Improved institutional governance and management of universities in DRC

Requesting partner(s):

Catholic University of Bukavu (UCB), Hope University of Congo (UEC)

The involved institutions

Catholic University of Bukavu (UCB)

Founded in 1989 and officially recognized in 2006, Université Catholique de Bukavu (Catholic University of Bukavu) is a private, non-profit higher education institution in Bukavu city, South Kivu. The university is dedicated to delivering higher education degree courses, conducting scientific research, and publishing studies to foster development in the Congo, especially in South Kivu. Its key objectives include promoting Congolese intellectualism, contributing to socio-economic development, conducting research in fields like agriculture, law, and health, fostering national and international scientific collaborations, encouraging student engagement in societal issues, and aiding local and national development through its expertise.

Hope University of Congo (UEC)

Hope University of Congo (UEC) aims to improve management skills across academic and administrative levels, fostering a governance system that drives excellence. The enhancement will empower UCB and UEC to significantly impact society, particularly in the DRC and Kivu province, through teaching, research, and community outreach in critical areas such as agriculture, law, socio-economic development, health, and more. The strengthened staff will engage in strategic planning, showcasing tangible results.

Context

Institutional Challenges in Education in Congo

The Catholic University of Bukavu and Hope University of Congo are private universities without subsidiary from the government, therefore, to be competitive and make the difference with other universities in the region, it relies on the quality of management of both academic and administrative staff. Unfortunately, the management and the governance system are not fully equipped to steer towards partnerships, experience sharing, excellence and financial autonomy of the institution. There is also a clear need to improve the existing governance system to ensure high quality teaching, research and outreach undertakings. This is more needed knowing that the country has little in place to guarantee quality education and studies indicate that there is a degradation in the quality of education at all levels in the country.

Project goal and outputs

This TMT project focuses on improving the institutional capacities for improved institutional governance and management, as these are considered as key for quality teaching, research and outreach. It helps staff to acquire the skills and capacity to carry out strategic planning and improve the institutional governance and management to achieve the highest impact for society (DRC and specifically South Kivu province). This is a clear need that exists within both universities (UCB and UEC), due to the challenging operating context we are in and the short falling of external quality assurance from authorities.

To improve institutional governance and management, the project focuses on the following topics:

Strategic planning, leadership and (change) management capacity;
Quality management system (QMS) in order to improve the results of the set key performance indicators;
Project management.

The following training subjects were incorporated in the training missions:

Trainingsweek 1: Leadership and strategy
Trainingsweek 2: Quality Management systems
Trainingsweek 3: Change management
Trainingsweek 4: follow-up on strategy planning, performance indicators, quality management system and change management

Relevant Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This TMT training is linked to the above stated and the CPI’s main priority theme: Food and Nutrition Security (FNS), with an emphasis on advancing SDGs through their core areas: Health, Education, Law, Economics, Agriculture, and Mining. Their focus on inclusive education (SDG-4), sustainable partnerships (SDG-17), ending hunger (SDG-2), fostering innovation (SDG-9), and promoting peace and justice (SDG-16) contributes significantly to the DR Congo’s efforts in achieving the 2030 SDG agenda.