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The Africa-UK Engineering for Development Partnership
Invitation to tender:
Mapping capacity within the UK engineering research base for international development-relevant research
UKCDS is a group of UK government departments
and research funders working in international
development1. The Secretariat brings this group
together with researchers and other key
organisations. Sharing knowledge and promoting
opportunities stimulates collaboration and
improves the effectiveness of UK investment.
This ensures the best science is funded and
used, which is good for international
development and good for the UK. The Royal
Academy of Engineering is the UK’s national
academy for engineering. It brings together the
country’s most eminent engineers from all
disciplines to promote excellence in the
science, art and practice of engineering. The
Academy is the leading partner in the Africa-UK
Engineering for Development Partnership, which
brings together the engineering community in
Africa and the UK. The purpose of the
Partnership is to strengthen the capacity of the
African engineering profession and promote
mutually beneficial links between engineers in
Africa and the UK.
In 2012 UKCDS embarked on an area of work
together with the Royal Academy of Engineering
and other partners to explore whether UK
engineering research is playing its full
potential in enhancing the UK contribution to
international development. Despite notable
instances of thought leadership from the UK
engineering research community, a number of
pieces of evidence indicate that the UK research
base could have more of an impact.
This mapping exercise seeks to define what
capacity exists in the UK engineering research
base, that is, or could be, relevant to
international development. This will inform
discussions with funders and other stakeholders
around potential changes to funding priorities
and processes. It will also inform discussions
about the support structures best able to
enhance the flow of knowledge from UK labs into
policy and practice.
Deadline for bids is 5pm, Monday 27 May 2013.
[Download full tender document
(285KB)  ]
The Africa-UK Engineering for
Development Partnership brings together the
engineering community in Africa and the UK in a
consortium led by the
Africa Engineers Forum,
Engineers Against Poverty, The Royal Academy of
Engineering and Institution of Civil Engineers.
The purpose of the Partnership
is to strengthen the capacity of the African
engineering profession and promote mutually
beneficial links between engineers in Africa and the
UK.
More information about the Partnership (459KB)
Report on engineering capacity in Sub-Saharan Africa
The A-UK Partnership has
conducted research into capacity building needs in
the engineering sector in Sub Saharan Africa.
Through the use of interviews with key stakeholders
and widely distributed surveys, as well as a
literature review, this research aimed to gather
views of both professional engineers and the
decision makers who interacted with them on how the
formation, status and impact of engineers in Africa
can be improved.
Click here for the summary report (3640KB)
Click here for the literature review (1028KB)
Click here for the survey analysis (1188KB)
Click here for the interviews analysis (627KB)
Events
Engineering Education Workshop - Harare, Zimbabwe (16-17 November 2011)
During the final workshop of 2011, delegates
discussed opportunities to improve the engineering
curricula in African universities and ensure that
graduate engineers are equipped with the skills and
knowledge needed to promote sustainable development
and fight poverty. 40 teaching professionals, policy
makers and other key stakeholders from 11 different
sub-Saharan African countries came together to
identify the major challenges for engineering
education in Africa, to explore ways of improving
curricula and to advise the Africa-UK Partnership on
how it can support African institutions in making
these improvements.
Click here for more information (208KB)
Young Professionals Workshop - Gaborone,
Botswana (13-16 September 2011)
This workshop gathered 36 young engineers from around Africa and gave them the opportunity to learn
from each other, network, discuss different best practices and share their knowledge and experiences.
Over the course of the workshop, delegates participated in a range of sessions on themes such as career
development, ethics and opportunities and challenges peculiar to the engineer in Africa.
Click here for more information (47KB)
Rural Transport and Development Workshop - Arusha,
Tanzania (29-30 November 2010)
The inhibiting effects of poor road infrastructure on the potential for economic growth and development
in SSA were highlighted at the Pretoria Scoping Workshop. This event brought in senior speakers to share
their knowledge and experience with the delegates.
Click here for more information (129KB)
Scoping Workshop - Pretoria,
South Africa (17 March 2010)
This scoping discussion identified the key issues affecting the engineering profession across SSA. It
gave further support and direction to the planned activities of the Partnership and emphasised the true
dearth of engineering capacity in SSA, particularly within engineering institutions.
Click here for more information (77KB)
South Africa Launch Event
On 16 March the Africa-UK Engineering for Development Partnership was launched at a ceremony in South
Africa. Professor Peter Guthrie OBE FREng gave an address at the launch, which was also attended by
delegates from the ICE and engineering institutions from 11 countries in sub-Saharan Africa.
Click here for more information (162KB)
UK Launch Event
The Official UK launch for the partnership took place on 28 May 2010 in the presence of Rt Hon Raila
Odinga, Prime Minister of Kenya and was held at the Academy’s premises at 3 Carlton House Terrace,
London.
Click here for more information (118KB)
This site will be updated regularly as more information becomes available. In the
meantime, please contact the programme manager, Holly
Wright for further information.
This initiative has been made possible by generous support from The Anglo-American
Group Foundation, The David and Elaine Potter Foundation and Schlumberger.
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