Danish millions to strengthen academic ties with Africa

The Danish government has allocated DKK 430 million to intensify educational partnerships between Danish and African universities as part of its Africa’s Century strategy.

The University of Copenhagen (UCPH) welcomes the strategy, says Jørgen Kurtzhals, Vice-Dean for Education at the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences.

»We are strongly in favour of setting up educational collaborations with African universities. We already have partnerships — to varying degrees — across almost all faculties. This is an opportunity to expand on what was previously focused on research and capacity building, to now also include education,« he says.

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Jørgen Kurtzhals has many years of experience working with universities in African countries on both research and capacity-building initiatives.

The government’s aim is to »strengthen equal and long-term strategic university partnerships,« the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs writes.

The programme is part of a broader foreign policy strategy to boost the Danish and European presence on the African continent — a region where China and Russia are currently making major investments.

The ministry is asking us to do something good for the world, but it also needs to be financially sustainable.

Jørgen Kurtzhals, Vice-Dean for Education at the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences

Africa is facing a massive population boom. It is estimated that by 2050, there will be 830 million young people in Africa, and that one in three young people globally in 25 years will be African. According to the strategy, 40 per cent of the world’s workforce will come from Africa by 2100.

Universities are expected to help translate some of these resources into gains for Denmark.

The Africa’s Century programme has two main tracks: to set up partnerships for innovation and learning between Danish and African universities, and to offer scholarships to African master’s students who wish to take all or part of their degree at a Danish university.

Tight budgets

Jørgen Kurtzhals hopes that the funds allocated by the government will help strengthen the initiatives and collaborations that UCPH already has with African universities.

»If we have a research partnership with a university in Tanzania, we now have the opportunity to exchange students at the master’s level — where previously it was primarily at PhD level. The focus has traditionally been very research-oriented, but now we have a more holistic effort.«

Finances could be a challenge however, he says:

»The ministry is asking us to do something good for the world, but it also needs to be financially sustainable. We are also tasked with helping students with practical matters such as travel, visas, and housing — and these costs are not covered by tuition fees.«

He hopes that UCPH, as part of the programme, will be able to offer Danish students the chance to take courses at African universities, and that African master’s students coming to Denmark will stay after graduation and continue in joint research projects.

»But we also need to be able to handle the many extra administrative costs that come with international students.«

What are your experiences with similar exchange collaborations?

»We haven’t had many master’s students from Africa, as they often apply individually and have to compete with students from many other countries. If they are admitted, they often struggle to secure adequate scholarships because living costs in Denmark are high,« says Jørgen Kurtzhals.

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Equal partnerships or »white saviours«?

The vice-dean says that the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences management is considering applying for funding for a summer course aimed at strengthening the skills of exchange students who are academically strong but lack essential hands-on experience in laboratory work, if they are to keep up with their Danish peers.

»The best African universities can certainly provide high-quality students, but newer institutions may not yet have the same research foundations, and capacity-building in Africa is still ongoing,« says Kurtzhals.

With the new strategy, the government states that Denmark and Europe have spent the past 60 years focusing too much on development aid and humanitarian assistance, failing to recognise Africa as a player on the international political stage.

Have universities failed to see the potential?

Decolonisation is a long process — for both Europeans and Africans

Jørgen Kurtzhals, Vice-Dean for Education at SUND

»It would be an exaggeration to say we’ve been bad in Denmark. There have been periods when closing embassies was being considered, but when I started in the 1990s, there was a visionary approach focused on both research and creating equal, capacity-building partnerships — instead of the notion of ‘going down to do research in Africa’,« replies Jørgen Kurtzhals, adding:

»Maybe we are still wrestling with an imperial mindset, and decolonisation is a long process — for both Europeans and Africans, especially due to economic imbalances. But the mindset is shifting. You should do your research because it is inherently interesting — not to help others. Many of us have learned that the hard way over the years.«

How do you avoid this becoming a ‘white saviour’ project?

»The government has emphasised that we need equal partnerships between Danish and African universities. It is a major task to ensure that it is in the African universities’ interest to send their best students to Denmark.«

»Of course, there will be those who view this through a white saviour complex optics — both in Denmark and Africa. Some Africans are rightly very critical of this. But that said, the funding in this programme offers some good opportunities,« he says.