MALAWI: Catholic University Selected for Multi-Million USAID Higher Education Transformation Project
Luke Bisani
The Catholic University of Malawi (CUNIMA) has been selected to participate in the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Malawi’s Transforming Higher Education Systems Project under the Michigan State University (MSU).
Speaking during an interface meeting with the Catholic University of Malawi Management on Monday this week, MSU Senior Academic Specialist Christopher Reimann said USAID instructed MSU to select two leading private Universities namely, CUNIMA and University of Livingstonia (UNILIA) to join the public universities in the country in the implementation of the project.
“In this project, we are working with key institutions across the country to build capacity to address major challenges in higher education,” said Reimann who is also the Principal Investigator for the project.
“The project strives at strengthening individual capacities to improve performance in academic roles and product innovation related to Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education,” added Reimann.
The Vice-Chancellor for CUNIMA Rev. Fr. Dr. George Buleya has applauded USAID for the project saying it will help in transforming Malawi.
The Vice-Chancellor explained the primary focus of the project works in line with CUNIMA’s new Strategic Plan.
For five years, the five public universities namely; Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR), Mzuzu University (MZUNI), Malawi University of Business and Applied Science (MUBAS), the University of Malawi and Malawi University of Science and Technology (MUST) together with two private universities; CUNIMA and the UNILIA are to champion USAID- MSU Project on the transformation of higher education.
USAID has pumped in USD 17 million dollars for transforming higher education in Malawi with a primary focus on management and technical capacities, policy environment to promote research and innovations in Malawi, increasing Opportunities for financial support for marginalized youth, and strengthening institutional structures just to list some.
