Higher technical education in Africa for a technical and innovative workforce

Green skills development in higher technical education

Kick-off webinar

organized by UNESCO CFIT III and UNESCO-UNEVOC 31 July 2025, Thursday | 9:30 – 12:30 Central European Summer Time

The kick-off webinar marked the launch of a transformative initiative aimed at strengthening green skills development in higher technical education. It was in line with the recognition of the pivotal role of higher technical education institutions (HTEIs) in equipping students with the needed competencies to drive sustainable innovation in support of the green and circular transition.

The webinar introduced the vision and approach of the green skills development component of the project Higher technical education in Africa for a technical and innovative workforce and highlighted the role of HTEIs in advancing the sustainability agenda.

Skills development policy, strategy and pedagogical alignment in HTEIs are considered urgent in the context of the changing demands of technical professions, green jobs and communities as economies transition toward greener and more circular models. The webinar created opportunities to raise awareness of the challenges, specific needs in African countries and the job-related and lifelong learning opportunities that accompany the green transition.

AGENDA

PART 1

09:30-09:35 Opening

09:35-09:45 Welcome remarks by Noah Sobe, Chief of Section, ED/PLS/HED, UNESCO

09:45-10:00 CFIT III Project Overview by Iuri Aganetto, Project Officer CFIT III, UNESCO

10:00-10:05 Participants’ poll

10:05-10:50 Keynote presentation - Green skills for green Africa’s future: where we are by Dr. Edwin Tarno, CEO, Kenya School of TVET + Q&A

10:50-11:00 Break

PART 2

11:00-11:15 Presentation on Unlocking a green and circular economy - a think tank perspective by Apoorva Shankar, Labour Market Analyst/Trainer, Circular Economy

11:15-11:30 Presentation on Making green and circular transition a reality- an entrepreneur’s perspective by Teddy Rugge, CEO, Raintree Farms, Uganda

11:30-11:40 Question and answer

11:40-12:00 Spotlight: CFIT III Africa partners’ perspectives

Government stakeholder's perspective from Uganda by Cleophus Mugenyi, Ministry of Education and Sports, Uganda
Technical HTEI perspective by Dr Obrou Kouadio Olivier, Professor, University of Félix Houphouët-Boigny (UFHB), Ivory coast
Youth voice perspective by Christelle Ogo, entrepreneur and engineer specialising in renewable energy, Ivory Coast

12:00-12:15 Launch of the Green Skills Development Project vision and approach by Ken Barrientos and Veronia Jackson, UNESCO-UNEVOC

12:15-12:25 Next steps and announcements by UNESCO-UNEVOC

12:25-12:30 Closing by Liu Yufeng, UNESCO CFIT III team, UNESCO

Voir en français

View project page

Related pages

Green skills competition

Winners and finalists

Training of Trainers

Microlearning programme

This project is funded by:

Beneficiaries

The target beneficiaries for this project include educators and students from the following countries:

Partners

Institut National Polytechnique Félix Houphouët-Boigny (INP-HB), Côte d’Ivoire
Université Félix Houphouët-Boigny (UFHB), Côte d’Ivoire
Addis Ababa Science and Technology University (AASTU), Ethiopia
Technical and Vocational Training Institute (TVTI), Ethiopia
Université des Sciences et Techniques de Masuku (USTM), Gabon
Université Omar Bongo (UOB), Gabon
Ecole Supérieure Polytechnique de l’Université Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar (ESP), Senegal
École Polytechnique de Thiès (EPT), Senegal
Mbeya University of Science and Technology (MUST), Tanzania
University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM), Tanzania
Makerere University (MUK), Uganda
Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST), Uganda