Projects
AHED projects have taken us around the world, from Africa to Asia to South America. Our volunteers are involved with both short and long-term endeavours that foster the skills and expertise needed for areas such as health care, education, infrastructure and business—the building blocks of a successful nation.
Projects are based in universities, colleges, and professional and technical schools. We work in all disciplines and areas of instruction.
Current Projects
Ethiopia | Ghana | Namibia | Rwanda
Addis Ababa University and Hawassa University » Ethiopia
The 80,000,000 people of Ethiopia, the second most populous country in Africa, are served by an extensive education system. In 1950 the Emperor Haile Silassie I declared the foundation of the University College of Addis Ababa, which consisted of the faculties of Arts and Sciences: thirty-three students were enrolled. It was renamed Haile Selassie I University in 1962 and then Addis Ababa University in 1975, which today comprises more than 25 faculties serving over 45,000 students, and there are numerous other institutions of higher education.
University of Cape Coast » Cape Coast, Ghana
The Department of Computer Science and Information Technology at the University of Cape Coast (UCC) has asked AHED for assistance in establishing a graduate program. In August 2010, Geňa Hahn of the Université de Montréal (Canada) and Dominique Sotteau, from INRIA (Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique, France) went to Cape Coast for 2 weeks to conduct a feasibility study looking at institutional support for the program, potential areas of specialization and the research interests of faculty members. In their report, a summary of discussions with professors in the Department of Computer Science and Information Technology, students and university administrators at the UCC, they recommended that a process for creating a graduate program proceed in three stages.
University of Namibia » Windhoek, Namibia
The University of Namibia (UNam) was established in 1992, two years after Namibia became independent from South Africa. UNam is the only university in a country of over 2,000,000 people. The university has 12 campuses, the main campus being situated on the outskirts of the capital city of Windhoek. UNam has eight faculties and serves 16,000 students, 13,000 of whom attend the main campus, and most of whom live in Katatura, a township established by the South Africa government 17 kilometers from Windhoek where 70% of Namibians now live. The difficulties faced by the students and staff of UNam came to the attention of the University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI) when a member of the Faculty of Science visited the country and the university in 2006. Since then, five UPEI science faculty members have spent part of their sabbaticals working with UNam faculty and staff to improve the quality of teaching at the university. The second phase of the project has just been completed.
National University of Rwanda » Butare, Rwanda
The National University of Rwanda (NUR), located in Butare, Rwanda, re-opened in 1995 after the genocide period when the university was closed and many students and staff were either killed or fled the country. It has made a remarkable recovery, and now proudly counts over 10,000 students as graduates. The largest provider of higher education in Rwanda, the university has 300 academic staff, around 50 of them expatriates, and around 9500 students. However, there is still much to be done. Currently, AHED is involved in two projects at NUR—upgrading its registrar’s office and setting up a Master’s degree in accounting.
» Do you have a project idea? Find out how to submit your idea to work with AHED.
» Are you interested in volunteering for a project? Find out about volunteer opportunities with AHED.
» Learn about our past projects.