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Delivered in the UK to 16-member participants comprising of Chairmen of Boards, CEOs of Private Companies, Heads of Civil Service, Consultants, Principal Officers of Higher Institutions, and Entrepreneurs from Africa. This intensive programme introduced participants to global issues and best practices in public and private sector corporate governance and business ethics. Participants networked with UK academics and businesses and developed templates in corporate social responsibility and workplace diversity.

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Delivered to 18-member participants mainly comprising of Higher Institution (Private & Public) executives and senior administrators - e.g. Vice Chancellors, Rectors, Provosts, Registrars, Faculty/College Deans and Directors of Academic Institutes from Africa. Using tested models of entrepreneurship and innovation schemes developed within the University and used across the UK; participants gained a comprehensive insight into key success factors and challenges associated with developing entrepreneurship education and establishing sustainable entrepreneurship centres in a higher institution environment.

Impact and outcomes: Awareness of the potentials, the challenges and the know-hows in:

• Developing capabilities to embed entrepreneurship education and establish entrepreneurship centres of excellence
• Developing students’ and graduate enterprise schemes that forge a linkage between a higher institution and the business community
• Developing employer informed curricula content and graduate start-ups programmes
• Signed partnership agreements with African institutions e.g., University of Maiduguri (UNIMAID) in North-east Nigeria

Participants had a guided tour of our EU funded state-of-the-art e-innovation Telford Campus and University of Wolverhampton Science Park, networked with leading experts who spoke at this workshop including provision of access to UK regional businesses. Some of the institutions represented at this workshop have since established sustainable entrepreneurship centres at their own institutions by working with CAEL and university staff.

Delivered to 17-member participants comprising Principal Officers and Administrators in Tertiary (Private & Public) Institutions e.g. Chancellors, Vice Chancellors, Council Members of Education Institutions, Proprietors of Universities and Colleges, Executives of Federal & State Ministries of Education, Rectors, Provosts, Bursars, Registrars, and Faculty/College Deans. Using our long-held and revisited University academic processes and protocols, participants were introduced to some key best practices and challenges associated with increased institutional autonomy, greater system differentiation and efficiency, strengthened governance and tested mechanisms for quality assurance delivery in a higher institution.

Impact and Outcomes: Participants developed templates for:

• Funding proposals for attracting local and international research/project funding
• Project and funds management
• Quality Assurance & Academic Management
• Efficiency and better system differentiation in a higher institution
• Introducing flexible and accountable system of higher institution governance

University of Maiduguri (UNIMAID)

Following the April 2012 workshop, this 14-day bespoke knowledge transfer programme was designed for and delivered to UNIMAID academics and non-academics. The aim was to embed entrepreneurial education and leadership competences that can be utilised to improve 1) UNIMAID lecturer-student engagement, 2) instil entrepreneurial mind-set, and 3) establish and operationalise an entrepreneurship centre in UNIMAID, Bornu State, Nigeria. in collaboration with our Business Solutions Centre staff, we were able to achieve these aims over a 24-month period – during which we delivered series of targeted interventions both in the UK and in Maiduguri. With successful establishment of UNIMAID’s Centre for Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Development (CEED), on-going work with the University is targeted at up-skilling their academic staffs (e.g. PhD research) and helping them to attract seed corn funds and embedding skills that drive entrepreneurship and employment creation in and around Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.

Impact and outcomes: UNIMAID has been able to:

• Up-skill their staffs (e.g. PhD) and developed entrepreneurship curriculum
• Embark on training workshops for their staffs and students (most of them women)
• Establish enterprise and graduate schemes for running UNIMAID’s CEED - a multi-million pound centre funded by the Central Bank of Nigeria.
• Strengthened CEED’s capabilities e.g., to engage with students/graduates in developing business proposals, entrepreneurship schemes and start-ups
• Aspire towards become a beacon of hope for job creation, development of community transformation schemes, and graduate/business engagement in Nigeria’s northeast region

With over 25,000 students, UNIMAID provides academic leadership for Northeastern region of Nigeria and serves as the preferred destination to acquire premier university education for Chad, Niger and Cameroun nationals. UNIMAID has access to our external networks within the UK including the Wolverhampton City Council. Our groundbreaking achievements with UNIMAID have led to both national and international recognitions in terms of impact.

A high-level 15-member delegation from Nigeria’s HE sub-sector including policy makers, government advisers and business owners were amongst the participants. The objective was to explore the challenges with a view to developing the individual skills and the institutional capabilities to enable higher institutions work with better with the business community to make meaningful contributions to the wider society using tested interventions in entrepreneurship.

Outcomes and impact: Participants developed models and working templates for:

• Developing employer informed curricula
• Establishing e-learning hubs, ICT labs to benefit students, businesses and graduates
• Working with governments to review SMEs policy e.g. establishment of Microfinance Banks at the local levels to support SME growth and job creation
• Developing innovation and enterprise centres in a University community

Bauchi State Ministry for Rural Development (BSMRD)

Designed for and delivered to top-level civil service personnel including State Cabinet Officials, Legislators, Local Government Chairmen and Honourable Commissioners. These highly interactive but intensive programme sensitised participants to best practice mechanisms for designing and managing modern procurement particularly in relation to commissioning of large-scale but rural based development projects e.g., electrification, sanitation, primary/secondary schools, irrigation/agribusiness projects, roads and dams.  

Outcomes and impact:

• Developed procurement templates and tendering process e.g., management of key supplier relationships, and employment/contract relationships
• Developed project management templates
• Developed templates for establishment of micro-finance schemes e.g., Co-operatives
• Increased capacity to spot and eliminate unethical and corrupt practices in the area of procurement and tendering for rural projects.

Work is on-going with Bauchi State Government to formulate and implement a government-backed Public-Private Partnership (PPP) project for community development in the area of setting up integrated farming and agribusiness across the 21 local government areas of Bauchi State. This project requires multi-agency delivery involving CAEL, Bauchi State Government Ministries, State higher institutions/Colleges of Agriculture and Private Investors e.g. Banks.

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National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE)

Delivered in collaboration with the Wolverhampton City Council (WCC) to a 33-member elected NULGE State Representatives and its President. The main objective of this workshop was to better prepare NULGE elected officials to confront the challenges associated with autonomous leadership and to develop their individual and group’s capacity for effective local governance and administration. Democratic governance at local government level and the institutionalisation of democratic structures modelled to UK local authorities formed the key components of this intensive programme. As well as demonstrating how current best practices in UK local administration can be adapted to African context, Principal Officers from the WCC including the CEO and the Mayor of Wolverhampton City delivered presentations about how the British system has evolved to give local authorities greater autonomy and the ability to become more innovate in providing essential services to local communities.

Outcomes and impact:

• Development of templates for local governance and administration for NULGE.
• NULGE committee set up to liaise with UWBS and WCC to formulate a Code of Conduct for NULGE
• Agreement with WCC to provide advise and guidance to NULGE in their campaign for autonomous governance and administration

Delivered to a 13-member delegation of mainly Deputy Vice Chancellors (Academic), Registrars, Bursars and Higher Education Practitioners, the objective was to create awareness and sensitise participants to the success factors and challenges in assessing for quality in Higher Education, as well as to provide them with an insight into the management of Finances within a higher education environment.                          

Outcomes and impact: Participants were able to:

• Gain ideas and familiarise with tested models for better governance and accountability in a higher institution
• Governance and accountability ‘blueprint’ to be discussed with the Federal Ministry of Education back in their country
• Developed templates for research and funding proposal
• Developed templates for better financial management and accountability

A networking event was held with participants who were interested in establishing a partnership with the University.