Follow-up to the Erasmus+ Networking Forum 2024 in Nairobi
The virtual seminar deepened the networking established at the Nairobi Erasmus+ Forum 2024 between representatives from German and Eastern African universities. Invited participants included representatives from higher education institutions in seven Eastern African countries—Ethiopia, Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda—alongside from Germany. Additionally, members of the East African Higher Education Quality Assurance Network (EAQAN) were invited to take part in this follow-up event.
Approximately 50 participants gathered online to review progress made since the conference in Nairobi. Beate Körner, Head of Unit Erasmus+ Partnership and Cooperation Projects, NA DAAD, and Dr. Dorothee Weyler, Director of the DAAD Regional Office Nairobi welcomed the participants and introduced the meeting’s topics and aims.
The NA DAAD team then shared application statistics from the Erasmus+ application round 2025, noting a significant rise in mobility project applications with Eastern Africa, also attributed to the participation in the Nairobi conference.
A survey among the 108 initial registrants revealed that 39 institutions engaged in Erasmus+ applications as a direct result of the Nairobi conference. These applications spanned various funding opportunities, including Capacity Building in Higher Education, Erasmus Mundus- Action, Jean Monnet-Actions and International Credit Mobility.
Four representatives from Eastern African and German higher education institutions shared how the Erasmus+ Networking Forum impacted their organizations and discussed their experiences with attendees. The forum's impact included the formation of networks, proposal submissions across various Erasmus+ and DAAD calls, awareness campaigns around Erasmus+, and the support to the development of an institutional strategy for the cooperation between Africa and Germany.
Participants also engaged in continued networking through dedicated breakout sessions focused on specific disciplines.
Following the virtual event, attendees are encouraged to use the DAAD Events app to maintain connections and further develop collaborative project ideas.
| Date | 11.06.2025 |
| Time | From 13:30 (DE)/14:30 (EAT) to 16:30 (DE)/17:30 (EAT) |
| Target group | Participants of the “Erasmus+ Networking Forum EU-Higher Education Cooperation between Germany and Eastern Africa” from 12-13 September 2024 in Nairobi which gathered university representatives from Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, South Sudan and Germany. |
| Objective | Taking stock of the progress made towards strengthening the collaboration between Eastern African and German HEIs and learning from the experience of project planning and application round 2024/25. Deepening the contacts made by German and African participants at the Erasmus+ Networking Forum in Nairobi 2024. |
| Programme | to the program |
| Documentation | General presentation Testimonials of participants Dr. Natalia Petrillo, University of Vechta Prof. Dr. Justus Simiyu, Maasai Mara University, Kenya (will follow) Dr. Henry Yatich, Mount Kenya University, Kenya Dr. Jörg Helmschrot, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) (will follow) |
