Welcome Word

We are pleased to send you the fifth newsletter of the FEF project « Supporting the reform of university governance in Ethiopia, 2024 – 2026 », financed by the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs.

As the final activity of the project, France Education International has organized the international conference in Addis-Ababa, on May 19-21, 2026, at the Hyatt Hotel.
The project partners include:

• From Ethiopia: Ministry of Education of Ethiopia and 9 public universities (Addis Abeba University, Arba Minch University, Adama Science and Technology University, Bahar Dar University, Jimma University, Harayama University, Hawassa University, Gondar University, Mekelle University).
• From France: French Embassy, France Education International, France Universités (French University Presidents association), MESR (French Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Space).

Autonomy-centered Internationalization

Opening ceremony : S. E. Kora Tushune GODANA, State Minister of Education, Ethiopia ; Mr Laurent SERRANO, Cultural and Cooperation Advisor, Embassy of France in Ethiopia.

1. Topic of the conference 

Reframing internationalisation in African universities by shifting the measure of success from mobility and visibility to institutional autonomy, ensuring global engagement strengthens control over curriculum, data, partnerships, and the future.

The proposed sessions reframe internationalisation in African universities around institutional autonomy rather than just mobility, visibility, or rankings. It advances the core proposition that internationalisation which does not increase universities’ control over their curriculum, data, partnerships, and future, constitutes structured dependence.

Across three days, plenary sessions and eighteen workshops sparked fruitful discussions on the conditions necessary for academic cooperation that is more balanced, sustainable, and tailored to African realities. 

DAY 1: What is autonomy-centered Internationalization? 

Autonomy is the new Internationalization : Rewriting the rules of Global Academic Engagement
Reframe Internationalization as a question of institutional control, decision-making power, and long-term resilience is a new challenge on the African continent. The traditional models of internationalization are no longer sufficient to address the core strategic priority of international activities for institution worldwide. In the meantime, African universities face varying degrees of autonomy. They have now the opportunity to reclaim a tradition of intellectual independence.

DAY 2: Curriculum Design and Student Employability

Curriculum as the first site of autonomy : Who owns the curriculum ? 
By examining how global standards can be integrated without replacing local relevance or epistemic authority, African higher education institutions will be able to design globally relevant curricula. To position curriculum ownership as foundational to institutional strength and the shared understanding of employability  will favor an autonomy-enhancing, not compromising outcome.

DAY 3: Partnerships and Networks

Partnerships are not neutral : Negotiating asymmetry in international cooperation.
Asymmetry in international cooperation still remains an issue for North-South partnerships. Therefore, African universities must engage into the political economy of international partnerships and networks and contribute to constructive frameworks for negotiation, governance, and capacity transfer. The objective is to set up partnership models that are transparent, sustainable, and mutually reinforcing for both international partners, positioned as capacity enablers.

The programme of the conference progresses from problem definition to practical governance and negotiation strategies. Ministries, universities, and international partners are positioned as complementary actors in building sustainable institutional capacity. The conference legacy is an autonomy-centered framework for equitable, future-oriented international cooperation. 

2. Keynote speakers

The conference featured the participation of valuable international speakers and experts :

To enrich the knowledge of all project partners on the university autonomy, covering both theoretical perspective and bringing evidence on practical implementation of it in different regions and countries worldwide, we created a special rubric indicating bibliographical references on relevant topics. For this fifth information letter, the focus is on "Internationalization in Higher Education: current issues and topics". We would like to thank the LIRE department of FEI for compiling those references to our request for the project. You can access the document here.

Acknowledgments

The project team would like to thank the following institutions and persons for their on-going support throughout the project:

• the Ministry of Education, Ethiopia: S. E. Kora Tushune GODANA, State Minister of Education, Dr. Solomon Abrha Gebrekirstos.
• the French Embassy in Addis-Ababa: S.E. Alexis Lamek, Ambassador of France, Laurent Serrano, Sabria Boudinar, Bibiane Nzinga. 
• the European Union Delegation in Ethiopia: Solomon Kebede.
• the FEI team: Milly Zongo, Ewa Vandermeersch. 

And many thanks to all the Ethiopian participants !

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Publisher:

France Éducation international

FEI Team:
Fatou Esteoule, Head of Higher Education Unit at Department for Cooperation in Education (HEU DCE);
Milly Zongo, Project Administration and Management Officer at HEU DCE.

esteoule@france-education-inernational.fr

Photos: France Éducation international, Adobe stock
June 2026

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