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FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF AN A.A.U. OFFICE WITH A STRATEGIC FOCUS ON SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING AND MATHEMATICS IN NORTH AMERICA
I. Introduction
The Association of African Universities (AAU) whose headquarters is located at African Universities House, Trinity Avenue, East Legon in Accra, Ghana; and the American Society for Engineering Education whose offices are located in Washington DC in the United States of America (hereafter referred to as “Parties”) enter into this Memorandum of Understanding and agree to work together on specific tasks as described in this agreement.
II. Rationale for this Memorandum of Understanding
Broad-based evidence exists that effective partnerships among higher education institutions amplify the contribution of the higher education sector to development by extending the impact and reach of institutional and community-level capacity building to national, continental and international cross-sectoral levels. Their advantage lies in the intersection between being civil society actors and institutions with a strong relationship to the state, uniquely positioning them between the communities they serve and the governments they advise. Those with strong external stakeholder relations are better able to provide the skills and training needed to respond to development priorities.
They are significantly acknowledged for creating the enabling conditions for development to occur – playing pivotal roles in reducing poverty, promoting democratic governance, generating new knowledge, creating more networks that bring people, knowledge and infrastructure together, and facilitating overall social and economic development.
III. Purpose and Scope of this Memorandum of Understanding
The Association of African Universities (AAU) is a critical lynchpin organization that brings coherence to the development of African universities. The Association seeks collaboration with North American institutions with whom they share common objectives in advancing higher education and strengthening their human and institutional capacities to respond to societal needs. The Association recognizes the enormous opportunities that a partnership with the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) as an academic hub will bring to the continent of Africa and North America. Notable among these are opportunities for resource mobilization, academic mobility, commissioned joint research, staff and institutional capacity building, and infrastructural development.
Considering the networks that AAU and ASEE manage, this collaboration is envisaged to be long-term in nature, with the potential benefits of having a wider and far-reaching impact in Africa and North America.
IV. Hosting of the AAU STEM Office in North America
Given the number of partnerships the AAU has brokered with institutions of higher learning in North America, the Parties agree that the establishment of the AAU North American Office at ASEE will focus specifically on serving the interest of the AAU in the pursuit of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics through academic staff exchanges; joint application for grants; joint research and scientific publications; conference participation, mentoring and research supervision; and general advancement of science, technology, and innovation to the mutual benefits of universities in North America and AAU member universities.
During the duration of this Agreement, the AAU STEM Office in North America at ASEE in Washington DC commits to provide a fully furnished office space with a dedicated staff responsible for coordinating with the prime contacts at the AAU Secretariat in Accra, Ghana on a regular basis on issues of mutual benefits spelled out under the Objectives of this Agreement.
V. Objectives of this Memorandum of Understanding
The main objectives of this Memorandum of Understanding are for the Parties to:
1. Mobilize institutions of higher learning in North America that share similar objectives as the AAU to join the AAU as Associate Members. Identify North American STEM societies appropriate for AAU member institutions and their faculty/staff/students to join.
2. Work together to develop mutually acceptable proposals whenever invited to do so by a potential funder, and to present such proposals as co-applicants. Prior to such proposal development, the Parties will conclude a separate Teaming Agreement or Contract, which shall include a nondisclosure agreement provision. Specific arrangements regarding the management and execution of any project will be agreed upon during proposal development.
3. Sub-contract and implement programs for each other based on expertise, ability and operational human capacity.
4. Identify and develop joint programs in support of capacity building in:
a. science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)
b. health science, environmental science and agricultural science
c. technical and vocational education and training
5. Leverage private, public and non-state sector partnerships to support infrastructural development (information and computer technologies, laboratory equipment, buildings, etc.) that advance the relevance of higher education in Africa and North America.
6. Exchange and disseminate educational and scientific research projects through workshops, conferences, seminars, multimedia channels and other dissemination avenues on mutually agreed terms.
VI. The Partner
The Association of African Universities, (AAU)
The Association of African Universities (AAU) is the apex higher education organization in Africa and represents the voice of higher education on the continent on regional and international bodies. Established in Rabat (Morocco) in 1967, the AAU currently has a membership of over 400 institutions of higher learning across all the linguistic and geographic divides of Africa. Its headquarters is in Accra, Ghana and it currently has two regional offices at the University of Khartoum in Sudan (for the East African bloc) and Al Azhar University in Egypt (for the North African bloc) as well as a Country Office in Abuja, Nigeria.
The AAU supports African universities to deliver quality higher education and, as its niche, creates a platform for networking among its members. The Association enjoys a unique capacity for convening most of the higher education community in Africa to reflect and consult on key issues affecting education on the continent. The thrust of its base is the nimble deploying of advocacy, commissioning of studies, and acting and becoming the clearing house and intelligence arm for these higher education institutions on the continent.
The AAU operates in four languages namely, English, French, Arabic and Portuguese. It endeavours to raise the quality of higher education in Africa and strengthen its contribution to African development by fostering collaboration among its member institutions; providing support to their core functions of teaching, learning, research and community engagement; and facilitating
critical reflection on, and consensus-building around, issues affecting higher education and the development of Africa.
The American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE)
Founded in 1893, the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) is a global society of individual, institutional, and corporate members. ASEE’s vision is excellent and broadly accessible education empowering students and engineering professionals to create a better world. We work toward achieving that vision by advancing innovation, excellence, and access at all levels of education for the engineering profession. We engage with engineering faculty, business leaders, college and high school students, parents, and teachers to enhance the engineering workforce of the nation. We are the only professional society addressing opportunities and challenges spanning all engineering disciplines and in collaboration with other disciplines, working across the breadth of academic education including teaching, research, and public service.
