LIBYA-UK: A bold new development

The Libyan government wants to establish a 'multiversity' as part of the country's plan to become an educational hub for its own students and for those from other parts of Africa.

The Libyan National Economic Development Board will host a two-day seminar in Tripoli in late June with the UK's International Unit where academics can develop the concept and discuss roles and responsibilities, finances and partnership agreements.

Long-term strategic partnerships with international universities and the Libyan government will be the key to this hub. The unit says the Libyan government is keen to assure the venture's long-term success and so it will provide financial support, both in facilities as well as assuring project profitability for partners.

The unit sets out the background to the initiative in a briefing paper. This explains the Libyan board was established in 2007 by the General People's Committee with the task of overseeing Libya's economic development activities.

This included its $150 billion development programme to develop human and institutional capacity, and to improve the nation's business environment in order to achieve long‐term sustainable growth.

The board's initiatives are extensive and far‐reaching, each centred on the ultimate goal of improving the quality of life for Libyans by developing a competitive, diversified economy that will be less dependent on oil revenue.

The board envisions transforming Libya into an Educational Centre of Excellence through the establishment of several educational hubs, involving partnerships with select universities from various nations. These 'multiversity' environments will offer a full range of academic subject areas, and will function according to high quality educational standards.

The educational hubs will be open to other African countries where post-secondary education is "largely substandard and high performing students are unable to travel abroad because of financial and political constraints".

The unit's paper points out that in sub-Saharan Africa, qualified human capital remains scarce. With a population of about 740 million and some 200 public universities, sub-Saharan Africa exhibits the lowest tertiary gross enrolment ratio in the world of about 5%.

This situation hinders growth and undermines the foundation for sustainable development. Tertiary education should be able to provide skills to compete, innovate, and respond to complex social, environmental, and economic situations. Advancing tertiary education is crucial to capacity building and professional training.

Universities in the Educational Hub of Excellence will be given opportunities to become partners with new science parks being established in Libya within economic free zones, to contribute to technological innovation and arrange internships and training experiences for the centre's students.

Similarly, there will be opportunities for partnership with Libyan universities. Ideally, the partner universities will be able to offer language and cultural exchanges to the best students.

The potential benefits of having students on international exchange are prolific, and are linked to skill migration, economic growth, public diplomacy and, more importantly, to research and innovation for a knowledge society. Students will benefit greatly from the demands of earning in new environments and in cultures distinct from their own, says the unit.

diane.spencer@uw-news.com