By Brenda Odhiambo

The university took part in the 18th edition of the eLearning Africa Conference themed ‘Re-imagining Education and Human Capital Development for Africa’s Future Prosperity.’ Held on May 8–9, in Dar es Salaam, the event brought together a wide range of stakeholders, including ministers, vice chancellors, educators, policymakers, tech industry leaders, and innovators to explore how education systems can adapt to the continent’s fast-evolving digital and economic landscape. Representing the institution was Clifford Olemo, who delivered a presentation on ‘Strategic and Policy-Driven Digital Transformation in Higher Education’, and Dr. Bernadette Kiarie, who was part of a session titled ‘Instructional Design Excellence: Lessons from Building Online Courses.’

Clifford’s presentation focused on the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program e-Learning initiative currently being implemented across ten partner universities with the aim of supporting institutions in enhancing access to quality, inclusive digital learning. This is in line with the Foundation’s mission of preparing young Africans for dignified and fulfilling work.

Drawing from research conducted in 2022 and 2024, his presentation highlighted the progress universities have made in developing and implementing e-learning policies since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. He noted that only two of the institutions had formal policies in place prior to the pandemic. By 2024, all ten had either developed or were implementing comprehensive e-learning frameworks covering staff training, digital infrastructure, online assessments, and governance. These institutions have adopted Learning Management Systems such as Moodle and Blackboard, established e-learning centers, and digitized course content.

Clifford also discussed existing challenges ranging from limited faculty awareness of new policies, accessibility gaps for students with disabilities, poor coordination between national and institutional strategies, and ongoing resource constraints. “To make e-learning truly effective and inclusive, we need coordinated national policies, stronger digital infrastructure, and sustained investment in faculty capacity-building,” he stated.

He issued several recommendations for policymakers, including the creation of national e-learning frameworks, support for digital equity through infrastructure funding and subsidies, and regular policy reviews to keep pace with emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence.

Meanwhile, Dr. Bernadette Kiarie participated in a session focused on best practices in developing and delivering high-quality online courses, faculty training, and quality assurance. She shared lessons from USIU-Africa’s experience in developing asynchronous courses that meet the needs of a diverse student body.

In addition to these discussions, the conference explored topics concerning artificial intelligence in education, digital literacy, climate change education, green skills, and public-private partnerships in EdTech. The event remains Africa’s largest platform for sharing innovative ideas and practical solutions in digital education.