutions (HEIs) in Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, and Zimbabwe to play a pivotal role in ensuring food security, fostering inclusive employment, and advancing national development.
UPLIFT-Ag focuses on three core objectives:
- Modernizing teaching: by integrating co-teaching and practice-based, interactive learning
- Building strong partnerships: between HEIs and the agri-industry for shared growth
- Boosting innovation: by strengthening incubation centres and technology transfer offices
How We Create Impact
In close partnership with European universities, UPLIFT-Ag enables HEIs and agricultural stakeholders to co-develop market-relevant curricula and identify innovation priorities. Each country hosts regular roundtables, nurturing collaboration. Meanwhile, HEIs put in place mechanisms to protect and commercialize intellectual property.
UPLIFT-Ag builds a more responsive, entrepreneurial, and practice-driven agricultural education landscape.
The project is funded by the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) through the Erasmus+ programme, under the call ERASMUS-EDU-2023-CBHE. The project (Grant Agreement No. 101129421 — UPLIFT-Ag) has a total budget of EUR 789,900 and will run for 36 months, from 1st December 2023 to 30th November 2026.
Project structure
1.Work package
Project management and coordination under consideration of ethical guidelines, social inclusion and gender equality.
2.Work package
Higher education institutions partnerships and collaborations with industry for effective teaching, research and technology transfer. This includes, for example, the organization of forums, conferences and the development of strategies.
3.Work package
Improved teaching methods and innovative agriculture teaching curricula. Problems are identified, solutions developed and reforms implemented.
4.Work package
Innovation and entrepreneurial capacity strengthening through the development of guidelines, frameworks and sustainable business models as well as the management and commercialisation of university intellectual property.
5.Work package
Effective communication, dissemination and presentation of the project. Stronger networking of African higher education institutions with industry, research and technology transfer institutions and European higher education institutions.
Agriculture is a vital sector in Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, and Zimbabwe, contributing 10%–30% to national GDP. Yet, the sector faces critical challenges such as food insecurity, climate change, and low productivity among smallholder farmers.
HEIs are crucial drivers of innovation, skilled labor, and research. However, outdated curricula, limited industry collaboration, and weak innovation systems hinder their impact. Financial instability, poor digital infrastructure, and the COVID-19 crisis have exposed institutional vulnerabilities across the region.
Few HEIs operate effective innovation hubs or systems for research commercialization. Despite growing demand for agri-tech, entrepreneurship, and sustainability solutions, curricula remain disconnected from industry needs. Still, collaboration with European institutions and internal reform efforts offer real opportunities to build more responsive and resilient education systems.
Partners & HNU Team
Partners
The consortium of 12 partner universities is coordinated by Kenyatta University.
- Kenyatta University, Kenya (external link, opens in a new window)
- Chuka University, Kenya (external link, opens in a new window)
- Taita Taveta University, Kenya (external link, opens in a new window)
- Chinhoyi University of Technology, Zimbabwe (external link, opens in a new window)
- University of Lay Adventists of Kigali, Rwanda (external link, opens in a new window)
- University of Rwanda, Rwanda (external link, opens in a new window)
- Zimbabwe Open University, Zimbabwe (external link, opens in a new window)
- University of Ngozi, Burundi (external link, opens in a new window)
- Università Politecnica delle Marche, Italy (external link, opens in a new window)
- University of Copenhagen, Denmark (external link, opens in a new window)
Impressions
