ELFA2
Key information
Eritrea Learning For All: Developing Post-Graduate Degree Programs (ELFA2)
Project Budget: € 359 360 with MFA funding, total budget € 453 687
Project Duration: 1 March 2017–31 August 2020
Coordinating Institution: University of Jyväskylä, Faculty of Education and Psychology
Partner Institution(s): College of Education, Eritrea Institute of Technology, Eritrea
Project description and key results
Eritrea Learning For All: Developing Post-Graduate Degree Programs (ELFA 2) was a Higher Education Institutional Cooperation project that supported development of Post-Graduate degree programs first at the EIT College of Education and later at the Asmara College of Education (ACE). The ELFA 2 project was a direct continuation of Eritrea Learning for All project (ELFA 1) (2015- 2017).
ELFA 2 has provided a space for multidimensional collaboration and mutual learning between two higher education institutions. Individuals, departments and leadership who participated in the activities and management of the project have been able to compare two different contexts of (teacher) education and gained experiences and insights to intercultural learning and cooperation.
The biggest change influencing the project was the re-organization of higher education sector in Eritrea. This resulted in the establishment of Asmara College of Education that became the main official partner in the beginning of 2019.
The most important result are the three revised postgraduate diploma programmes in Science and Math, Social Science Education and Language that started at ACE in March 2019 with an intake of 134 student teachers. Also, improved capacity in teacher education research with several conference participations, joint publications, study visits and trainings in ACE are important achievements. The ELFA2 project has also improved the capacity of the ACE in project management with 28 staff members trained in project management, revised project management tools and study visits.
Collaboration continues through doctoral research and joint publications on critical topics on education in Eritrea.
Collaborative research conducted by scholars in Eritrea and in Finland was published in a book: Educational reflections from Eritrea Learning For All.