Building Stronger Universities History
Initially, 11 universities in Tanzania, Ghana, Uganda, Kenya and Nepal were part of the programme. Its aim was to increase the research and teaching capacity of universities in selected Danida priority countries.
The first phase from 2011 to 2014 focused therefore mainly on PhD studies and administrative structures at university level.
In the second phase from 2014 – 2017, the scope widened. The focus became the establishment and improvement of the administrative frameworks in order to lay the foundation for improved research capacity at university level.
During the project’s first two phases, first Kenya then Nepal were phased out in line with changing Danida priorities, while the remaining six universities from Ghana, Uganda and Tanzania continued into a third phase. Read more about phase 2 (BSU2) here.
Since Building Stronger Universities started, research laboratories, libraries, ICT and financial management procedures have been upgraded at the participating universities. New university policy and guidelines have also been written. Postgraduate, PhD courses and online and blended learning programmes have been developed and implemented.
Over the years, it has become clear that the programmes also generate and successfully apply new knowledge to solve global development challenges such as climate change, genetic sequencing and ability to analyse and predict epidemics, sustainable tourism and peace and reconciliation.