The ACU is leading an innovative new project – Partnership for Enhanced and Blended Learning (PEBL) – designed to address the critical staff shortages facing universities in east Africa, while improving outcomes for students.

Funded by the UK Department for International Development's SPHEIR programme, PEBL will see the ACU working with member institutions in east Africa to develop a suite of quality assured, credit-bearing degree modules, which will be delivered through blended learning.

Recruitment is currently underway for universities from Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda, to take part in the programme. Over the lifespan of the project, PEBL will enable participating universities to share scarce teaching resources and ease the current burden on teaching staff.

Working in partnership

In order to deliver PEBL, the ACU is working with various project partners, including: the Commission for University Education Kenya (CUE), Commonwealth of Learning (CoL), the Staff and Educational Development Association (SEDA), and the University of Edinburgh. Each partner brings different technical skills and experience to the project, with CUE offering guidance to particpating universities, CoL providing quality assurance support to participating universities, SEDA delivering pedagogical and tutoring support, and the University of Edinburgh sharing their expertise in online and blended learning. 

Six ACU member universities within the east African region are also partners, they will be responsible for designing quality assured content to be delivered through the PEBL project. 

Read more about PEBL.

What is SPHEIR?

The SPHEIR (Strategic Partnerships for Higher Education Innovation and Reform) programme is a competitive grant scheme established by DFID, which aims to transform higher education systems in focus countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

SPHEIR supports diverse, large-scale partnerships to improve the quality, relevance, accessibility and affordability of higher education. It focuses on creating new and innovative solutions to key higher education challenges to deliver systemic and sustainable change at scale.

For more information visit http://www.spheir.org.uk/ and follow developments on social media via the #SPHEIR hashtag.

If you have any queries about PEBL, please email [email protected] – for press enquiries, email [email protected]