Search | Menu Madison College Launches Partnership With Africa Tech Schools
Madison College has launched a robust effort to build relationships with African universities and colleges to boost workforce development and encourage students to pursue higher education.
Madison College commemorated the partnerships with MOU signing ceremonies at the University of Technology, Tourism and Business (UTB) in Rwanda on April 26, Rwanda Polytechnic on April 29 and the Institute of Technical Education and Technology in Mauritius on May 2.
“Africa is one of the centers of global population and economic growth and it is critical for higher education institutions, including community colleges, to engage with African partners to position ourselves for the future,” said Dr. Geoff Bradshaw, Madison College Associate Vice President for Global Strategy.
Bradshaw and Madison College Director of International Education, Stephanie Belmas, traveled to Africa to commemorate the signing and engage in planning discussions for institutional collaboration.
Africa will become a global power in economic and international affairs; the continent’s population is expected to double by 2050, with $6.7 trillion in consumer and business spending by 2030.
“Madison College recognizes these powerful opportunities for collaboration across the continent,” Bradshaw said. “As our local community and the world become more influenced by Africa, it is important that our students have the understanding and background for this next era of globalization.”
Partnerships will support local education as part of a newly established Global Studies certificate at Madison College that includes grant-funded study abroad programs in East Africa.
Madison College is one of 34 U.S. colleges and universities awarded a U.S. Department of State’s IDEAS grant. The IDEAS Program contributes to the State Department’s diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility efforts to engage the American people in foreign policy.
The Rwandan partnerships will support the Department of State IDEAS grant study abroad to Rwanda in May 2025 and leverage a partnership with UTB to scale workforce training collaboration.
Partnerships will also support workforce development programs that build capacity of African institutions to deliver education that meets global demand for skilled technical workers.
The MOU signing in Mauritius formalized the partnership with the Mauritian Ministry of Education to grow the capacity of a new Institute of Technical Education and Technology (ITET) technical college system and license Madison College curriculum for joint branded credential delivery and contract revenue generation.
The new ITET system has strong support from both the national government of Mauritius and the U.S. Embassy in the region. The U.S. Ambassador and Vice Prime Minister of Mauritius joined Dr. Bradshaw and others for the signing.