• We support education at the institutional level by linking faculty and staff across disciplines to create enhanced student learning and discovery.
• We support education across institutions by identifying opportunities to share proven and promising practices.
• Wesupport educationlocally,regionally,nationally, and internationallybyforgingand reinforcingconnectionsbetweenacademia, business, industry, and government.
• Wesupport discovery and scholarship amongeducation researchers byproviding opportunities to share and build upon findings.
• We support disciplinary technical researchers by disseminating best research management practices.
• We support innovation by fostering the translation of research into improved practices.
VII. General Provisions
1. Beginning and Expiration Dates. This Agreement shall be effective from the date of execution by all Parties and shall expire on 30 June 2027. This agreement may be extended by mutual consent or terminated by written notification by one Party to the other in the method described under ‘Termination’.
2. Financial Responsibility. Each signatory to this Memorandum is responsible for its own work; however, the Parties should coordinate to attempt to utilize external funding (e.g., cash and in-kind donations) to defer any and all reasonable expenses (travel, per diem, lodging, professional fees, time and effort, materials, etc.) for both Parties whenever possible through contracts, subcontracts, consultation agreements, grants-in-aid, and other reasonable funding vehicles.
3. Good Faith Effort. In the event a contract or grant is awarded to the Parties jointly or separately as a result of a successful proposal, the Parties will exert reasonable, good faith effort toward the negotiation of a contract for the performance of proposal activities. All such efforts will be conducted to the extent allowable by funders and/or host country rules, regulations and applicable laws. The terms and conditions of the resulting agreement will be generally consistent with the terms and conditions in this prime Memorandum of Understanding.
4. Confidentiality. For a period of three (3) years after the termination of this Agreement, any information disclosed or made available to one Party (the “Receiving Party”) by the other Party (the “Disclosing Party”) for the performance of work under this Agreement shall be retained in confidence by the Receiving Party. The Receiving Party shall take all necessary and reasonable precautions to ensure that confidential or proprietary information of the Disclosing Party, its clients, sponsors, funders, members, directors, officers, staff, applicants and grantees are not disclosed to any unauthorized person, firm or other entity.
5. Mediation. If any dispute occurs with respect to any part of this Agreement, the Parties agree to mediation and will cooperate with each other in selecting a mediator. In scheduling the mediation proceedings, the Parties shall share equally in all costs.
6. Equality of Participants. Both Parties are committed to the policy that all persons shall have equal access to programs, facilities, admission and employment without regard to personal characteristics not related to academic ability, performance, or qualifications as determined by the respective policies of each Party and in compliance with local law.
7. Partial Invalidity. A judicial or administrative finding, order, or decision that any part of this Agreement is illegal or invalid shall not invalidate the remainder of the Agreement.
8. Use of Names and Marks. Any use of the Parties’ names or marks, including any constituent colleges or programs, or related logos in advertisements, publications or notices relating in any way to the activities described in this Memorandum of Understanding shall be subject to the prior written approval of the Party owning the name or mark.
9. Entirety of Agreement. This Agreement constitutes the complete understanding between the Parties and supplants all representations of the Parties, whether oral or written, made prior to execution of this Agreement. No subsequent modification, extension or amendment to any part of this Agreement will be valid unless in writing and signed both by the Parties.
10. Public Acknowledgement. Each Party is free to release statements, announcements or other releases to the press or public regarding the Party’s involvement in consultation with the other Party.
11. Liability. Each Party agrees to be responsible for any negligent acts or negligent omissions by or through itself or its agents, employees and contracted servants and each Party further agrees to defend itself and pay any judgments and costs arising out of such negligent acts or negligent omissions, and nothing in this Agreement shall impute or transfer any such responsibility from any Party to the other.
12. Points of Contact. Each Party shall designate a prime Point of Contact through whom all Agreement communications shall be made along with two additional backup Points of Contact. Changes in responsibilities and Points of Contact should be in writing to the Party members of this Agreement. These Points of Contact shall be:
For AAU:
a. (Prime): Prof. Olusola B. Oyewole, Secretary General (secgen@aau.org)
b. Mr. Ransford Bekoe, Partnership Manager, AAU (ransford@aau.org)
c. Ms. Nodumu Dhalimi, Director of ICT and Knowledge Management, AAU
For ASEE:
a. (Prime): Norman L. Fortenberry, Executive Director (n.fortenberry@asee.org)
b. Rachel Koroloff (r.koroloff@asee.org); and
c. Jacqueline El-Sayed (j.el-sayed@asee.org)
13. Amendments. Either Party may at any time during the term of this Memorandum of Understanding request amendments or modifications to this Agreement. Requests for any amendment or modification shall be in writing and shall specify the requested changes and the justification of such changes. The Parties shall review the request for modification in terms of the regulations and goals relating to the work contemplated hereunder. Should the Parties consent to the modification of the Agreement, then shall an amendment be drawn, approved, and executed in the same manner as the original Agreement.
14. Termination. Either Party may terminate this Agreement by providing a 90-day written notice to the other Party. On-going programs and activities will continue until concluded within a maximum period of three months after termination.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Parties have executed this Agreement, effective on the last date below.
__________________________
Signature of authorized official
Signature of authorized official
Olusola Bandele Oyewole
Norman L. Fortenberry
Secretary-General
Executive Director
Date:
Date: Jul 7, 2022
Olusola B. Oyewole (Jul 7, 2022 23:19 GMT) Olusola B. Oyewole
Jul 7, 2022
